Abstract
Companies may be confused by consumers’ perceptions of hypocrisy related to corporate social responsibility activities. This study investigates the mechanism of consumer response to perceived hypocrisy and determines that internal attribution and negative emotion play vital roles. The findings may be summarized as follows. First, the consumers’ internal attribution of corporate hypocrisy increases the perceived hypocrisy. Second, the consumers’ internal attribution of corporate hypocrisy also increases their negative emotions. Third, consumers’ perceptions of hypocrisy intensify their negative emotions. Fourth, the negative emotions of consumers negatively influence their attitude toward companies. Finally, consumers’ negative emotions increase their negative behavior. The findings demonstrate that the influence of perceived hypocrisy on consumers’ attitude and behavior is affected by negative emotion. Consumers’ internal attribution of corporate hypocrisy affects their perceptions of hypocrisy, prompting negative emotions. The psychological and behavioral mechanism of consumer response to perceived hypocrisy is discussed, thus contributing to the study of corporate hypocrisy.
Highlights
Research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has shown that CSR activities can enhance a company’s image (Chernev & Blair, 2015), incur a positive response from consumers (Luo & Bhattacharya, 2006), and improve the market performance of the enterprise (Brammer & Pavelin, 2007; Mcwilliams & Siegel, 2001)
Instead of benefiting enterprises, some CSR activities have led to a negative customer response and have been criticized by the public
Participants completed a questionnaire requiring them to first read a simulated reading material about corporate hypocrisy and answer the corresponding questions, which addressed their internal attribution of the corporate hypocrisy, perception of the hypocrisy, negative emotions, attitudes toward the company, and negative behaviors
Summary
Research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has shown that CSR activities can enhance a company’s image (Chernev & Blair, 2015), incur a positive response from consumers (Luo & Bhattacharya, 2006), and improve the market performance of the enterprise (Brammer & Pavelin, 2007; Mcwilliams & Siegel, 2001). Instead of benefiting enterprises, some CSR activities have led to a negative customer response and have been criticized by the public. The company promised to donate a small portion of its revenue to public welfare programs whenever a bottle of water was sold. This activity was questioned by the public because the actual donation was lower than the amount they had promised according to the company’s actual sale volume. The consumers’ skepticism of NongFu Spring’s public welfare program led to the perception that the company’s kindness had been a deception, and consumers refused to buy NongFu Spring products. Journals have begun to publish studies of consumer perception of corporate hypocrisy and relevant negative effects on the enterprise
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