Cause-related marketing in sports: the power of altruism

Research question: Based on attribution theory, meaning transfer theory, and social identity/team identification theory, the present study aims to investigate how the effectiveness of perceived altruism on consumer responses varies depending on the team identification conditions in a cause-related marketing (CRM) campaign. Research methods: A total of 124 subjects participated in an experiment created by 2 levels of CRM: altruism and team identification. Results and findings: The study results indicate that perceived CRM altruism has a greater impact on consumers' change in attitude toward the team among low identifiers than high identifiers. Further analyses show this moderating effect is mediated by consumers' attitudes toward the campaign. Implications: The research findings imply that CRM campaign strategies should be carefully established depending on sports consumers' team identification. These convey important theoretical and managerial implications and further add depth to our knowledge in general to the CRM literature, and in particular, to the CRM literature in sports and team identification.