Frame against the blame: Bad reputation and regulatory focus

Abstract

Use of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to influence the consumer perception about the company and products is a common marketing strategy. This research builds on the growing body of marketing literature that examines effective ways in which companies can convey CSR initiatives, especially for companies with bad reputation.The study shows that CSR message framing with regulatory focus has influence on company evaluation when benefit salience is high, and this effect is mediated by perceived informational believability of the message and perceived sincerity of the motives.