Impacts of Instrumental Versus Relational Centered Logic on Cause-Related Marketing Decision Making

The purpose of cause-related marketing is to capitalise on a firm’s social engagement initiatives to achieve a positive return on a firm’s social investment. This article discusses two strategic perspectives of cause related marketing and their impact on a firm’s decision-making regarding campaign development. The instrumental dominant logic of cause-related marketing focuses on attracting customers’ attention in order to generate sales. The relational dominant logic of cause-related marketing focuses on building relationships with the target stakeholders through the enhancement of a firm’s legitimacy. The combination of these two types of logic gives rise to four types of cause-related marketing: altruistic, commercial, social and integrative. This paper uses the qualitative method to explore a firm’s marketing decision choices regarding campaign-related decision dimensions — campaign duration, geographical scope, cause selection, and implementation strategy — for each type of cause-related marketing. The finding provides theoretical, managerial and public policy implications

Investment with a Conscience: Examining the Impact of Pro-Social Attitudes and Perceived Financial Performance on Socially Responsible Investment Behavior

consumer investment behavior, mutual funds, private investors, pro-social attitudes, socially responsible investment,

The consumerist turn in higher education: Policy aspirations and outcomes

Insights from the marketing and education literature are combined to analyse government rationales and mechanisms related to the positioning of contemporary students as consumers and to assess the impact on the process and outcomes of education, on the professional practices of faculty and on widening participation. Pierre Bourdieu's conceptual framework is applied to analyse how consumer mechanisms are mediated by the organisational cultures and practices within universities. These theoretical insights are combined with data from different national contexts to indicate positive outcomes. However, the organisational context of higher education, gamesmanship and outdated marketing relations have also led to the opposite of what policy makers have aspired to. We show how consumerism also promotes passive learning, threatens academic standards, and entrenches academic privilege. The paper contributes to scholarship on consumerism in sectors which are subject to changing relations between state regulation and market forces, and offers policy and management insights