Sustainability and Social Responsibility

A Preliminary Study: CSR Advertising, Mere Exposure, and Generation Z’s Social Activism in the Fashion-Industrial Complex

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Abstract

While highlighting the significance of exposure to ads to explain consumer behavior, extant literature has so far disregarded the potential impact of social justice corporate social responsibility advertising on consumer activist behaviors. There has been considerable concern exposed by consumers about the effectiveness of CSR message presentation in the fashion-industrial complex. Because social justice CSR advertising seeks to encourage public awareness and public good, it may be beneficial to businesses and consumers to explore if there is a relationship between exposure to social justice CSR advertising and social activist behaviors. Based on the literature, mere exposure was tested on three activist behaviors: commodity activism, social media activism, and traditional activism. To examine the hypothesized relationships, the study employed a quantitative approach, using a survey. The results show that mere exposure has a significant effect on all three variables, indicating that exposure to social justice CSR can positively impact Gen Z's social activism.

Keywords: Traditional Activism, Social Media Activism, Commodity Activism, Mere Exposure, Social Justice CSR

How to Cite:

Covington, S., Lyu, J. & Han, J., (2020) “A Preliminary Study: CSR Advertising, Mere Exposure, and Generation Z’s Social Activism in the Fashion-Industrial Complex”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 77(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.12144