Editorial

[EN] This special issue is the result of the joint work developed between the International Association on Public and nonProfit Marketing and the Journal of business of the Universidad del Pacífico, in favor of the dissemination of the most avant-garde scientific knowledge on topics of special social relevance for Latin America. The IAPNM, as a reference association in its field, has been developing since 2002 an arduous effort to connect academics and practitioners from marketing or other related disciplines dealing with responsibility in businesses, administrations and nonprofits; these topics of special interest to the journal.S

Editorial

Editoria

La enseñanza universitaria vista por alumnos y empresarios en el marco del cambio social actual

La presente ponencia analiza la adecuación de las enseñanzas universitarias a los actuales requerimientos de la realidad empresarial tanto desde el punto de vista de los propios alumnos como desde el de los empresarios. Con ello se pretende constatar la existencia de nuevas motivaciones para acceder a una formación universitaria, así como de distintas expectativas de futuro una vez lograda ésta, derivadas de los cambios psico-sociológicos que se vienen produciendo en los últimos tiempos. Para ello se ha llevado a cabo un estudio empírico-descriptivo sobre el alumnado, completado con otro de características similares realizado con anterioridad sobre una muestra representativa de empresarios

Sustainability, food topics and weblogs: do they really fit? Targeting and valuing food-related eWOM generators

[EN] Without any doubt, the advent of the Internet has substantially transformed the way and rhythm of our lives. This circumstance reflects directly on our daily behaviours, which are today quite different from what they used to be only a few years ago. In this sense, the current patterns of search for information and consumption are frequently paced by the eWOM communication. In addition, environmental concerns have driven consumers to increasingly demand the so-called environmentally friendly products. Considering both issues together, literature reveals that the study of the interaction between eWOM and sustainable consumption is still scarce and needs more attention. For this reason, the present research is devoted to the identification and evaluation of a sustainable food-related eWOM. In this regard, an online survey of authors of food-related weblogs/videoblogs was conducted containing different questions about their food consumption styles. Even though the existence of a distinct group of green authors was confirmed, the following examination of centrality levels showed that the influence exerted by this group on the Web 2.0 is exactly the same as that of the other groups. Jointly, these findings provide information of great importance that has implications for businesses and professionals in marketing.S

Social commitment or self-interest? Effect of responsible practices performance motivations of firms on the consumer decision-making process

[EN] Due to the increasing dynamism of global economic activity, all kind of organizations are nowadays concerned for maintaining their involvement with demands and changes of society. Particularly, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained increasing importance within both public and private organizations, it being the subject of much investigation and debate among both researchers and practitioners. In this sense, discussion of CSR implications for consumer behavior has been a common topic in recent marketing literature, demonstrating in some cases, a link between CSR and positive responses by consumers and inconclusive effects in others. In the context of such controversy, experts call for further investigation about the consequences of CSR on consumer behavior. Within this line of research, the present paper analyzes the influence of motivations attributed to CSR practices in business settings on four stages of consumer decision-making process. For that purpose, it was conducted a survey study which reached a final sample of 400 Spanish consumers. Regression analysis revealed that, while expectations of social-oriented goals in responsible firms is positively related to consumers’ goodwill over the various stages of their purchase decisions and actions, the potential effects of profit-based considerations are more comple

Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance: A Relationship Mediated by Stakeholder Satisfaction

[EN] Research work on the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and financial performance has been going on for seven decades. Even when the prevailing studies are those that found a positive influence of social responsibility on financial performance, strong conclusive results are still unavailable. Some explanations for this situation are based, among other reasons, on the fact that the variables have a relation mediated by multiple factors. Additionally, it is still unknown whether the results obtained can be extrapolated to all types of companies since the majority of studies have focused on large companies listed on the stock exchange. This research studied how one of those factors (stakeholder satisfaction) mediated in companies of different sizes (including SMEs) and different types of companies (publicly listed companies or private ownership companies). A questionnaire was used, including indices relative to (1) the degree of development of the company’s social responsibility policies, (2) the changes in the satisfaction of four key stakeholders (employees, customers, suppliers, and shareholders) and financial performance (sales and profitability). Findings show the existence of a correlation between social responsibility and financial performance and also that such a relationship is mediated by the satisfaction of stakeholders. That relationship was also found to be independent of company sizes and the type of company This research work is intended to be a contribution towards that field of study, as it has detected a relationship between variables in medium-sized and private ownership companies.S

Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility as a Management Philosophy Oriented towards the Management of Externalities: Proposal and Argumentation

[EN] The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the theoretical discussion on the best way to define Corporate Social Responsibility. The methodology used is a bibliographic review through a search for articles in different catalogues (Redalyc, Ebsco, JStor, SAGE, Science Direct, and Springer), focusing on articles that addressed the study of definitions of this concept. The different ways of defining it are identified and analysed in order to find a definition can encompass all the others. The paper also proposes that locating this concept at the level of management philosophy (and not simply as a desirable or expected behaviour) facilitates the construction of agreements around a consensual definition, unlike under the predominant behavioural approach of its conceptualisation as corporate behaviour. The paper concludes by proposing to define Corporate Social Responsibility as a management philosophy based on the responsible management of the company’s operational externalities on stakeholders, society, and the environment. It is concluded that this definition contributes to the theoretical discussion, strengthens empirical research, and improves the application of Corporate Social Responsibility in the corporate world.S

Halo Effect and Source Credibility in the Evaluation of Food Products Identified by Third-Party Certified Eco-Labels: Can Information Prevent Biased Inferences?

Despite the growing awareness of the need to promote the consumption of organic food, consumers have difficulties in correctly identifying it in the market, making frequent cognitive mistakes in the evaluation of products identified by sustainability labels and claims. This work analyzes the halo effect and the source credibility bias in the interpretation of product attributes based on third-party certified labels. It is hypothesized that, regardless of their specific meaning, official labels lead consumers to infer higher environmental sustainability, quality and price of the product, due to the credibility attributed to the certifying entity. It also examines the extent to which providing the consumer with accurate labeling information helps prevent biased heuristic thinking. An experimental between-subject study was performed with a sample of 412 Spanish business students and data were analyzed using partial least squares. Findings revealed that consumers tend to infer environmental superiority and, consequently, higher quality in products identified by both organic and non-organic certified labels, due to their credibility. Label credibility was also associated with price inferences, to a greater extent than the meaning attributed to the label. Interestingly, providing accurate information did not avoid biased heuristic thinking in product evaluation.S

Sustainability, food topics and weblogs: do they really fit? Targeting and valuing food-related eWOM generators

Without any doubt, the advent of the Internet has substantially transformed the way and rhythm of our lives. This circumstance reflects directly on our daily behaviours, which are today quite different from what they used to be only a few years ago. In this sense, the current patterns of search for information and consumption are frequently paced by the eWOM communication. In addition, environmental concerns have driven consumers to increasingly demand the so-called environmentally friendly products. Considering both issues together, literature reveals that the study of the interaction between eWOM and sustainable consumption is still scarce and needs more attention. For this reason, the present research is devoted to the identification and evaluation of a sustainable food-related eWOM. In this regard, an online survey of authors of food-related weblogs/videoblogs was conducted containing different questions about their food consumption styles. Even though the existence of a distinct group of green authors was confirmed, the following examination of centrality levels showed that the influence exerted by this group on the Web 2.0 is exactly the same as that of the other groups. Jointly, these findings provide information of great importance that has implications for businesses and professionals in marketing

Types of associations and motivations to join: A study with young people in Spain

Although voluntary associations are known to play a very important role in the civic integration of young people, figures of participation in Europe are considerably lower than those registered in countries like the United States. By using a Spanish sample, this paper seeks to analyze the factors that motivate young people to get involved in different types of associations and the benefits they obtain from membership. A survey study was conducted to analyze the relationship between expressive, instrumental and career-related motivations, belonging to several types of associations and non-members’ intentions to join in a sample of 223 young people. The data was analyzed by means of descriptive analysis, principal components factor analysis and a series of logistic and multiple regression analyses. In line with the official statistics, the results point to a poor involvement of Spanish young people in associations, with sports and leisure clubs as the most frequent forms of youth organizing. Similarly, participants reported sociability and other expressive reasons as their main motivation to join associations. Furthermore, the research findings suggest a connection between motivations and participation in different types of associations. Particularly, expressive motivation predicted belonging and intention to join sociocultural, sports and leisure associations, whereas instrumental motivation was related to participation in environmental, pacifist and health associations. Career-related motivation did not appear as an important driver to explain associational involvement. These results point to the suggestion of considering the diversity of functions performed by associations and using specific motivational appeals in recruitment campaigns