After the Attacks: Consumers Choose Products Based on Corporate Philanthropy, Studies Find

The events of September 11 had a major impact on consumers’ attitudes toward corporate citizenship,

according to a new study. More and more Americans are demanding that companies actively support charitable causes, the study found, and they are increasingly making buying, employment, and investment decisions to reward businesses that do.

The study, released by Cone Inc., a Boston consulting company, is based on the results of two surveys conducted by the research firm of RoperASW. One survey, which was composed of interviews with 1,994 adults across the country, was conducted in March. The other survey, of 1,030 adults, was conducted last month. Both surveys had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

Among the surveys’ key findings:

• Seventy-nine percent of October’s respondents said they believe that companies have a responsibility to support charitable causes, up from 65 percent in the March poll. And, in October, 88 percent of the respondents said companies retain that responsibility regardless of the economic climate. By comparison, only 71 percent of the respondents in March said companies should continue supporting causes during tough financial times.
• In October, roughly 8 out of 10 respondents said they are likely to switch to a brand or retailer associated with a good cause, if price and quality of the products are equal. In March, somewhat more than half said they were likely to make such a switch. And the proportion of respondents who said they consider a company’s commitment to charitable causes when they make investment decisions jumped from 40 percent in March to 63 percent last month.
• Respondents to the October survey put the September 11 disaster at the top of their list of issues they want companies to address, pushing down crime, which had been the No. 1 issue among respondents in March, to No. 8. Other causes that respondents said they would most like companies to support: medical research and education.
• Eighty-three percent of October’s respondents said they believe it is more important than ever for companies they work for to support the needs of society. And, for a majority of respondents, that view will influence their choice of employers. Seventy-six percent reported that a company’s commitment to causes is important when they decide where to work. In March, fewer than half of the respondents said such a commitment was an important consideration in their job decisions.

The surveys show that some of the post-September-11 attitude changes may be evident during the 2001 holiday shopping season. Three-quarters of October’s respondents said they are likely to consider a company’s reputation for supporting causes when they buy gifts. That compares with 61 percent of the respondents who said in a similar survey last year that they were likely to do so.

Nearly 9 out of 10 of October’s respondents said they plan to support a social cause, issue, or charity this holiday season — whether through their own giving or volunteering efforts or doing business with a company that supports charity. Among those respondents, more than half plan to support both efforts related to September 11 and those not related to the attacks. Fifteen percent plan to support efforts related to September 11 exclusively, while 19 percent say they will support only other kinds of efforts.

For more information about the Cone surveys, contact Anne Chan, Senior Account Executive, Cone Inc., 90 Canal Street, Boston, Mass. 02114; (617) 272-8403; achan@coneinc.com.