Enhancing Customer Purchase Intention Using Cause-Related Marketing: A Study of the Indian Pharmaceutical Sector

Cause-related marketing (CaRM) has developed over the past three decades to become a flexible and successful technique for many organizations to fulfill their social and financial obligations. However, there is little evidence available to address the effectiveness of CaRM in the Indian pharmaceutical sector. To fill this void, this study aims to extend this research area by investigating CaRM based on nine key dimensions- donation, cause type, cause-brand fit, product type, cause proximity, attributed company motives, trust, corporate reputation, and CaRM message appeal and their resultant impact on purchase intention of customers in the Indian pharmaceutical sector. A theoretical model is empirically estimated to achieve the objectives based on data taken from 1683 respondents from North India. The results show that CaRM positively impacts customers' purchase intention in the Indian pharmaceutical sector. Further, the authors also explore the moderating effect of cause involvement and found that the effectiveness of CaRM increases in the presence of cause involvement. Furthermore, results also reveals that the attitude toward cause-related marketing programs partially mediates the CaRM and purchase intention relationship. Marketers and the pharmaceutical industry could benefit from the findings of this study, which could help them develop better CaRM promotional methods. This research expands on the study's future scope and management implications.