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How important are different socially responsible marketing practices? An exploratory study of gender, race, and income differences

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance consumers place on various types of socially responsible marketing practices, and whether the level of importance varies by gender, race, and consumers' income. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was designed that asked subjects their attitudes toward the various social marketing practices that were uncovered through an analysis of recent literature from ABI-Inform, Fordham University's Center for Positive Marketing and focus groups. The survey was administered to 232 subjects and included information regarding race, gender, and income. Survey results were analyzed using latent class analysis (LCA). The results of the LCA were used to develop a correspondence analysis map. Findings – The results confirm the importance of key demographic factors (income, gender, and race) in understanding consumers' perceptions of socially responsible marketing. Research limitations/implications – One limitation is that the sample was collected in Baltimore, Maryland and not entirely representative of the population of the USA. Another limitation is that consumers’ perceptions of socially responsible marketing are only captured at one point in time rather than showing the evolution of a belief. Practical implications – Marketers need to target their messages carefully if they are promoting socially responsible marketing as a differentiating factor. Understanding how each demographic group responds to these socially responsible marketing messages can assist managers in their promotional efforts. Originality/value – Limited research has been completed that segments the market with regards to socially responsible marketing options. The research explores these segments by surveying active consumers.
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... Research indicates that men and women have different perception of advertising materials, as well as different expectations in this area (Birknerová et al., 2018). It has been evident that income levels can influence responsiveness to marketing, with higher-income individuals potentially favoring luxury and exclusivity, while lower-income groups may prioritize affordability (Patino et al., 2014). In the healthy food market, for instance, socially responsible marketing practices are seen as long-term investments that enhance company value, with key demographic variables like gender and household income significantly affecting customer perceptions (Vržina & Pepur, 2021). ...
... Understanding of these parameters is paramount for crafting effective marketing strategies across various domains, including targeted marketing campaigns, product development, pricing strategies, distribution channels, and customer relationship management (Dobscha & Ostberg, 2021). Geographic parameters further influence social media marketing by adding layers of cultural nuances, local trends, and communication styles (Patino et al., 2014). Local trends and consumer preferences, often varying widely across regions, necessitate adapting social media strategies to reflect these nuances. ...
... The integration of geographic data with social media networks allows marketers to visualize and identify potential local connections between firms and customers, enhancing targeted marketing efforts (Fogarty, 2021). Finally, language and communication styles prevalent in different geographic regions should be carefully considered, ensuring messages are not only translated accurately but also culturally adapted for resonance with the local audience (Patino et al., 2014). ...
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The focus of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of AI-related advertising campaigns, particularly in reaching their intended audiences, such as individuals with a declared interest in AI. This study addresses the under-explored area of how effectively these campaigns target and engage their intended demographic groups, revealing gaps and opportunities in current advertising strategies. A dataset of 5,528 AI-related advertisements was analyzed with the purpose of examining targeting precision, demographic distribution, and geographical variations. The analysis aimed to identify discrepancies in ad reach and effectiveness across different audience segments and regions. The findings show a significant discrepancy between overall ad volume and targeted reach, with only 12.6% of ads directly targeting individuals interested in AI. Our findings reveal a distinct demographic skew in AI ad exposure, favoring males and the 25-34 age group. This gender disparity is particularly pronounced when targeting AI enthusiasts, raising concerns about potential bias in ad delivery. Significant geographical variations in ad performance were also identified, underscoring the importance of regional context in advertising strategies. The implications of these findings for advertisers are clear: more precise targeting is needed to engage AI-interested audiences effectively, algorithmic biases must be addressed to ensure equitable ad delivery, and contextual factors should be considered to optimize campaign strategies.
... Starting with gender, findings were fairly consistent, in that the socially responsible consumer tended to be female (e.g., Berkowitz and Lutterman, 1968;Webster, 1975;Gupta and Singh, 2017). Most CSR studies confirmed these results by showing that women were more likely to perceive CSR actions as positive (e.g., Patino et al., 2014;Kim and Kim, 2016), while only a few studies detected no gender effect on perceived CSR (e.g., Mueller, 2014). ...
... Gender Socially conscious consumers tend to be female Berkowitz and Lutterman, 1968;Gupta and Singh, 2017 Gender Women are more likely to perceive CSR activities as positive Patino et al., 2014;Kim and Kim, 2016 Age Socially conscious consumers tend to be young Anderson and Cunningham, 1972;Gupta and Singh, 2017 Age Inconsistent age effects in CSR perception Tian et al., 2011;Mueller, 2014 Education Socially conscious consumers are highly educated Berkowitz and Lutterman, 1968;Roberts, 1995 Education Higher education positively influences CSR perception Youn and Kim, 2008;Lee, 2019 Income Socially conscious consumer has high or at least average income Webster, 1975;Gupta and Singh, 2017 Income Moderate and high-income groups more committed to CSR activities Youn and Kim, 2008;Patino et al., 2014 Consumption capital Consumption capital influences the evaluation of organizational activities Du et al., 2010;Wicker et al., 2012 Involvement Involvement influences the CSR perception positively Assael, 1992;McGehee et al., 2003 only a few studies showed that educational level had no effect (e.g., Pérez and Rodríguez del Bosque, 2013a). Concerning income, previous research found that the socially conscious consumer has high (Berkowitz and Lutterman, 1968;Webster, 1975) or at least average income (Gupta and Singh, 2017). ...
... Gender Socially conscious consumers tend to be female Berkowitz and Lutterman, 1968;Gupta and Singh, 2017 Gender Women are more likely to perceive CSR activities as positive Patino et al., 2014;Kim and Kim, 2016 Age Socially conscious consumers tend to be young Anderson and Cunningham, 1972;Gupta and Singh, 2017 Age Inconsistent age effects in CSR perception Tian et al., 2011;Mueller, 2014 Education Socially conscious consumers are highly educated Berkowitz and Lutterman, 1968;Roberts, 1995 Education Higher education positively influences CSR perception Youn and Kim, 2008;Lee, 2019 Income Socially conscious consumer has high or at least average income Webster, 1975;Gupta and Singh, 2017 Income Moderate and high-income groups more committed to CSR activities Youn and Kim, 2008;Patino et al., 2014 Consumption capital Consumption capital influences the evaluation of organizational activities Du et al., 2010;Wicker et al., 2012 Involvement Involvement influences the CSR perception positively Assael, 1992;McGehee et al., 2003 only a few studies showed that educational level had no effect (e.g., Pérez and Rodríguez del Bosque, 2013a). Concerning income, previous research found that the socially conscious consumer has high (Berkowitz and Lutterman, 1968;Webster, 1975) or at least average income (Gupta and Singh, 2017). ...
Article
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Sport governing bodies have played a special role in society during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Following stakeholder theory and consumption capital theory, this study investigated the actions of the German Bundesliga (DFL), Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during this phase as perceived by the German population and through the lens of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Based on a representative sample of the German resident population ( N = 1,000), the study examined the individual characteristics that influenced the perceived CSR of these organizations and what population clusters emerged from this perception. The survey applied a CSR scale that was previously validated in a professional team sports context. The results confirmed the equally strong applicability of the scale to the sport governing context. Cluster analysis yielded three distinctive clusters, namely, “supporters,” “neutral observers,” and “critics.” Regression analyses and the cluster analysis identified those with frequent consumption and high involvement in sport as rating the actions of the three sport organizations more positively. They are also more strongly represented in the “supporters” cluster. In contrast, those threatened the most by the virus are overrepresented in the “critics” cluster.
... The paper draws on an empirical study by Patino et al. (2014) on the importance of different marketing practices. Patino et al. (2014) examined the importance that consumers in the United States place on different socially responsible marketing practices, and researched whether the level of importance varies by race, gender and income. ...
... The paper draws on an empirical study by Patino et al. (2014) on the importance of different marketing practices. Patino et al. (2014) examined the importance that consumers in the United States place on different socially responsible marketing practices, and researched whether the level of importance varies by race, gender and income. The subject of this research is the importance of socially responsible behaviour in the healthy food market. ...
... Hur et al. (2015) claim that due to the growing interest in corporate social responsibility (CSR), many companies have been investing considerable effort to identify how consumer demographics relate to CSR. Despite that, Patino et al. (2014) notice that relatively less attention has been devoted to how demographic variables may influence the importance of different socially responsible marketing practices for consumers. Therefore, our aim is to analyze further the potential impact of two important socio-demographic variables, namely gender and income among student population. ...
Article
It is widely believed that young people are not overly concerned about their health or that they take excessive care of their eating habits. However, marketing experts see them as an extremely important and potentially large market, and consider all socially responsible business initiatives as long-term investments that will increase the value of the company. In the healthy food market, marketing practices are among the most important activities of socially responsible business. The purpose of this study is to explore the importance of different socially responsible marketing practices on the healthy food market. The questionnaire was administered to 519 students and the results were analysed using latent class analysis (LCA). Research results confirm the importance of understanding the influence of key demographic variables (gender and household income) on customers’ perceptions of socially responsible marketing. An important limitation of the research is the number and selection of socially responsible marketing practices. There are only a few studies that segment the market based on socially responsible marketing practises. A suggestion for future research is to use longitudinal data with more marketing practices tested.
... Furthermore, other studies have found that men are more sceptical about corporate intentions and are more likely to agree that a company is exploiting a cause for profit (Cui et al., 2003). In addition, previous research has shown that the gender effect becomes more salient when causes and brands are gender-specific (e.g., breast cancer; Patino et al., 2014;Ross et al., 1992). Therefore, considering breast cancer as a more female-oriented cause, we predict that women will be more favourably disposed towards the campaign and the NFL than men. ...
... We also propose that there will be differences on campaign-related evaluations based on ethnic background. While there is scant empirical evidence on the race differences in consumers' perceptions of socially responsible marketing activities (Patino et al., 2014), some research (Backhaus et al., 2002;Smith et al., 2004) suggests that African Americans/blacks and whites differ in their views of practices related to employment discrimination and workplace diversity. Further, Russell and Russell (2010) found that people place a high value on activities that are relevant to the social identity group. ...
... In addition, we found that race had significant effects on all dependent variables such that African-American participants showed greater levels of donation intent, higher breast cancer perceptions, positive perceived motives of the NFL and enhanced attitude and behaviour toward the NFL than Caucasian participants and participants from other ethnic backgrounds. Our findings support the notion that different race and ethnic groups within the USA may have different views about the social responsibility of various marketing actions (Patino et al., 2014). In line with Russell and Russell (2010), we speculate that African-American participants might view breast cancer to be closely tied to their ethnic identity. ...
Article
During the month of October, the National Football League (NFL) activates a breast cancer awareness campaign - Crucial Catch - in which players, referees and coaches wear pink apparel and gear to promote its cause. Given that more than 17 million people in the USA watch a regular season game every week, this campaign reaches a broad audience. Using a representative sample of US adults (N = 600), this study examined differences in demographic variables (age, gender and race) and domain-specific personal variables (television viewership, cause involvement) on various campaign-related outcomes including cause-related outcomes (i.e., breast cancer perception and donation intentions to support the campaign) and organisation-related outcomes (i.e., perceived motives of the NFL, attitude toward the NFL and behaviour toward the NFL). Findings show how consumers' demographic, lifestyle and psychographic characteristics influence their responses to the campaign.
... Marz et al. (2003) showed that women have a significantly higher level of social orientation than men. Patino et al. (2014) confirmed the importance of gender as a key demographic factor for understanding consumers' perceptions of CSR practices. In addition, some similar studies concluded that women tend to be more ethically responsible and exhibit a greater inclination towards sustainable behaviour compared to men (del Mar Alonso-Almeida, 2013). ...
Article
Purpose This study explores how the various aspects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) impact customer satisfaction (CS) within the restaurant sector. Furthermore, it seeks to reveal if there is a moderating role played by gender in the relationship between CSR dimensions and CS in the realm of restaurant services. Design/methodology/approach The findings of this research were obtained by analysing 352 questionnaires collected from Iranian restaurants. Structural equation modelling was used to test the conceptual model. Findings According to this research, responsibility (economic, legal, ethical and environmental) is related to CS. Additionally, this study delves into the specific influence of each facet of CSR on CS, a departure from prior research which treated CSR as a singular entity. Consequently, the findings of this study offer clarity on which dimension of CSR can impact CS. Prior studies examining the correlation between CSR and CS typically encompassed various CSR aspects, including economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic dimensions, with the environmental dimension often subsumed under ethical CSR. This research, however, recognises environmental CSR as the fifth distinct dimension. The results of this research show that CS is directly and significantly influenced by all aspects of CSR (except philanthropy). Also, the findings of this research show that gender does not make a difference on the impact of different dimensions of CSR on CS. Practical implications The findings of this study provide restaurant managers with a deeper understanding of CSR and how it can influence CS. The research demonstrates that environmental CSR had the strongest impact on Iranian CS among the five CSR dimensions investigated. The findings also support the notion that Iranian consumers are beginning to use CSR information to evaluate restaurants. Originality/value This research represents an early exploration of how individual facets of CSR affect CS. As part of this investigation, Carroll’s initial model was modified to include a novel element, environmental responsibility, to address environmental concerns' growing importance. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that CSR activities are not all equally effective.
... The effect of gender differences on CSR practices has also been investigated within the hospitality literature. Gender is considered a crucial demographic factor for identifying consumers' behaviors to CSR practices [31]. Generally, customers' overall positive responses toward CSR practices are higher in females than males [32]. ...
Article
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Despite significant coffee shops’ efforts to promote sustainable practices, customers’ actual CSR engagement in the coffee shop industry is still low. This is because CSR practices in the hospitality industry often require customer engagement, which can sometimes be inconvenient for customers, and some customers may even be skeptical about green practices themselves. Thus, this study examines the effect of brand lovemark on three customer behavioral outcomes (i.e., green brand loyalty, willingness to pay a deposit, and machine use intention) in coffee shops’ CSR practices. We used a scenario-based experimental design on CSR practices in two coffee shop brands (i.e., Starbucks and Dunkin’). The study demonstrates that consumers with a high brand lovemark act more positively toward coffee shop CSR practices than customers with a low brand lovemark. In addition, the interactions between brand lovemark and gender appear to be important in all three behavioral outcomes. Specifically, it confirms that men and women show different levels of behavior outcomes depending on their level of brand lovemark. Theoretical and managerial implications are also suggested with the direction for future study.
... The effect of gender differences on CSR practices has also been investigated within the hospitality literature. Gender is considered a crucial demographic factor for identifying consumers' behaviors to CSR practices (Patino et al., 2014). Generally, customers' overall positive responses toward CSR practices are higher in females than males . ...
Preprint
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This study investigates the impact of brand lovemark on three customer behavioral outcomes (i.e., green brand loyalty, willingness to pay a deposit, and machine use intention) in coffee shops’ CSR practices. We used a scenario-based experimental design on CSR practices in two coffee shop brands (i.e., Starbucks and Dunkin'). The study demonstrates that consumers with a high level of brand lovemark respond more positively to CSR practices of coffee shops than do customers with a low level of brand lovemark. In addition, the interactions between brand lovemark and gender appear to be important in all three behavioral outcomes. Specifically, it confirms that men and women show different levels of behavior outcomes depending on their level of brand lovemark. Theoretical and managerial implications are also suggested with the direction for future study.
... Demographic Characteristics: These characteristics are also considered to be significant in explaining consumers' behavior toward purchasing green products [61]. It is commonly highlighted that gender [61][62][63], age [61,64], education level [63,65], and income [64,66] affect consumers' behavior toward purchasing green products. These studies reported varying (in some cases opposite) effects of demographic factors on consumers' behavior. ...
Article
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The value of sustainable consumption behaviors has dramatically increased and become an important focus area in the market and society. This study examines the internal and external drivers influencing consumers’ purchasing behavior toward green products. The Motivation–Opportunity–Ability (MOA) framework is used and expanded with consumer awareness of sustainability as the conceptual basis of this study. The data were basically gathered from 439 consumers in Greece through an online survey. Logistic Regression Analysis is used to reach the research objectives. The findings of this study point out that consumers’ motivation, abilities, and awareness of sustainability significantly affect their green product purchasing behavior. In contrast, consumers’ opportunity circumstances have no significant effects on their purchasing behavior. The outcomes of this study are pertinent for marketing activities, plans of action, and campaigns organized by marketing agents, governments, or other organizations to promote green consumerism.
... This philosophy depends on the understanding the environmental and social effects of the production and consumption of the goods (Todd, 2004). Examples such as welfare of workers, protection of the environment, enhancing the society, improving the lives of people are some of the activities that companies may use as a socially responsible marketing tactics (Patino et al., 2014). There are many examples of successful applications of socially responsible marketing efforts such as Google Green, Xerox's community involvement program, Target's CSR program; which have not only social benefits, but also corporate benefits such as increased employee commitment and lower costs. ...
Chapter
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Chapter
This chapter organizes two Sects. 2.1 and 2.2 which draw together the literature spread of over five decades, and synthesize that on the grounds of purpose/objectives, design/methods, statistical approach, and findings/conclusion. Second Sect. 2.2 obtains that literature is fragmented and is much cumbersome due to copious terminologies and results. So, this section pulls out research gaps which became evident from literature review in Sect. 2.1. The presentation of work in this chapter performs many important functions to further develop the conceptual framework, constructs, objectives and hypotheses of this study, and in carrying out the empirical part of it.
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