الفهرس 
the general frameworkOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 138 |  |  |
| | | from | 138 | | |
Abstract
5.1- Introduction
This chapter would summarizes and discuses the findings, implications, and limitations of this research. The first section of this chapter includes the summary of the study and the general discussion of the results that presented in the previous chapters. The next section contains empirical and managerial implications. As a final point, the limitations of the study as well as some of further research directions are presented.
5.2- Summary of the Study
This research aims to investigate the effect of Cause Related Marketing campaigns on consumer purchase intention through investigating the mediation effect of corporate image in this relationship. Throughout the exploratory study (that provided us an idea about CRM campaigns which took place in Egypt and illustrated how companies were conducting CRM strategy) as well as the pilot study (which enabled the researcher to understand how consumers in Egypt perceived and respond to CRM initiatives), we could formalize our study’s problem. As a consequence, the research problem could be embodied in the following research questions:
RQ.1: What is the effect of Cause Related Marketing campaigns on consumer purchase intention in Egypt?
RQ.2: Does Corporate Image mediate the relationship between Cause Related Marketing and Consumer Purchase Intention?
RQ.3: What is the effect of cause importance cause proximity on corporate image and purchase intention within the Egyptian context?
In order to answer our research questions, we developed the conceptual model of the relationship between CRM, corporate Image and consumer purchase intention followed by the proposed hypotheses.
So as to test research hypotheses, descriptive statistics as frequency, mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation as well as factor reduction and multiple regression analysis were utilized to test the following hypotheses:
H1: Cause Related Marketing campaigns have a significantly positive impact on consumers purchase intention.
H1a: Consumers will most likely have higher purchase intention for companies supporting disaster rather than ongoing cause.
H1b: Consumers will most likely have higher purchase intention for companies supporting national cause rather than international cause.
H2: Corporate Image mediates the relationship between Cause Related Marketing and consumer purchase intention.
H2a: Consumers will most likely perceive better corporate image and consequently higher purchase intention for companies supporting disaster rather than ongoing cause.
H2b: Consumers will most likely perceive better corporate image and consequently higher purchase intention for companies supporting national cause rather than international cause.
5.3- Hypotheses Discussion and Results
With the purpose of investigating the direct relationship of Cause Related Marketing on Consumers purchase intention and testing the mediation role of corporate image, our data analysis strategy has been divided into two phases. First, we examined the direct relationship between CRM campaigns and consumers purchase intention and consequently examining the direct effect of cause importance and cause proximity on purchase intention too. One-way cross sectional ANCOVA was used by SPSS to test the direct effect of CRM on purchase intention which represented in H1 and the sub-hypotheses H1a and H1b. Second, we investigated the indirect relationship between CRM campaigns (including its two independent treatments: cause importance and cause proximity) and consumers purchase intention through inspecting the mediation role of corporate image. Path analysis was conducted to test the indirect effect of the mediation role of corporate image between CRM and purchase intention.
The results of One-way cross sectional ANCOVA demonstrated that the four scenarios of CRM campaigns have a significant effect on consumers’ intention to purchase from ABC Company’s products. So, there is a significant positive relationship between CRM campaigns and purchase intention that support the main hypothesis H1. These findings are in consonance with other recent studies (Patel, Gadhavi and Shukla, 2017; Kureshi and Thomas, 2018; Aggarwal and Singh, 2019) and also confirmed the prior research findings of Varadarajan and Menon (1988), Adkins (2004) and Chattananon et al. (2008).
Testing the effect of two treatments (cause importance and cause proximity) by ANCOVA showed that consumers would have a higher significant positive effect on purchase intention concerning cause related marketing campaigns that support Cairo Station Fire cause (disasters/sudden cause) rather than Poverty and Homelessness cause (ongoing causes). The estimated marginal means showed that; scenario1 which supported Cairo Station Fire cause (disaster) had a higher significant effect on purchase intention rather than scenario 3 that supported Poverty and Homelessness cause Mscenr1 = 3.823 > Mscenr3 = 3.226. Thus we could say that CRM campaigns which linked to disaster/sudden cause had a higher positive significant effect on consumer purchase intention rather than CRM campaigns related to ongoing cause, accordingly H1a is confirmed. These findings confirmed with previous studies (Ellen, Mohr and Webb, 2000; Chochinov, 2005; Cui, Trent, Sullivan, and Matiru 2003; and Hou, Du and Li, 2008).
Likewise, we’ve found that consumers had more favorable response in terms of purchase intention to purtchase ABC Company’s coffee product when they conducted a CRM initiative supported a cause related to Egypt rather than the other campaign which supported a cause linked to the United States. That’s why, Consumers would have a higher significant positive effect on purchase intention when CRM campaigns engaging in supporting a cause related to scope of Egypt (national cause) rather than supporting a cause in the United States (international cause). Scenario 3 which linked to a national cause had a higher significant effect on purchase intention rather than scenario 4 which linked to international cause Mscenr3 = 3.226 > Mscer4 = 2.883. H1b is confirmed where these results confirmed with literature findings (Ross, Stutts and Patterson 1991; grau and folse, 2007).
On the other hand, Path analysis was conducted to test the indirect effect of the mediation role of corporate image between CRM and purchase intention. This indirect relationship was represented in H2 and the two sub-hypotheses of H2a and H2b. the results showed that corporate image was significantly mediating the relationship between CRM and purchase intention which supported H2. Path analysis also demonstrated that consumers evaluate CRM campaigns more positively when supporting Cairo station fire cause (disaster/sudden cause) rather than Poverty and Homelessness cause (ongoing cause) which reflect increasing in their intention to purchase coffee products related the company and perceiving better corporate image regarding to ABC Company, indirect standardized regression weight of disaster [(scenario1) = 0.187] which is greater than the indirect standardized regression weight of ongoing cause [(scenario3) =0.065]. Thus, consumers would perceive better corporate image which reflect more increase in their intention to purchase products that linked to sudden cause/disaster rather than products
which linked to ongoing cause in CRM offer conducted.
Findings also validated that consumers would positively perceive better image of the company and consequently higher intention to purchase cause-related products when Cause Related Marketing campaigns supported national cause rather than international cause, the indirect standardized regression weight of scenario1that includes national cause = 0.184 which is greater than the
indirect standardized regression weight of scenario2 that includes international cause = 0.056].
5.4- Empirical Implications
The main empirical implication of this study is that corporate image influence consumer behavioral responses to CRM under a mediating effect (rather than the traditionally suggested as dependent variable). Consumer behavioral responses in favor of the brand (purchase intention) and supporting a specific worthy cause are reinforced in the context of employing a disaster and national cause.
Findings in this study confirmed that corporate image formed as a consequence of a CRM campaign which is considered as significant evaluation of simultaneously generating positive consumers purchase intentions. In particular, when businesses conduct CRM initiatives that would enhance the corporate image perceived in minds of consumers and accordingly add force to behavioral responses of consumers (purchase intention).