‘I’ll stand by you:’ understanding customers’ moral decoupling processes and supportive behavioral intentions in cases of corporate misconduct

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore the dynamics behind consumers’ intention to support a transgressor brand in the form of buycott behavior. To do so, this study investigated the relationships between the concepts of brand identity fusion, brand immunity, moral decoupling, and buycott intention. An online survey (N = 525) was conducted among a nationally representative sample of Australians in October 2018. The results revealed that consumers who report identity fusion with a brand also report being immune to brand transgressions and engage in a moral decoupling process to justify their continued relationship with the brand. Such consumers separate their judgment of brand performance from judgment of brand morality. As the transgression does not change those consumers’ general view of the brand, they are willing to support brand by engaging in buycott behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of this work are discussed (145 words).