RT Article
T1 Softening the Blow: Company Self-Disclosure of Negative Information Lessens Damaging Effects on Consumer Judgment and Decision Making
JF Journal of business ethics
VO 120
IS 1
SP 109
OP 120
A1 Fennis, Bob M. 1968-
A1 Stroebe, Wolfgang 1941-
A2 Stroebe, Wolfgang 1941-
LA English
YR 2014
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1785650246
AB 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.
K1 Company trustworthiness beliefs
K1 Judgment and decision making
K1 Social influence processes
K1 Consumer behavior
DO 10.1007/s10551-013-1647-9