Connecting with global consumers through corporate social responsibility initiatives: A cross-cultural investigation of congruence effects of attribution and communication styles.
- Resource Type
- Article
- Authors
- Lim, Rachel Esther; Sung, Yoon Hi; Lee, Wei-Na
- Source
- Journal of Business Research. Jul2018, Vol. 88, p11-19. 9p.
- Subject
- *SOCIAL responsibility of business
*CONSUMER behavior
*EXPORT marketing
CROSS-cultural communication
ATTRIBUTION (Social psychology)
- Language
- ISSN
- 0148-2963
This study proposes that consumers' attribution styles influence how they respond to corporate social responsibility (CSR) messages. The current study employs a cross-cultural experiment to examine the interplay of consumer attribution styles and message types on the outcome of CSR communication, and reveals a significant interaction between attribution style and CSR message. Individuals with a dispositional attribution style responded more favorably to evidence-based CSR messages than to belief-based messages, while those with a situational attribution style responded more favorably to belief-based messages than to evidence-based messages. This study extends cross-cultural research into the area of CSR communication and offers practical guidelines for international marketers and corporations on how to communicate their CSR involvement to global consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]