Cause Marketing Advertisement: Insights into the Consumer Purchase Decision Journey in the Digital World

Abstract

The era of e-commerce has profoundly transformed global shopping behavior. Amid this shift, the overwhelming amount of online information has led to information overload, requiring consumers to spend lots of time filtering unnecessary details before making purchase decisions. Simultaneously, businesses struggle to develop consumers’ trust and facilitate purchase intention in a virtual environment where physical interaction is restricted. Cause-related marketing (CM), which integrates business objectives with social goals, has emerged as a potential solution to address these challenges. By shifting consumers’ interest in social causes over normal product information such as price or features, CM campaigns can simplify consumers’ decision-making, enhance trust, and promote proactive purchase behavior. However, the mechanisms in which CM impacts trust and purchase intention remain largely unexplored, especially in e-commerce. This study integrates the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) and trust transfer theory to develop a comprehensive research framework to investigate factors shaping consumers’ trust in product and CM advertisement. Using a sample of 297 experienced e-commerce participants, the study uses partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data. The findings reveal that central route factors (i.e., product knowledge, and brand awareness) have a positive impact on trust in product, while peripheral route factors (i.e., media richness, content aesthetic quality, and brand-cause fit) positively impact trust in CM advertisement. Compared to trust in CM advertisement, trust in product has a stronger effect on purchase intention and brand advocacy. The study also verified that a robust trust transfer effect exists from CM advertisement to product, highlighting the interconnected nature of trust-building mechanisms in e-commerce. These findings contribute to the CM literature by bridging the gap in understanding the interactions between trust dimensions in the digital environment. From practical implications, this study provides actionable insights for businesses to refine CM strategies to foster consumer trust, promote responsible purchasing behavior, and enhance brand advocacy.