Research On The Impact Of Corporate Charitable Donations On Brand Extension: The Moderating Effect Of Brand Equit

With the development of economy,philanthropy in our country has gradually developed into an indispensable part of China social security.It has played a significant role in social assistance,social harmony,social stability,narrowing income gaps,and overcoming social difficulties together.Since 2008,Chinese corporate philanthropy has officially begun and entered the first year of philanthropy.In recent years,with the improvement of people’s philanthropy awareness,corporate philanthropy has received attention from both inside and outside the industry.The academic research on corporate philanthropy originated abroad,and in the process of localization research for nearly20 years,it has also made appropriate adjustments to China’s national conditions.Recently,the frequent occurrence of COVID-19 disasters has caused great harm to the people in the disaster-stricken areas.In face of this disaster,all sectors of society have extended a helping hand,and a wave of charitable donations has been launched across the country.Among them,corporate philanthropy has begun to receive more and more attention.For example,Wong Lo Kat donated hundreds of millions of dollars after the Wenchuan earthquake,allowing consumers to know about the brand almost overnight.ERKE donated 5 million materials during the flood disaster in Henan,which drove consumers to promote the brand spontaneously,and also rose its reputation along with sales against the trend.However,Vanke only donated 2 million RMB in Wenchuan earthquake,which sparked public criticism.Therefore,the simple pursuit of economic interests by enterprises can no longer meet the expectations of the society.How to achieve a win-win situation between social and economic benefits will be a problem for enterprises to think about.Chinese scholars have analyzed the reasons for corporate charity from the perspectives of corporate profit maximization,agency theory and personal values.The behavior of corporate charitable donations can serve as a "signal" to consumers to reduce perceived risk,which is an important factor affecting the acceptance of brand extension.but corporate philanthropy can reduce the risk perceived by consumers.What’s more,corporate philanthropy can also increase trust in a brand and ultimately contribute to brand extension.And the original brand equity level represents the image of the brand in the minds of consumers,which will influence the degree of consumer’s’ response to the company’s marketing activities.The higher the level of brand equity of the brand,the higher the consumer’s perception of the company’s activities.Accordingly,this paper proposes four hypotheses to construct a model of mediated mediation among corporate philanthropy,brand trust,brand equity,and brand extension.H1: Corporate philanthropy can positively influence brand extension acceptance.H2: Brand trust plays a mediating role in the relationship between corporate charity and brand extension.H3: Brand equity positively moderates the relationship between corporate charity and brand trust.The higher the level of self-esteem,the stronger the relationship between the two,and vice versaH4: Brand equity positively moderates the mediating effect of brand trust on corporate charity-brand extension.That is,the higher the level of brand equity,the stronger the intermediary role of brand trust,and vice versa.Through empirical research,design experiments,I have carried out a questionary survey to collect data.By using SPSS 26 to do the regression analysis with collected data,the research has verified the above hypothesis.Corporate philanthropy can reduce consumer perceived risk,then increase brand trust and ultimately contribute to brand extension.What’s more,the level of the original brand equity will affect the intermediary role of brand trust.The higher the level of brand equity,the stronger the intermediary role of brand trust,and the stronger the positive impact of corporate charity on brand extension.The research of this paper not only enriches the research related to corporate philanthropy and branding in my country,but also provides practical thinking for enterprises to explore how to embody righteousness and realize the unification of social and economic benefits.