Cross Cultural Examination
A Cross-Cultural Examination of Corporate Social Responsibility Marketing Communications in Mexico and the United States: Strategies for Global Brands
Karen L. Becker-Olsen, Charles R. Taylor, Ronald Paul Hill, and Goksel Yalcinkaya
ABSTRACT
This study examines the impact of marketing-oriented corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications on perceptions of the firm and its brands among consumers in two diverse cultures, economies, and political landscapes. The authors’ main hypotheses are based on global brand positioning theory, which posits that consumer perceptions are enhanced if the brand is viewed as global. In general, the results support the notion that multinational firms emphasizing global CSR efforts engender more positive perceptions across multiple dimensions. Yet regarding tactical issues, the results also show the importance of some specific needs according to local tastes and experiences. The authors provide implications for marketing theory and practice as well as future research directions. Keywords: corporate social responsibility, advertising, global consumer culture positioning, culture, survey research
I
n recent years, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs have received increased attention from scholars and practitioners. This movement has resulted in several important findings, including the belief that robust CSR efforts and communications enhance a variety of stakeholder perceptions (Sen and Bhattacharya 2001; Vian et al. 2007) and that a lack of social responsibility might damage stakeholder relationships (Argenti and Haley 2006). Because most of this
academic work has been conducted in the United States and a few other developed countries (Maignan and Ralston 2002), the findings may have limited generalizability to developing economies and offer little guidance for firms seeking to systematically promote multinational CSR efforts. Furthermore, CSR efforts with global themes and execution tactics are emerging
Karen L. Becker-Olsen, Charles R. Taylor, Ronald Paul Hill, and Goksel Yalcinkaya
ABSTRACT
This study examines the impact of marketing-oriented corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications on perceptions of the firm and its brands among consumers in two diverse cultures, economies, and political landscapes. The authors’ main hypotheses are based on global brand positioning theory, which posits that consumer perceptions are enhanced if the brand is viewed as global. In general, the results support the notion that multinational firms emphasizing global CSR efforts engender more positive perceptions across multiple dimensions. Yet regarding tactical issues, the results also show the importance of some specific needs according to local tastes and experiences. The authors provide implications for marketing theory and practice as well as future research directions. Keywords: corporate social responsibility, advertising, global consumer culture positioning, culture, survey research
I
n recent years, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs have received increased attention from scholars and practitioners. This movement has resulted in several important findings, including the belief that robust CSR efforts and communications enhance a variety of stakeholder perceptions (Sen and Bhattacharya 2001; Vian et al. 2007) and that a lack of social responsibility might damage stakeholder relationships (Argenti and Haley 2006). Because most of this
academic work has been conducted in the United States and a few other developed countries (Maignan and Ralston 2002), the findings may have limited generalizability to developing economies and offer little guidance for firms seeking to systematically promote multinational CSR efforts. Furthermore, CSR efforts with global themes and execution tactics are emerging