Selling Points
Threading the Needle of Corporate Activism: How Firms Frame Their Stances on Polarizing Social Issues
Sung Hun (Brian) Chung, Kate Odziemkowska & Alessandro Piazza
Academy of Management Journal, forthcoming
Abstract:
Corporate activism, or the active involvement of business in contested social and political issues, presents strategic challenges for organizations. Despite the risks of stakeholder backlash, corporate activism is on the rise. We suggest that how firms speak out on polarizing social issues may help explain this quandary. Leveraging corporate press releases and Twitter accounts of Fortune 500 companies that spoke on LGBTQ issues between 1999 and 2019, as same-sex marriage progressively became legal across the United States, we find that prior to legalization in their home state, firms default to touting the economic merits of their track record on LGBTQ workplace issues, avoiding contentious debates. Once marriage equality is enacted, firms shift their speech toward activism, advocating for broader societal change. Further, the shift to activism is highly dependent on internal and external stakeholder preferences. Our findings point to an irony: corporate “activism” in pursuit of social change often takes place only after polarizing issues have been settled. This study contributes to the growing literature on corporate activism by shedding light on how firms strategically frame their communications to navigate the complex terrain of stakeholder expectations, and how these framing strategies are shaped by the evolving legal and institutional landscape.
From Stigma to Support: ‘Black-Owned’ Labels and Expertise Stereotypes in Cannabis and Psychedelics Markets
Chethana Achar, Nidhi Agrawal & Keyaira Lock
Journal of Consumer Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
We examine the effect of ‘Black-owned’ labeling on cannabis and psychedelic brands, in context of the stigmatized and risky nature of the drugs category. Building on prior studies examining social justice or discrimination, we introduce an expertise stereotype framework. As Study 1, we surveyed 37 Black professionals in the drugs industry about expectations regarding ‘Black-owned’ labels, as juxtaposition to consumer responses in the following studies. In Study 2, we measured expertise stereotypes about Black and women entrepreneurs across various product types. Utilizing these findings, we contrasted the effect of ‘Black-owned’ labels on cannabis versus candy products in Study 3. ‘Black-owned’ labeling increased Black participants’ intentions to consume candy, but not cannabis; and the pattern reversed for White participants such that ‘Black-owned’ labeling increased their intentions only for cannabis. Whereas out-group members’ response is consistent with expertise stereotypes, in-group members’ support does not extend to the stigmatized category. In Study 4, field ad campaigns revealed that ‘Black-owned’ (vs. no) label increases click-through by 21% on a psychedelics ad, while a ‘Woman-owned’ (vs. no) label reduces by 15%, consistent with expertise stereotypes. These findings advance the discourse on ownership labeling and provide insight into nuanced consumer responses in this category.
Just Keep It: When and Why Returnless Product Returns Foster Brand Support
John Costello & Christopher Bechler
Journal of Marketing Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Many retailers now use “returnless returns” which allow customers to keep the products they want to return. Nine studies demonstrate that consumers who experience returnless returns demonstrate a greater likelihood to patronize the brand and are more likely to share positive word-of-mouth relative to consumers who are told to return these products (i.e., as in standard product returns) and consumers who make purchases that are not returned. This effect generalizes across contexts (e.g., reasons for initiating the return) and is mediated through brand warmth, as allowing consumers to keep unwanted purchases signals a communal orientation. Leveraging our theoretical framework, we identify moderators to offer insights into how managers considering offering returnless product returns can most effectively signal brand warmth and foster support. Specifically, returnless returns increase brand support when proof of product issue is not required, the decision is framed as specific to that consumer and situation, the brand provides a consumer or environmentally-centric motive for the decision, and the brand suggests donating the kept product. Thus, our findings identify an often-overlooked benefit of returnless returns beyond cutting costs and provide managers with practical guidance about how to communicate with consumers during returnless return experiences to foster future brand support.
The Power of Proximity: Exploring Narrative Language in Consumer Reviews
Anne Hamby, Brent McFerran & Christie Fuller
Journal of Marketing, forthcoming
Abstract:
Marketers know the importance of online reviews, but what can be done to improve the prompts asking consumers to review? Across eight studies, the present work shows that a prompt that encourages writing reviews for a close audience enhances consumers’ use of narrative language. A growing body of literature reveals that narratives are powerful persuasive devices for shaping audiences’ beliefs, including when reading online reviews. However, little is known about what aspects shape the communicator’s use of narrative language in the first place. A prompt that encourages writers to imagine as though they were writing for a close audience increases narrativity, an effect mediated by consumers’ tendency to write in a natural, less effortful style when writing for a close (vs. distant) audience. The effect is attenuated when people write about material (vs. experiential) purchases, and when people write on a smartphone (vs. PC). Consumers find writing for close others to be at least as enjoyable as several other prompts, but with improved outcomes for firms. As most review sites provide limited guidance on how to write, this research offers an inexpensive and scalable intervention to improve reviews and the review writing experience.
Units or Pounds? How Anchoring on Salient Price Information Influences Perceptions of Product Value
Sarah Whitley, Julio Sevilla & Mathew Isaac
Journal of Marketing Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
This research investigates how price format (unit-based, “$1 each” vs. weight-based, “$2 per pound”) affects consumer perceptions of product value. When judging a product’s value, grocery shoppers might consider how much they will have to pay in exchange for how much product (e.g., in pounds) they are getting. This work finds that when making this determination, shoppers anchor on the nominal value (e.g., $1, $2) of the most visually salient price that is displayed to them. As a result of this anchoring bias, perceived value is worse (i.e., less attractive) for lower-weight products (e.g., weighing less than one pound) when the most visually salient price is weight-based rather than unit-based (e.g., for a ½ lb. product: $2.00 per pound < $1.00 each). In contrast, for higher-weight products (e.g., weighing more than one pound), weight-based pricing is perceived more favorably than unit-based pricing (e.g., for a 2 lb. product: $2.00 per pound > $4.00 each). The authors provide evidence for this price format effect in a series of six studies, including two field studies examining real purchase behavior and sales.