Volume 13 Issue 1

This study investigated the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and brand equity to understand how CSR initiatives influenced consumer perceptions and contributed to overall brand value. A quantitative research design was adopted, employing a non-probability convenience sampling approach. Primary data were collected from 120 respondents using a structured survey that measured perceptions of CSR initiatives and their effects on key dimensions of brand equity, including brand image, brand loyalty, and perceived brand value. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques to examine relationships, trends, and significance. Findings indicated that CSR initiatives positively impacted brand equity by enhancing brand image, fostering consumer trust, and strengthening loyalty. The results demonstrated that socially responsible practices were not only ethical obligations but also strategic tools that contributed to sustainable brand growth and competitive advantage. The study also highlighted the moderating role of consumer–company identification, consistent with social identity theory, revealing that consumers who identified with a company's CSR efforts were more likely to form favourable brand perceptions and exhibit loyalty, thereby reinforcing brand equity. This research contributed to the literature by extending the understanding of the CSR–brand equity relationship and offering practical insights for managers seeking to integrate CSR into corporate strategy. The findings underscored the importance of aligning CSR initiatives with brand objectives to enhance consumer perceptions, build long-term loyalty, and strengthen overall brand value. The study also identified avenues for future research, including exploring the mechanisms through which CSR affected consumer behaviour and examining contextual factors, such as cultural and demographic differences, that influenced responses to CSR initiatives.

Algorithmic marketing is progressively pervading consumer-firm interactions through datafied personalization, predictive analytics, and recommender systems. The rising practices have been welcomed for the convenience, relevance, and efficiency benefits they can provide. However, they also generate user concerns about autonomy, fairness, transparency, and privacy. The scattered research on consumer responses remains underdeveloped and fragmented across marketing, psychology, and information systems. This paper maps recent literature and builds a conceptual framework to explain consumers' evaluations and responses to algorithmic marketing. Four interrelated dimensions have important roles in determining the acceptance or resistance to algorithmic marketing: autonomy, trust, privacy concerns, and cultural factors. The paper connects the perspectives and fills the gap in the fragmented research landscape by clarifying the state of knowledge, uncovering blind spots, and advancing the theoretical and practical understanding of consumer reactions to algorithmic marketing. The paper's main contributions are the mapping of research streams, the proposition of an integrative framework, and the provision of recommendations for future research and responsible marketing practice.

The mobile technology revolution has transformed society and business across the globe, with mobile instant messaging applications (MIM apps) now challenging social networking sites (SNS) as the most widely adopted means of communication for individuals and groups. These apps present a ubiquitous, pervasive, and rich marketing communications (MC) channel that supports interactive and dialogic communications with Gen Z consumers, particularly in developing countries like Zimbabwe. Thus, this study aimed to establish, through a quantitative approach, to establish the influence of message characteristics on the attitude of Gen Z consumers towards instant message marketing communication messages. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire from a sample of 410 Gen Z consumers. The results revealed that personalisation, credibility, interactivity and media richness had a significant and positive influence on the attitude of Gen Z consumers. It was also established that informativeness and entertainment did not influence consumer attitudes, whereas irritation generated a negative association with Gen Z consumers' attitudes. It is suggested that mobile marketing communication planners and designers should consider the influential role of personalisation, credibility, interactivity, irritation and media richness on the attitude of Gen Z consumers.