How product–cause fit and donation quantifier interact in cause-related marketing (CRM) settings: evidence of the cue congruency effect Neel Das & Abhijit Guha & Abhijit Biswas & Balaji Krishnan Published online: 7 December 2014 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract We are the first to examine the joint impact of product–cause fit and donation quantifier in the cause-related marketing (CRM) domain. We show that these two CRM cues interact in a unique manner, reflecting the cue congruency effect. Specifically, congruent combinations of these two cues result in high purchase intentions when the cues individually have positive effects. In all other cases, however, purchase intentions are low. Furthermore, we identify moderators of the above cue congruency effect. In Study 1, we show that the cue congruency effect is moderated by product-type, evidencing only in more hedonic product contexts. In Study 2, we show that the above cue congruency effect is moderated by purchase-type, evidencing in planned purchase contexts, but reversing in impulse purchase contexts. We discuss the process mecha- nism driving these effects, specify the contribution of this research for CRM, cue congruency and impulse purchases, and outline implications for practice. Mark Lett (2016) 27:295–308 DOI 10.1007/s11002-014-9338-6 N. Das Walker College of Business, Appalachian State University, 4097 Raley Hall, Boone, NC 28608, USA e-mail: dasn@appstate.edu A. Guha Department of Marketing, University of South Carolina, 1014 Greene Street, Columbia, SC 29208, USA e-mail: abhijit.guha@moore.sc.edu A. Biswas (*) Department of Marketing, Wayne State University, 5201 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202, USA e-mail: A.Biswas@wayne.edu B. Krishnan Fogleman College of Business and Economics, University of Memphis, 3675 Central Avenue, Memphis, TN 38152, USA e-mail: krishnan@memphis.edu