Analysis of Cause-Related Marketing Effects: The Case of Duopoly Retailing Store

Abstract

有越來越多的零售通路商希望能藉由善因行銷策略來刺激產品銷售。然而，過去研究中對善因行銷策略效果的結論相當分歧。為瞭解善因行銷之策略效果是否因捐贈基礎之不同而有差異，本文應用Salop's圓形區位模型（circle market model）以二階段賽局來分析零售商間的競爭行為。再者，為探討善因行銷能否扭轉「零售品牌」競爭情勢，進一步針對統一與全家超商進行實證分析，以比較消費者對非交易型善因行銷（NTCRM）與交易型善因行銷（TCRM）兩種策略之評價以及策略效果之異同。本文之研究結果發現：（1）不論是NTCRM或是TCRM策略，均可擴大產品差異化，使零售商得以提高其產品售價，形成與對手零售商之價差。（2）NTCRM與TCRM的策略效果不盡相同，其中，消費者對於企業執行NTCRM策略有較高的評價。（3）其他情況不變下，從事NTCRM之零售商，可因此增加銷售量，並降低對手零售商之銷售量及利潤。若不斷提高其捐贈金額，將使消費者轉向購買該企業產品的意願更為強烈，且不會造成前述效果之反轉。（4）其他情況不變下，當零售商TCRM策略的單位捐贈，尚未達到最適單位捐贈金額時，TCRM將可提高其銷售量，降低對手零售商之銷售量，並達到利潤移轉之效果。（5）企業提高TCRM的單位捐贈金額，不必然可以增加消費者購買該企業產品之意願，其他情況不變下，當零售商TCRM的單位捐贈，超過了最適單位捐贈金額時，若繼續提高單位捐贈，則即使產品因TCRM而售價上漲之幅度小於單位捐贈之增幅，消費者購買TCRM產品之意願仍將減弱，寧願轉向購買沒有TCRM的較低價產品，形成反向的利潤移轉效果。

More recently, many retailing stores employs cause-related marketing strategy to enhance their sales. However, previous studies on the effects of cause-related marketing strategy remain rather inconclusive. This paper analyzes the impacts of cause-related marketing strategies by using Salop's Circle Model and two-stage game to analyze the competition between two main retailing stores, namely, 7-11 and Family Mart. With two types of cause-related marketing activities (i.e., transaction-based support cause-related marketing; TCRM and Non-transaction-based support cause-related marketing; NTCRM), the proposed model found that: (1) both NTCRM and TCRM strategies implemented by the retailing store could make product distinctly different from its opponent and result in a higher retailing price. (2) The effects of TCRM and NTCRM are different: consumers have tendency to accept the NTCRM activity. (3) All other things being equal, the retailing store who implements the NTCRM strategy could increase its sales and reduce the competitor's sales and profits. If the retailing store continues to increase its charitable or environmental-conscious donation, consumers' purchase intention would even be stronger. (4) The retailing store who implements the TCRM strategy with the donation amount per sales below the optimal level could increase its sales and as a result reduce the sale of its opponent, ceteris paribus. In addition, the profit-shifting effect has been identified. (5) If the retailing store increases its donation amount per sales, the purchase intention of consumers remains ambiguous. When the donation amount per sales is greater than the optimal level, it could decrease its sales and profit and increase the sales and profit of its opponent. In other words, the reverse effect exists.