Article2019

Consumer response to negative celebrity publicity: the effects of moral reasoning strategies and fan identification

62 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Product & Brand Management

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Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification Marketing and Advertising Strategies Digital Marketing and Social Media

Abstract

Purpose In the context of celebrity endorsement, this study aims to demonstrate that the ways in which consumers adopt moral reasoning strategies (i.e. rationalization, decoupling and coupling) are largely dependent on the severity (i.e. high vs low) of celebrity transgressions and the degree to which they personally identify with the celebrity. Design/methodology/approach A between-subjects online experiment (N = 144) with two conditions, representing high- and low-severity celebrity transgressions, was conducted. Participants’ attitudes toward the celebrity and endorsed brand, their purchase intention for the endorsed product and the degrees to which they identified with the celebrity and adopted the three types of moral reasoning strategies were assessed. Findings The rationalization and decoupling strategies mediate the effects of highly negative information about a celebrity on consumer attitudes toward the celebrity and endorsed brand as well as on purchase intention for the endorsed product. In addition, consumers who identify strongly as fans of the celebrity in question are more likely to activate rationalization and decoupling strategies to process and evaluate transgressive behaviors than those with weaker fan identification. Originality/value By exploring the ways in which moral reasoning and fan identification work in processing negative information, this study provides insights into the psychological process through which negative news coverage of a celebrity endorser influences consumer attitudes and purchase intention.

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References

2001Bad is Stronger than Good 1990Construction and Validation of a Scale to Measure Celebrity Endorsers' Perceived Expertise, Trustworthiness, and Attractiveness 1989Who is the Celebrity Endorser? Cultural Foundations of the Endorsement Process 2008The Dishonesty of Honest People: A Theory of Self-Concept Maintenance 1989Negativity and extremity biases in impression formation: A review of explanations.1980Attention and weight in person perception: The impact of negative and extreme behavior.1996Mechanisms of moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency.2011To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter

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