Marketing Research Published

A paper co-authored by College of Business assistant professor of marketing B. Andrew Cudmore, Ph.D., has been accepted for publication in the Journal of
Business Research. Titled “The Impact of Perceived Corporate Social Responsibility on Consumer Behavior,” the paper was co-authored by Karen L.
Becker-Olson, assistant professor of marketing at Lehigh University; and Ronald Paul Hill, founding dean and Bank of America Professor of Corporate Social
Responsibility at University of South Florida St. Petersburg. Dr. Becker-Olsen presented this paper as well as another co-authored by Dr. Cudmore at the
European Advances in Consumer Research conference in Dublin, Ireland, last year. The use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to influence
consumers and differentiate product offerings has become quite common. This research builds on the growing body of marketing literature through two
investigations that manipulate consumers’ perceptions of fit, motivation, and timing of corporate social initiatives embedded within promotions. The
authors found that low-fit initiatives negatively impact consumer beliefs, attitudes, and intentions no matter what the firm’s motivation, and that
high-fit initiatives that are profit-motivated have the same impact. Further, consumers consider the timing (proactive versus reactive) of the social
initiative as an informational cue, and only the high-fit, proactive initiatives led to an improvement in consumer beliefs, attitudes, and intentions. Dr.
Cudmore teaches marketing principles and marketing management. His research interests are service recovery and complaint handling; brand equity and image;
perceived quality; store brands; health care marketing; and market orientation and firm information processing.