General discussion
The objective of this research is to understand the effectiveness of different message strategies—general or specific—in improving consumer brand evaluations of a company. Across three studies, we investigate whether and when these strategies improve brand evaluations across different cause portfolio configurations. In Study 1, we find evidence that consumers prefer more specific (vs. general) information about the causes when the company donates to a single issue. Furthermore, we find this regardless of the number of or familiarity with the causes supported. In Study 2, we replicate these results and find that perceived trust in a company mediates the aforementioned relationship. That is, consumers perceive a company as more trustworthy when it communicates more details about its cause portfolio. Prior research in branding shows that consumers differentially respond to portfolios depending on their diversification level (Dacin & Smith, 1994). Therefore, in Study 3, we focus on how consumers respond to different cause portfolio diversification strategies based on how these are communicated. We find that with a diverse portfolio, a general message strategy is equally effective as, if not more so than, a specific strategy in garnering positive consumer brand evaluations. Thus, we find evidence for when a general message strategy works, thus allowing companies to maintain a flexible commitment in their charitable activities.
