Demarcating And Anchoring Cause-Related Marketing (CRM)

As part of their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR), companies today engage in a variety of programs and initiatives that support different social causes. One increasingly popular approach is Cause-Related Marketing (CRM), where businesses link their marketing efforts to social or charitable causes. Yet, the existing literature on CRM is filled with inconsistent terminology—different terms are often used to describe the same idea, while the same term is sometimes applied to different concepts. This lack of clarity can be confusing, especially for new researchers entering the field.

This study aims to clarify what CRM truly encompasses and to bring greater conceptual clarity to the discussion. It also seeks to trace the ethical foundations of CRM, an area that remains underdeveloped in current research. To accomplish this, the paper reviews key works in CSR and CRM and proposes two conceptual models: one that distinguishes CRM from related concepts, and another that connects CRM to the broader principles of business ethics.