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When companies get caught: The effect of consumers discovering undesirable firm engagement online
Author(s) -
Campbell Colin,
Piercy Niall,
Heinrich Daniel
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of public affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.221
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1479-1854
pISSN - 1472-3891
DOI - 10.1002/pa.1413
Subject(s) - advertising , business , set (abstract data type) , point (geometry) , action (physics) , exploratory research , marketing , test (biology) , sociology , paleontology , physics , geometry , mathematics , quantum mechanics , computer science , anthropology , biology , programming language
We report on the findings of an exploratory set of experiments designed to test the effect of negative firm actions online. Findings point to firms suffering a loss of consumer attitude toward the brand when legal action is threatened against the creator of a consumer generator advertisement. Similarly, consumers also lowered their attitude toward a brand when confronted with information suggesting that a brand was linked to secretly posting “consumer” advertisements online. Implications for academics and brand managers are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.