Company-cause fit and celebrity endorsements affecting skepticism towards cause-related marketing campaigns supporting cancer research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of company-cause fit and endorsement-cause fit on consumers’ attitudes towards cause-related marketing campaigns. In order to examine the role of company-cause fit in cause-related marketing, the study paired the cause of supporting cancer research with two hypothetical companies representing car manufacturing and organic food industry. The research was conducted through an online survey completed by 245 Finnish university students. In the survey, the participants were asked to rate likert-scale items based on their attitudes towards the cause, the company and its campaign and the perceived fit between the cause and the company. The survey involved six different manipulations concerning the company-cause fit and endorsement-cause fit of the campaign. The hypotheses of the study were tested using a two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Supporting the hypotheses of the study, the results show that company-cause fit has a significant impact on skepticism towards the campaign. Furthermore, consumers’ level of skepticism is lower when the fit between the cause and the company is high. In addition, the results of the study also suggest that a high company-cause fit improves the consumers’ perceptions of the company image. According to the findings, a high endorsement-cause fit results in lower levels of skepticism and a better company image when the company-cause fit is high. However, when the fit between the company and the cause is low, a low endorsement-cause fit performs better in terms of consumer attitudes and company image. Nevertheless, these differences between the manipulations of endorsement-cause fit were not significant which resulted in rejecting the hypotheses concerning celebrity endorsements. The findings of the study indicate that in order to improve consumers’ attitudes towards cause-related marketing and enhance the company image, managers need to choose a cause which aligns well with the company values. In addition, although the influence of celebrity endorsements and endorsement-cause fit was not found significant in this study, the trend suggests that the positive influence of a high company-cause fit can be optimized with a celebrity endorsement that has a genuine connection with the cause

Uptake of reconstituted Na,K-ATPase vesicles by isolated lymphocytes measured by FACS, confocal microscopy and spectrofluorometry

Na,K-ATPase (EC, 3.6.1.37, Na,K-ATPase) is a fundamental vital membrane transport and receptor system which, after biosynthesis, is exported to the plasma membrane in inside-out vesicles. Na,K-ATPase can be extracted form the natural membrane and inserted into artificially formed phosphatidylcholine vesicles (liposomes). The ultrastructure of the reconstituted vesicles has been fully described. In the present work, the Na,K-ATPase-vesicles were labeled with fluorescent tracers either in their water or membrane phase, incubated with freshly isolated human lymphocytes, and the resulting cellular fluorescence measured with fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS), confocal microscopy and spectrofluorometry. The FACS data show that all lymphocytes take up Na,K-ATPase-vesicles in a dose-and temperature-dependent fashion. Three-dimensional analysis of the fluorescence by confocal microscopy reveals that the fluorescence is contained within the cells. Quantitative determination by spectrofluorometry indicates that depending on the vesicle/cell ratio, a single lymphocyte takes up 650 to 36,500 vesicles within 30 min at 37°C together with up to about 200,000 renal Na,K-ATPase molecule

Influence of Type of Product on Brand and Cause Images in a Cause-Related Marketing Campaign: Evidence from Pakistan

Luxury brands and non-profit organizations (NPOs) are increasingly involved in cause-related marketing (CRM) programs. This research aims to explain how product’s nature (hedonic vs. utilitarian) may influence consumer’s decisions to purchase cause-related products. Prior and post attitude of brands analyze with repeated measure ANOVA. The results show that brand attitude increased both in case of ahedonic and utilitarian partnership. However,partnering with a luxury brand ismore efficient to raise theimage of thebrand ascompared to apartnership with non-luxury brands.In general, these results provide clear insights to marketing managers for planning and positioning of their CRM campaigns

Internal investigations under German Law

Folker Bittmann is a chief prosecutor and has served as head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Dessau-Roßlau, Germany since 2005. Prior to his current position, he worked as a lawyer in Heidelberg, a prosecutor in Darmstadt and Frankfurt, and a chief prosecutor in Halle/Saale. He is the editor and author of a handbook on criminal insolvency law, as well as an author of various articles on property law, white-collar crime, and criminal procedure law. Additionally, he is an advisor to an association on white-collar crime (Wirtschaftsstrafrechtliche Vereinigung e.V.) and is a member of the practice group of the Center for Criminal Compliance at the University of Gießen

The Influences of Brand-Consumer and Cause-Congruence on Consumer Responses to Cause Related Marketing

Cause Related Marketing (CRM) is a widely used type of brand alliance in which companies donate a portion of their sales to social causes with whom they ally. Researchers have studied many aspects of CRM to learn why these programs are effective and how to enhance their success. An overlooked component in CRM research is the extent to which consumers identify with the brand and with the cause. The present study presented 604 U.S. college students with CRM campaigns for two brands (M&Ms and Crest) partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to assess whether brand-cause congruence, brand-consumer congruence, cause-consumer congruence, and assessment of the motives of the company influence consumer purchase intention. The results show that congruence between the self-image of the consumer with the image of the brand and with the partner both positively influence reaction to a CRM campaign, as does consumer perceptions of the motivations of the company

First step developing a early-warning system against corruption for sports associations

The business model of sports is based on trust, reputation and fairness. In recent years sports associations have often engaged in crime, corruption and non-compliance, which has damaged the reputation of sports. A professional compliance tool to counteract the loss of trust is still missing, an early-warning system for sports organisations could provide a solution. It simulates how they react to non-tolerable instances of corruption, doping or violations of competitive integrity. The aim of this article is to present the first step developing an early-warning system for sports associations. The approach of New Institutional Economics was chosen to be the theoretical framework to understand the characteristics of corrupt deals and from that identify indicators that uncover corruption at an early stage. To support the normative process of indicator finding a literature research and a case study were carried out. The results indicate that corrupt deals involve three phases and that the relationship between the corrupt partners is central. Regarding to the strong bonds in corrupt relationships a lack of term limitations, no rotation in leadership positions, missing systems of whistleblowing or insufficient transparency could be possible indicators for corruption and non-compliance in sports associations

Responsible management education in time of crisis: a conceptual framework for public business schools in Egypt and similar Middle-Eastern Context

Recent studies show that the adoption of RME scenarios is still a matter of concern for non-western countries ((Mousa et al., Journal of Management Development 38:681–696, 2019), 2021a, 2021b). In this paper, we theoretically propose the potential direction of RME scenarios that business schools in Egypt and other similar cultural context to implement through articulating the main antecedents of RME before and after Covid-19. we used the method of multilevel research by combining different theoretical approaches. As an outcome of our analysis, we developed five propositions which form the main antecedents of RME in Egypt and similar regional Middle East business schools before and after Covid-19

The enterprise in testudo formation: the protection zone of legal privilege in German and US penal law

For companies legal privilege represents an essential bulwark against the state. In the case of internal investigations legal privilege is of prime importance to the companies. At crucial points of intersection the legal situation in the US differs from that of Germany. In the US, confidentiality is regarded with the aura of a Holy Grail, applying to in-house counsel and external lawyers alike. However, in Germany those privileges do not apply to in-house counsels and neither are they intended to apply to the corporate lawyer (so-called Syndikus). This is explained by Criminal Law policy arguments, which according to the author\''s opinion are not tenable. This essay represents solutions de lege lata and de lege ferenda, in order to at least include in-house lawyers (so-called Syndikus) within the scope of legal privilege. For this purpose, the author argues in favor of a partial adoption of the American way