IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i7p2173-d154432.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How to Build Consumer Trust: Socially Responsible or Controversial Advertising

Author

Listed:
  • Katarzyna Bachnik

    (Hult International Business School, 1355 Sansome St, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA)

  • Robert Nowacki

    (Faculty of Management and Finance, University of Finance and Management, 55 Pawia St, 01-030 Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

Developing trust in a product, brand or company is a significant part of building a successful consumer-company relationship. Two-way communication is one of the main factors weighing on the level of consumer trust. Advertising as a communication tool that elicits lots of attention and emotions is a big part of the trust building process. Its character—whether socially responsible or controversial sets a tone for the communication and influences the receptiveness of the message. Companies undertake various efforts to make their messages more attractive to recipients and seek new ways to attract customers’ attention. Many companies experiment with unconventional and controversial advertising designs and tones, as it seems that there is some level of social acceptance for original, emotional and shocking marketing messages. This paper aims to analyze this level of the social acceptance in more detail. The study focuses on the following marketing dilemma: Should companies continue to use socially responsible advertising or should they adopt more controversial or even unethical strategies? The managers of 626 enterprises were interviewed to find out the answer. The research compares controversial advertising efforts with consumers’ evaluations of the messages to which they are exposed.

Suggested Citation

  • Katarzyna Bachnik & Robert Nowacki, 2018. "How to Build Consumer Trust: Socially Responsible or Controversial Advertising," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-21, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2173-:d:154432
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/7/2173/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/7/2173/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sim B. Sitkin & Nancy L. Roth, 1993. "Explaining the Limited Effectiveness of Legalistic “Remedies” for Trust/Distrust," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(3), pages 367-392, August.
    2. Boddewyn, Jean J. & Kunz, Heidi, 1991. "Sex and decency issues in advertising: General and international dimensions," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 13-20.
    3. Enrique Alcañiz & Ruben Cáceres & Rafael Pérez, 2010. "Alliances Between Brands and Social Causes: The Influence of Company Credibility on Social Responsibility Image," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(2), pages 169-186, October.
    4. Kim-Shyan Fam & David Waller & Zhilin Yang, 2009. "Addressing the Advertising of Controversial Products in China: An Empirical Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(1), pages 43-58, April.
    5. Gary Fooks & Anna Gilmore & Jeff Collin & Chris Holden & Kelley Lee, 2013. "The Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility: Techniques of Neutralization, Stakeholder Management and Political CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 283-299, January.
    6. Sabri, Ouidade & Obermiller, Carl, 2012. "Consumer perception of taboo in ads," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(6), pages 869-873.
    7. Gary Fooks & Anna Gilmore & Jeff Collin & Chris Holden & Kelley Lee, 2013. "Erratum to: The Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility: Techniques of Neutralization, Stakeholder Management and Political CSR," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 367-367, January.
    8. Dahl, Darren W. & Frankenberger, Kristina D. & Manchanda, Rajesh V., 2003. "Does It Pay to Shock? Reactions to Shocking and Nonshocking Advertising Content among University Students," Journal of Advertising Research, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(3), pages 268-280, September.
    9. Fournier, Susan, 1998. "Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 24(4), pages 343-373, March.
    10. Kathryn Pavlovich & Patricia Corner, 2014. "Conscious Enterprise Emergence: Shared Value Creation Through Expanded Conscious Awareness," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(3), pages 341-351, May.
    11. Holmes, Sandra L., 1976. "Executive perceptions of corporate social responsibility," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 34-40, June.
    12. M. Hyman, 2009. "Responsible Ads: A Workable Ideal," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 87(2), pages 199-210, June.
    13. Ker-Tah Hsu, 2012. "The Advertising Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility on Corporate Reputation and Brand Equity: Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry in Taiwan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 189-201, August.
    14. David Eberle & Guido Berens & Ting Li, 2013. "The Impact of Interactive Corporate Social Responsibility Communication on Corporate Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(4), pages 731-746, December.
    15. Jiyun Kang & Gwendolyn Hustvedt, 2014. "Building Trust Between Consumers and Corporations: The Role of Consumer Perceptions of Transparency and Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 253-265, December.
    16. Laura Michelini & Daniela Fiorentino, 2012. "New business models for creating shared value," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(4), pages 561-577, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Aisha Yusuf Mesiya & Muhammad Adnan Bashir & Muhammad Azeem Qureshi & Mukhtar Ahmed Khan, 2020. "The Influence of Adtrust (Trust in Advertising) on Current and Future Purchases of Consumers: A Study of Hair Products in Pakistan," IBT Journal of Business Studies (JBS), Ilma University, Faculty of Management Science, vol. 16(1), pages 30-43.
    2. Beata Zatwarnicka-Madura & Robert Nowacki & Iwona Wojciechowska, 2022. "Influencer Marketing as a Tool in Modern Communication—Possibilities of Use in Green Energy Promotion amongst Poland’s Generation Z," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-22, September.
    3. Aisha Yusuf Mesiya & Muhammad Adnan Bashir & Muhammad Azeem Qureshi & Mukhtar Ahmed Khan, 2020. "The Influence of Adtrust (Trust in Advertising) on Current and Future Purchases of Consumers: A Study of Hair Products in Pakistan," IBT Journal of Business Studies (JBS), Ilma University, Faculty of Management Science, vol. 16(1), pages 16-13.
    4. Efrat, Kalanit & Souchon, Anne L. & Dickenson, Peter & Nemkova, Ekaterina, 2021. "Chutzpadik advertising and its effectiveness: Four studies of agencies and audiences," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 601-613.
    5. Constantinos Nicolaou, 2022. "Generations and Branded Content from and through the Internet and Social Media: Modern Communication Strategic Techniques and Practices for Brand Sustainability—The Greek Case Study of LACTA Chocolate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-28, December.
    6. Marcela Korenkova & Milan Maros & Michal Levicky & Milan Fila, 2020. "Consumer Perception of Modern and Traditional Forms of Advertising," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-25, November.
    7. Yuan-Shuh Lii & May-Ching Ding & Chih-Huang Lin, 2018. "Fair or Unfair: The Moderating Effect of Sustainable CSR Practices on Anticipatory Justice Following Service Failure Recovery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haseeb Ahmed Shabbir & Hala Maalouf & Michele Griessmair & Nazan Colmekcioglu & Pervaiz Akhtar, 2019. "Exploring Perceptions of Advertising Ethics: An Informant-Derived Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(3), pages 727-744, October.
    2. Gebreselassie, Andinet Worku, 2019. "On communicating about taboo social issues in least developed countries : The case of Ethiopia," Other publications TiSEM bb35ee74-fdd7-4220-af92-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    3. Selma Kadić-Maglajlić & Maja Arslanagić-Kalajdžić & Milena Micevski & Nina Michaelidou & Ekaterina Nemkova, 2017. "Controversial Advert Perceptions in SNS Advertising: The Role of Ethical Judgement and Religious Commitment," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 249-265, March.
    4. Oriol Iglesias & Stefan Markovic & Mehdi Bagherzadeh & Jatinder Jit Singh, 2020. "Co-creation: A Key Link Between Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Trust, and Customer Loyalty," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 151-166, April.
    5. Ouidade Sabri, 2017. "Does Viral Communication Context Increase the Harmfulness of Controversial Taboo Advertising?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(2), pages 235-247, March.
    6. Linda Hancock & Natalie Ralph & Florentine Petronella Martino, 2018. "Applying Corporate Political Activity (CPA) analysis to Australian gambling industry submissions against regulation of television sports betting advertising," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-21, October.
    7. Kim, Yeonshin & Hur, Won-Moo & Lee, Luri, 2023. "Understanding customer participation in CSR activities: The impact of perceptions of CSR, affective commitment, brand equity, and corporate reputation," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    8. Fabien Martinez, 2014. "Corporate strategy and the environment: towards a four-dimensional compatibility model for fostering green management decisions," Post-Print hal-02887618, HAL.
    9. Yue Vaughan & Yinyoung Rhou & Yoon Koh & Manisha Singal, 2024. "Slack resources and employee-centered corporate social responsibility in restaurant companies," Tourism Economics, , vol. 30(3), pages 592-614, May.
    10. Fabio La Rosa & Sergio Paternostro & Francesca Bernini, 2023. "Corporate and regional governance antecedents of the Legality Rating of private Italian companies," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 27(1), pages 297-329, March.
    11. Jose Benitez & Laura Ruiz & Ana Castillo & Javier Llorens, 2020. "How corporate social responsibility activities influence employer reputation: The role of social media capability," Post-Print hal-02462583, HAL.
    12. Mirela POPA & Irina-Iulia SALAN?Ã, 2015. "Business Organizations’ Positive Socio-Economic Impact on Society - a Step Beyond CSR," Economia. Seria Management, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 18(2), pages 244-263, December.
    13. Seong-jin Choi & Jong Kwon Ko & Sukyoon Jung, 2018. "A Conglomerate’s Effort for Co-Prospering with Its Subcontractors and Firm Value: Evidence from Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-15, July.
    14. Ross MacKenzie, 2018. "“An example for corporate social responsibility†: British American Tobacco's response to criticism of its Myanmar subsidiary, 1999–2003," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 5(2), pages 298-312, May.
    15. Gheorghe Epura & Bianca Tesca?iu & Raluca Dania Todor & Karin-Andreea Sasu, 2017. "Responsible Consumption – Source of Competitive Advantages and Solution for Tourist Protection," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 19(45), pages 447-447, May.
    16. Jay Mitra & Mariusz Sokolowicz & Ursula Weisenfeld & Agnieszka Kurczewska & Silke Tegtmeier, 2020. "Citizen Entrepreneurship: A Conceptual Picture of the Inclusion, Integration and Engagement of Citizens in the Entrepreneurial Process," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 6(2), pages 242-260, July.
    17. Galea, Gauden & McKee, Martin, 2014. "Public–private partnerships with large corporations: Setting the ground rules for better health," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 138-140.
    18. Vicenta Sierra & Oriol Iglesias & Stefan Markovic & Jatinder Jit Singh, 2017. "Does Ethical Image Build Equity in Corporate Services Brands? The Influence of Customer Perceived Ethicality on Affect, Perceived Quality, and Equity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 661-676, September.
    19. Hanna Kim & Won-Moo Hur & Junsang Yeo, 2015. "Corporate Brand Trust as a Mediator in the Relationship between Consumer Perception of CSR, Corporate Hypocrisy, and Corporate Reputation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-12, March.
    20. Benjamin Boeuf & Jessica Darveau, 2019. "An Ethical Perspective on Necro-Advertising: The Moderating Effect of Brand Equity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(4), pages 1077-1099, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2173-:d:154432. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.