Unpacking the Effects of Alleged Gender Discrimination in the Corporate Workplace on Consumers’ Affective Responses and Relational Perceptions

Publisher:
SAGE Publications
Publication Type:
Journal Article
Citation:
Communication Research, 2018
Issue Date:
2018-07-04
Full metadata record
The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) how allegations of gender discrimination impact consumers’ relationship with the brand in question, and (b) individual-level factors that impact consumers’ negative affective response to the allegations and eventually, consumer-brand relationships. Findings from a survey conducted among 473 Americans indicate that individuals’ relational perceptions with a corporate brand whose products/services they consume are negatively affected by allegations of misconduct, in this case, gender discrimination. Results revealed that individuals’ moral orientation and anti-corporate sentiment predicted their perceptions of moral inequity of corporate behavior, which in turn impacted their negative affective response to the allegations. Such negative affective response then impacted individuals’ consumer-corporate brand relationships
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