Research shows that commitment-based interventions are among the most effective strategies to encourage pro-environmental behaviors, but methods to elicit commitments from a large number of individuals are often costly and unrealistic. Predictions requests—a commitment-type strategy—are an effective mass-communication strategy and have the potential to influence pro-environmental behavior among large audiences. This research is the first to demonstrate that prediction requests in a consumer behavior context influence preference for environmentally friendly products. In addition, this research examines the role of individual and (...) contextual factors in influencing the efficacy of prediction requests. Study 1 shows that exposure to an advertisement with a prediction request leads to increased preferences for environmentally sustainable household cleaning products, compared to a control advertisement, and that this effect is greater when the prediction request is paired with an audience cue . Study 2 indicates that the effect of prediction requests on preference for sustainable products is greater for individuals with interdependent self-construal. Substantive implications and directions for future research are discussed. (shrink)

Although several articles have investigated ethical product attributes, earlier research has not empirically examined different benefits offered by ethical attributes. This study demonstrates that ethical attributes have functional benefits as well as symbolic benefits. More importantly, when the ethical attribute benefit is congruent with the product category benefit, ethical attributes improve product evaluations. In addition, products with a higher degree of physical contact with consumers are affected more positively by benefit congruity of ethical attributes. For products with lower degree of (...) physical contact, benefit congruity of ethical attributes still has a positive impact, but not for consumers who have strong price–quality beliefs. (shrink)

Social responsibility is typically examined at the firm level, yet there are instances in which consumers’ social responsibility perceptions of the firm’s product brands differ from social responsibility perceptions with regard to the firm [i.e., corporate social responsibility ]. This article conceptualizes brand social responsibility and delineates it from CSR. Following the development of a BSR scale, this research demonstrates variations in consumers’ social responsibility perceptions across product brands even if they are owned by the same corporation and compete in (...) the same product category. BSR is distinct from CSR, and better predicts consumers’ responses to product brands compared to corporate level measures. Consistent with the conceptual distinction, this research demonstrates the unique contribution of BSR and CSR in predicting product brand and corporate outcomes, respectively. From a theoretical viewpoint, this research is one of the few to examine differences between product brand and CSR. From a managerial viewpoint, the consideration of social responsibility at the product brand level facilitates the assessment of social responsibility perceptions across brands in brand portfolios managed under a mixed-branding or house-of-brands strategy. (shrink)

A popular form of cause marketing (CM) that has recently emerged is one requiring the consumer to perform a prescribed behavior—such as providing a product review or uploading a picture on social media alongside a hashtag—to trigger a donation from the firm to the charitable cause. While this approach may be engaging, its effectiveness in eliciting positive consumer responses toward the brand remains uncertain when compared to conventional forms of CM. The current research uses a moral self-signaling framework to examine (...) the role of effort in CM on consumer attitudes toward the brand, consumer choice, and purchase and participation intentions. Five studies reveal that consumers who are concerned about their moral self-image prefer effort-based CM over no-effort CM. This effect emerges because consumers anticipate greater moral self-signaling utility from effort-based CM than from no-effort CM. However, this effect only occurs for CM campaigns where the consumer’s effort is private. Despite the prevalence of CM campaigns requiring public performance of effort (e.g., selfie campaigns), consumers seeking to reinforce their moral self-image view such campaigns unfavorably. Important implications of effort-based CM for firms, non-profits, and consumers are discussed. (shrink)