Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Eric Narcum

Date

2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Business Administration

Committee Chair

Subhash Jha

Committee Member

George Deitz

Committee Member

Susana Jaramillo

Committee Member

Orrin Cooper

Abstract

Whether it is an individual or a corporation, it is natural to desire credit for good deeds. However, promoting one’s own prosocial behaviors has the potential to backfire by raising suspicions about one’s motives. In two essays, this dissertation examines how self-promotion impacts others’ perceptions of prosocial actors. Essay 1 focuses on how corporate bragging in CRM advertisements affects consumers’ attitudes towards and preference for a prosocial company. Results from four studies demonstrate a number of important findings. First, participants have less of a preference for companies that brag in their CRM advertisements. Secondly, perceived motives mediate the relationship between bragging and purchase intentions. That is, participants perceive a bragging company to have less altruistic motives, which negatively impacts their purchase intentions for that company. Finally, a strong CSR reputation provides some protection from the negative consequences of bragging. Essay 2 focuses on a novel self-promotion tactic that individual donors can use to share their charitable behavior while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of being perceived as a braggart. The first three studies reveal that dedicating a donation in honor of someone reduces the degree to which a donor is perceived as a selfishly motivated braggart when they share their donation on social media. Study 4 reveals that donors who dedicate their donations in honor of someone are more likely to share their donation on social media. The results from this dissertation contribute to the literatures on cause-related marketing and impression management and provide strategic guidance to marketing managers.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest

Notes

Embargoed until 11/15/2024

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Available for download on Friday, November 15, 2024

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