The impact of corporate volunteering on CSR image: a consumer perspective

Received: 29 June 2013 / Accepted: 15 January 2014Abstract Corporate volunteering (CV) is known to be an effective employee engagement initiative. However, despite the prominence of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in academia and practice, research is yet to investigate whether and how CV may influence consumer perceptions of CSR image and subsequent consumer behaviour. Data collected using an online survey in Australia show perceived familiarity with a company’s CV programme to positively impact CSR image and firm image, partially mediated by others-centred attributions. CSR image, in turn, strengthens affective and cognitive loyalty as well as word-of-mouth. Further analysis reveals the moderating effect of perceived leveraging of the corporate volunteering programme, customer status and the value individuals place on CSR. The paper concludes with theoretical and managerial implications, as well as an agenda for future research.Carolin Plewa, Jodie Conduit, Pascale G. Quester, Claire Johnso

Are sponsors blamed for edging off? Consumer reactions to sponsorship terminations

Firms regularly terminate sponsorships, even without publicly known misconduct by the sponsee such as athlete doping. Consumer reactions to these sponsorship terminations by firms have not been studied despite being a regular occurrence. Using a set of experimental studies, this paper analyzes consumer reactions to these sponsorship terminations (i.e., early and non-renewal) that were not caused by a sponsee’s misconduct, the underlying process that causes the reactions, and the role of several moderating factors (trust, power balance, and locus of control). Our findings reveal that sponsorship terminations have a negative effect on sponsors’ brand images—particularly early terminations that occur before the end of a contract—because consumers perceive these sponsorship terminations as unfair. The results also suggest that a termination is particularly harmful for the sponsor’s perceived fairness if the sponsor is powerful and if the termination decision is under the sponsor’s control. Further, the termination effect is particularly strong for firms that consumers trust.</p

Infantile Autism

Autism is a severe form of psychopathology in childhood and is characterized, in general, by severe withdrawal and lack of social behavior, severe language and attentional deficits, and the presence of bizarre, repetitive behaviors (J. K. Wing, 1966). The severity of the behavioral deficits and excesses in such children frequently causes great turmoil in the family, affecting not only the lives of the child and immediate family, but the community as well. Autism occurs approximately in one out of every 2,500 children and is often not diagnosed until the child is between 1 and 5 years of age. Although there are currently many theories relating to the etiology of the disorder, there is no consistent evidence in support of any one of them (Egel, Koegel, & Schreibman, 1980; Schreibman, 1988). Most professionals, however, now take the position that autism is of organic etiology and that the disorder is probably present from birth. The nature and range of deficits associated with the disorder make it resistant to most forms of treatment intervention