Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Felt Betrayed or Resisted? The Impact of Pre-Crisis CSR Reputation on Consumer Reactions to Brand Crises

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Abstract

By committing to corporate social responsibility(CSR) initiatives, a brand can develop a strong CSR reputation among consumers. However, would fashion brands’ efforts to build CSR reputations help even in brand crises? To answer this new research question, we developed and tested a model that illustrates the effects of pre-crisis CSR reputation on consumers’ perceived betrayal, resistance to negative information, and retaliatory behavioral intentions, accounting for two types of brand crises, corporate ability and corporate responsibility crises. After four preliminary studies, a main study was conducted through a survey with consumer data from 1,045 randomly selected adults nationwide in the U.S. The results from multi-group structural equation modeling showed that when pre-crisis CSR reputation is stronger,consumers are less likely to feel betrayed. A stronger pre-crisis CSR reputation also leads consumers to be more resistant to negative information about the brand. However, the two types of brand crises moderate the effects of pre-crisis CSR reputation on consumers’ reactions and their retaliatory behavioral intentions—support for punishment, negative word-of-mouth intention,and boycott intention. This research makes unique and significant contributions by providing theoretical and practical insights into how fashion brands can be more resilient to crisis situations through their CSR efforts.

Keywords: brand crisis, betrayal, resistance to negative information, retaliatory behavior, corporate social responsibility, CSR

How to Cite:

Kang, J., Choi, W. & Slaten, T., (2019) “Felt Betrayed or Resisted? The Impact of Pre-Crisis CSR Reputation on Consumer Reactions to Brand Crises”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 76(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.8234