TY  - CHAP
AB  - Purpose Very little research addresses whether the values that consumers bring to a situation can affect their reactions to a brand failure. This paper suggests the interesting possibility that consumers may react very differently to the same brand failure depending upon their values. Here, the authors introduce a new construct to the marketing literature – honor values – and demonstrate its effect on responses to brand failures.Methodology Three experiments and one secondary data study were utilized.Findings Across four studies, honor values are shown to aggravate consumers’ desire for vengeance following a brand failure. That is, as honor values increase, so too does desire for vengeance in the face of a brand failure. Additionally, this desire can be attenuated by allowing the consumer to play a role in resolving the failure or by giving a heartfelt apology.Practical implications High-honor consumers are a major obstacle for firms facing a brand failure. To overcome this challenge, the authors offer strategies, including (1) allowing high-honor consumers to suggest ways to punish the offending employee, and (2) offering simple, heartfelt apologies to high-honor consumers, which are as effective as monetary compensations.
VL  - 12
SN  - 978-1-78441-932-5, 978-1-78441-931-8/1548-6435
DO  - 10.1108/S1548-643520150000012010
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S1548-643520150000012010
AU  - May Frank
AU  - Monga Alokparna Basu
AU  - Kalaignanam Kartik
PY  - 2015
Y1  - 2015/01/01
TI  - Consumer Responses to Brand Failures: The Neglected Role of Honor Values
T2  - Brand Meaning Management
T3  - Review of Marketing Research
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 257
EP  - 291
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -