IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/jobman/v27y2020i6d10.1057_s41262-020-00204-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can self-referencing exacerbate punishing behavior toward corporate brand transgressors?

Author

Listed:
  • Didem Gamze Isiksal

    (Istanbul Technical University)

  • Elif Karaosmanoglu

    (Istanbul Technical University)

Abstract

This article investigates consumer reactions (punishing behavior) regarding corporate brands that engage in various types of transgressions (mild vs. severe) through a scenario-based experiment. The study adopts a 2 × 2 factorial design that examines the moderating role of self-referencing on the relationship between brand transgression severity and the punishing behavior of consumers. Before conducting the main study, the researchers carried out a pilot study to acquire insights about the severity levels of various brand transgressions as well as to determine the likelihood of individuals encountering them. The main study confirms that there is an interaction effect between self-referencing and transgression severity on consumer punishing behavior. More notably, this research highlights the fact that in cases of mild transgressions, having a point of self-reference in the transgression prompts individuals to punish the transgressor more harshly than in cases of severe transgressions. This finding may serve as a warning for corporate brands, demonstrating that they need to be careful about mild transgressions because even when they represent violations of minor rules, they can have deleterious effects on consumer–brand relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Didem Gamze Isiksal & Elif Karaosmanoglu, 2020. "Can self-referencing exacerbate punishing behavior toward corporate brand transgressors?," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 27(6), pages 629-644, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jobman:v:27:y:2020:i:6:d:10.1057_s41262-020-00204-8
    DOI: 10.1057/s41262-020-00204-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41262-020-00204-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41262-020-00204-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mansur Khamitov & Yany Grégoire & Anshu Suri, 2020. "A systematic review of brand transgression, service failure recovery and product-harm crisis: integration and guiding insights," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 519-542, May.
    2. Cossío-Silva, Francisco-José & Revilla-Camacho, María-Ángeles & Vega-Vázquez, Manuela & Palacios-Florencio, Beatriz, 2016. "Value co-creation and customer loyalty," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 1621-1625.
    3. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Joireman, Jeff & Grégoire, Yany & Devezer, Berna & Tripp, Thomas M., 2013. "When do customers offer firms a “second chance” following a double deviation? The impact of inferred firm motives on customer revenge and reconciliation," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 315-337.
    5. Tversky, Amos & Kahneman, Daniel, 1992. "Advances in Prospect Theory: Cumulative Representation of Uncertainty," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 297-323, October.
    6. Jennifer Edson Escalas, 2007. "Self-Referencing and Persuasion: Narrative Transportation versus Analytical Elaboration," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 33(4), pages 421-429, December.
    7. Burnkrant, Robert E & Unnava, H Rao, 1995. "Effects of Self-Referencing on Persuasion," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 22(1), pages 17-26, June.
    8. Pankaj Aggarwal & Sharmistha Law, 2005. "Role of Relationship Norms in Processing Brand Information," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 32(3), pages 453-464, December.
    9. C. Whan Park & Deborah J. MacInnis, 2018. "Introduction to the Special Issue: Brand Relationships, Emotions, and the Self," Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(2), pages 123-129.
    10. Trump, Rebecca K., 2014. "Connected consumers' responses to negative brand actions: The roles of transgression self-relevance and domain," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(9), pages 1824-1830.
    11. Dutta, Sujay & Pullig, Chris, 2011. "Effectiveness of corporate responses to brand crises: The role of crisis type and response strategies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 1281-1287.
    12. Vargo, Stephen L. & Maglio, Paul P. & Akaka, Melissa Archpru, 2008. "On value and value co-creation: A service systems and service logic perspective," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 145-152, June.
    13. Meyers-Levy, Joan & Peracchio, Laura A, 1996. "Moderators of the Impact of Self-Reference on Persuasion," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 22(4), pages 408-423, March.
    14. Keller, Punam Anand & Block, Lauren Goldberg, 1996. "Increasing the Persuasiveness of Fear Appeals: The Effect of Arousal and Elaboration," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 22(4), pages 448-459, March.
    15. Gilly, Mary C & Gelb, Betsy D, 1982. "Post-Purchase Consumer Processes and the Complaining Consumer," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 9(3), pages 323-328, December.
    16. Krishnamurthy, Parthasarathy & Sujan, Mita, 1999. "Retrospection versus Anticipation: The Role of the Ad under Retrospective and Anticipatory Self-Referencing," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 26(1), pages 55-69, June.
    17. Kathleen Cleeren & Marnik G. Dekimpe & Harald J. Heerde, 2017. "Marketing research on product-harm crises: a review, managerial implications, and an agenda for future research," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 593-615, September.
    18. Willson, Pamela & McNamara, J. Regis, 1982. "How perceptions of a simulated physician-patient interaction influence intended satisfaction and compliance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 16(19), pages 1699-1704, January.
    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. Shaun M. Powell, 2020. "Journal of Brand Management: year end review 2020," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 27(6), pages 623-628, November.
    2. Ryoo, Yuhosua & Kim, WooJin, 2023. "Price-ethicality association: When price discounts inhibit ethical purchasing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    3. Septianto, Felix & Kwon, Junbum, 2022. "Too cute to be bad? Cute brand logo reduces consumer punishment following brand transgressions," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 1108-1126.

    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. Didem Gamze Isiksal & Elif Karaosmanoglu, 0. "Can self-referencing exacerbate punishing behavior toward corporate brand transgressors?," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-16.
    2. McQuilken, Lisa, 2010. "The influence of failure severity and employee effort on service recovery in a service guarantee context," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 214-221.
    3. Mansur Khamitov & Yany Grégoire & Anshu Suri, 2020. "A systematic review of brand transgression, service failure recovery and product-harm crisis: integration and guiding insights," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 519-542, May.
    4. Khalifa, Dina & Shukla, Paurav, 2021. "When luxury brand rejection causes brand dilution," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 110-121.
    5. Huang, Tseng-Lung, 2019. "Psychological mechanisms of brand love and information technology identity in virtual retail environments," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 251-264.
    6. Hsiang-Ming Lee & Ya-Hui Hsu & Tsai Chen, 2020. "The Moderating Effects of Self-Referencing and Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal in Anti-Smoking Advertising for Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-19, November.
    7. Agnihotri, Arpita & Bhattacharya, Saurabh & Vrontis, Demetris, 2024. "Can salespersons help firms overcome brand image crisis? Role of facial appearance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    8. Vasileios Davvetas & Aulona Ulqinaku & Constantine S. Katsikeas, 2024. "Brand transgressions: How, when, and why home country bias backfires," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 976-997, July.
    9. Valor, Carmen & Antonetti, Paolo & Zasuwa, Grzegorz, 2022. "Corporate social irresponsibility and consumer punishment: A systematic review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 1218-1233.
    10. Tom Laer, 2014. "The Means to Justify the End: Combating Cyber Harassment in Social Media," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(1), pages 85-98, August.
    11. Stefanie Wannow & Martin Haupt & Martin Ohlwein, 2024. "Is brand activism an emotional affair? The role of moral emotions in consumer responses to brand activism," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 31(2), pages 168-192, March.
    12. Yang, Zhiyong & Freling, Traci & Sun, Sijie & Richardson-Greenfield, Pam, 2022. "When do product crises hurt business? A meta-analytic investigation of negative publicity on consumer responses," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 102-120.
    13. Verena Hüttl-Maack & Doreén Pick & Heribert Gierl, 2019. "Handle with care! How majority cues can reduce the negative effects of warnings of foreseeable product failures," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 689-723, August.
    14. Ryoo, Yuhosua, 2022. "Moral credentials versus moral credits: Two paths to consumers’ licensing of brand transgressions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 13-31.
    15. Wien, Anders Hauge & Peluso, Alessandro M., 2021. "Influence of human versus AI recommenders: The roles of product type and cognitive processes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 13-27.
    16. van den Bergh, J.C.J.M. & Botzen, W.J.W., 2015. "Monetary valuation of the social cost of CO2 emissions: A critical survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 33-46.
    17. Shoji, Isao & Kanehiro, Sumei, 2016. "Disposition effect as a behavioral trading activity elicited by investors' different risk preferences," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 104-112.
    18. Jonathan Meng & Feng Fu, 2020. "Understanding Gambling Behavior and Risk Attitudes Using Cryptocurrency-based Casino Blockchain Data," Papers 2008.05653, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2020.
    19. Daniel Fonseca Costa & Francisval Carvalho & Bruno César Moreira & José Willer Prado, 2017. "Bibliometric analysis on the association between behavioral finance and decision making with cognitive biases such as overconfidence, anchoring effect and confirmation bias," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(3), pages 1775-1799, June.
    20. Boone, Jan & Sadrieh, Abdolkarim & van Ours, Jan C., 2009. "Experiments on unemployment benefit sanctions and job search behavior," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(8), pages 937-951, November.

    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:pal:jobman:v:27:y:2020:i:6:d:10.1057_s41262-020-00204-8. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.palgrave.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.