Marketing Investments and Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

Although the short-term effects of marketing efforts that promote immediate consumer responses have been extensively investigated, the long-term impacts of marketing activities have received little attention. Marketing effects can be carried over time as consumers experience an emotional attachment to products and build trust and affection. In addition, a firm's advertising spending not only improves customer awareness of the firm's products and services but also serves to promote other company information, such as the firm's corporate social responsibility (CSR), a long-term strategic commitment to improving the welfare of customers and society. This paper focuses on the long-term effects of marketing investments by examining the relation between advertising expenditures and a firm's commitment to CSR, finding that firms with a higher advertising expenditure are more likely to have a higher CSR performance. The findings of this study demonstrate that marketing investments are related to a firm's long-term sustainable activities. Additionally, the finding may indicate that a firm's CSR initiatives are influenced by the extent to which the firm commits to advertising that promotes customer awareness of the firm's products and services.