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To take a stand or not: effects of company-issue fit and perceived motivations for CSA on consumer response

Seoyeon Kim (University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA)
Lucinda L. Austin (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA)
Barbara Miller Gaither (Elon University, Elon, North Carolina, USA)

Corporate Communications: An International Journal

ISSN: 1356-3289

Article publication date: 8 October 2024

32

Abstract

Purpose

This study examined how consumer response to corporations that take a stand (or not) on social/political issues – varied by “fit” between the company and the advocated issue – was mediated by perceptions of the motives for the advocacy.

Design/methodology/approach

A 2 (corporate stand: stand v. no stand) × 2 (company-issue fit: high v. low) experiment was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 1,204 U.S. adult consumers.

Findings

The study found that the effect of corporate stand taking on perceived corporate hypocrisy was moderated by company-issue fit. Also, companies were viewed as more hypocritical when taking a stand on an issue that was less relevant to the company’s business, despite the CSA being seen as being values-driven.

Originality/value

The study provides guidelines for companies to determine when and whether to take a stand on a CSA issue. Particularly, the results suggest that values promotion is not the sole determinant of successful CSA and that company-issue fit should be taken into account for a more comprehensive assessment of the given CSA.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a grant from the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Pennsylvania State University.

Citation

Kim, S., Austin, L.L. and Gaither, B.M. (2024), "To take a stand or not: effects of company-issue fit and perceived motivations for CSA on consumer response", Corporate Communications: An International Journal, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/CCIJ-06-2024-0101

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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