How scarcity influences home country consumers' attitudes toward the firm engaging in cross-border philanthropy? The role of perceived distributive justice

Purpose The purpose of this research is to explore how experienced scarcity affects home country consumers' attitudes toward the firm engaging in cross-border philanthropy by analyzing perceived distributive justice as a mediating variable. This research also investigates the moderating factor of this effect to identify practical strategies for managers. Design/methodology/approach This research conducted one survey (Study 1) and three experiments (Studies 2–4) by manipulating scarcity to provide robust evidence for the influence of experienced scarcity on consumer perception of the company conducting cross-border philanthropy. Findings This paper provides empirical insights about the significant negative effect of experienced scarcity on consumer attitudes toward the firm engaging in cross-border philanthropy. It proposes that home country consumers with high versus low experienced scarcity show lower perceived distributive justice for cross-border philanthropy, which generates less favorable attitudes toward the firm. To alleviate the negative impact of experienced scarcity on consumers' perceptions of corporate reputation, providing donation amount comparisons between home and foreign countries has a significant moderating effect. Practical implications This paper provides several suggestions for marketers seeking cross-border philanthropy to improve consumers' attitudes toward the firm. Originality/value This paper enriches the literature on corporate social responsibility in the domain of cross-border philanthropy and explains contradictory findings on consumers' attitudes toward corporate cross-border philanthropy. Moreover, this study makes meaningful contributions to the scarcity and justice literature.