Publication
Softening the blow: Company self-disclosure of negative information lessens the damaging effects on consumer judgment and decision making
Fennis, B. M. & Stroebe, W., Mar-2014, In : Journal of Business Ethics. 120, 1, p. 109-120 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Is self-disclosure of negative information a viable strategy for a company to lessen the damage done to consumer responses? Three experiments assessed whether self-disclosing negative information in itself lessened the damaging impact of this information compared to third-party disclosure of the same information. Results indicated that mere self-disclosure of a negative event positively affected consumers' choice behavior, perceived company trustworthiness, and company evaluations compared to third-party disclosure. The effectiveness of the self-disclosure strategy was moderated by the initial reputation of a company, such that its impact was only observed for companies that had a poor reputation at the outset. For them, self-disclosure considerably lessened the impact of negative information compared to third-party disclosure. For companies that enjoyed a positive reputation, type of disclosure did not affect consumer responses. Mediation analysis showed that perceptions of company trustworthiness underlie the effects of the self-disclosure strategy on consumer judgment.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 109-120 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Journal of Business Ethics |
Volume | 120 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 14-Feb-2013 |
Publication status | Published - Mar-2014 |
- Consumer behavior, Social influence processes, Judgment and decision making, Company trustworthiness beliefs, ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST, STEALING THUNDER, PRODUCT FAILURE, MODERATING ROLE, REPAIR, COMPETENCE, INTEGRITY, PERSPECTIVE, TRUSTWORTHINESS, EXPLANATIONS
Keywords
ID: 2215078