Committed to help: the effects of frequency of corporate donations on luxury brand evaluations

Abstract

Purpose

While luxury brands have increasingly pursued CSR activities such as corporate donations, this strategy may not be effective because there is an inherent mismatch between the concepts of “luxury” and CSR. The present research examines the effects of different types of donation strategies (frequency-focused vs. amount-focused).

Design/methodology/approach

Two experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 provides initial evidence to our prediction that a frequency-focused strategy is beneficial for luxury (vs. non-luxury) brands to leverage their positive brand evaluations. Study 2 further replicates this using a different brand and establishes the underlying mechanism.

Findings

Findings show that a frequency-focused strategy is beneficial for luxury (vs. non-luxury) brands to leverage their positive brand evaluations. This is because a frequency-focused strategy makes consumers perceive the luxury brand's commitment to help, which in turn reduces consumers’ skepticism toward their CSR activities.

Originality/value

The study illustrates a novel mechanism that shows when and how different corporate donations influence luxury brand evaluations.

Citation

Sengabira, C.N., Septianto, F. and Northey, G. (2020), "Committed to help: the effects of frequency of corporate donations on luxury brand evaluations", Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, Vol. 32 No. 3, pp. 681-694. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-06-2019-0366