Research Seminar by Prof. Sankar SEN

"The Rhetoric of Marketplace Morality: A Consumer Perspective"

Abstract

When marketers communicate, they speak increasingly in not just commercial voices but moral ones as well.  Company engagement in CSR/sustainability is at an unprecedented high, and more and more firms are speaking out about their social responsibility stances. Yet, we know relatively little about the efficacy - in terms of positive consumer responses - of such CSR communication. This talk focuses on three different investigations of consumers reactions to CSR communication that, together, call into question the efficacy of certain conventional and pervasive communication tactics, such as humor, storytelling, and multiple appeals, in producing positive, pro-company responses from consumers. The findings thus far point to the uniqueness of marketer communication in the moral domain and underscore the challenges companies face in communicating successfully about their CSR/sustainability initiatives.