A study of chinese online cause-related marketing: The effects of perceived benefits on consumer attitudes and participation and the moderating effect of privacy concerns

The rapid development of Internet technology has led cause-related marketing become more diverse. It is important to understand what kinds of cause-related marketing campaigns consumers like. The purpose of this study is to analyze the critical role of perceived benefits and privacy concerns on consumer participation in online cause-related marketing activities. The questionnaires were administered to two groups: experienced groups and inexperienced groups according to respondents’ experiences in cause-related marketing activities. For those who had participated in online cause-related marketing campaigns, the three types of perceived benefits (functional benefits, experiential benefits, symbolic benefits) positively affected consumers’ attitudes towards the activities and positively affected their participation. The influence of symbolic benefits on attitudes was strengthened by privacy concerns significantly and the influence of functional benefits was weakened by privacy concerns. For people who had not participated in online cause-related marketing campaigns, only perceived symbolic benefits and experiential benefits positively influenced their attitudes towards campaigns, and positively affected their participation intention. The influence of symbolic benefits on attitudes was strengthened by privacy concerns significantly. The results of this study provide new path in the fields of online cause-related marketing. It offers a step forward in clarifying how consumers perceive online cause-related marketing and the moderating role of privacy concerns. It also provides suggestions for companies to use cause-related marketing more effectively.