The relevance of fit in a cause–brand alliance when consumers evaluate corporate credibility

How well the cause fits with the brand or is congruent has been assumed to be an important variable when selecting a cause partner. This study assesses if consumers’ perceptions of the fit between a cause and a brand has a differential impact on attitudes and purchase intentions when the credibility of a firm is low, moderate, or high. A 2 × 3 experimental design which manipulated cause fit and corporate credibility was conducted. Results show that the fit between the cause and the brand does not affect perceptions of attitudes or purchase intentions regardless of the company's level of credibility. The findings suggest that perceptions of corporate credibility may be too complex for one variable such as the fit of a cause–brand alliance to have a strong effect. Thus, marketers may need to rethink fit as a necessary selection criterion for a CBA depending on what their objectives are.