Three Essays on Consumer Animosity: from Consumers to Managers.
الخزام, سلطان بن سالم . 2015
The hostility consumers’ hold towards a specific country due to previous or
ongoing military, a political, economic, or cultural event is referred to as “Consumer Animosity”. Consumer Animosity can spill over to the companies operating in the offending country as well. In fact, Consumer Animosity has a strong effect on consumers’ purchase and boycotts decisions.
In the first essay, I conduct a meta-analysis to better understand the academic research that contributes to this literature base, examining 173 effect sizes of Consumer Animosity on boycott intentions from 35 studies published between 1998 and 2013. Theoretical and methodological moderators were identified, such as level of individualism and animosity background. In my second essay, utilizing an experimental design, I examine the role of self-construal (interdependent vs. independent) as a moderator to the relationship between Consumer Animosity and behavioral intentions (purchase and boycott intentions). In addition, I introduce the target country perception (other’s self- construal and variability level) as another moderator. A three-way interaction between self-construal, target country perception and animosity was significant. Finally, my third essay seeks to provide managers of global companies with prescriptions for dealing with crises that involve Consumer Animosity. Utilizing the crisis management and corporate social responsibility literatures, I examine possible remedial actions for managers facing
of Consumer Animosity toward their companies, such as how to communicate and position the company with the event that trigger the animosity. In addition, I discuss the importance of having CSR strategies that are congruent with the triggering event. I propose experiments to assess the hypothesized actions for managers to handle the aftermath of Consumer Animosity.
The hostility consumers’ hold towards a specific country due to previous or