ABSTRACT
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) plays a critical role in the relationships between an organization and its stakeholders. Previous studies showed that CSR initiatives positively affected a company’s image, consumer satisfaction, and product evaluation. Effective communication of an organization’s CSR commitment with stakeholders is not only an ethical practice, but also a strategic concern. The present study aims to explore the effects of message format (narrative vs. nonnarrative) and disclosure type (present vs. absence) when communicating a brand’s CSR initiatives on message effectiveness and sponsorship transparency. The findings showed that a narrative message led higher level of transportation than a nonnarrative message. When the message did not contain endorsement information, participants who read the nonnarrative message rated the message higher in sponsorship transparency than those who read the narrative message.
