When Will I Be Reciprocated? Temporal Frame Shapes Consumer Responses to Cause‐Related Marketing

ABSTRACT Cause‐related marketing (CM) often uses a “good‐for‐good” reciprocal exchange between companies and consumers to reduce skepticism that companies are motivated by self‐interest when acting in the name of charity. When consumers participate or make a purchase, companies promise featured products, upgraded services, or credits delivered within a specified temporal frame. The present research examines how the temporal frame of reciprocation affects the effectiveness of CM. We propose that duration framing (e.g., ‘within 5 days’) enhances inferred companies’ efficacy because it highlights the boundedness of the interval and fosters an implemental mindset. Results from a field study and four experiments show that duration (vs. date) framing increases consumers’ experiential and behavioral response to CM through higher perceived other‐efficacy (Studies 1 & 2). This effect is moderated by the self‐importance of moral identity, social comparison and task complexity, which shape the degree to which consumers attend to the perceived efficacy of the exchange partner (Studies 3–5). This research advances understanding of temporal frame effect and offers actionable implications for effective CM.