Put the blame on me? An empirical study of consumers' assignment of responsibility to a focal firm during a sustainability crisis

This research assesses the extent in which consumers hold a focal firm responsible (blame it) for an accident in its production system with severe negative environmental consequences. Using an experimental research design, we examine whether perceived responsibility varies with vertical integration (i.e. own vs. outsourced production), green marketing efforts by the firm, and third-party certification (eco-labelling) of the production. We also test whether firm responsibility (blame, as perceived by consumers) has an effect on consumers' intention to buy the firms' products/services in the future. We find that, compared with own production, outsourcing increases the responsibility (blame) of the focal firm (as perceived by consumers) for the accident in the production system. We also find that third-party certification (eco-labelling) reduces the attributed responsibility of the focal firm. Responsibility attributed to the focal firm (perceived blame) has a significant, negative association with consumers' purchase intentions.