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Brands facing a crisis have to decide whether to disclose crisis-related information themselves or to wait and take the risk that a third party breaks the news. While brands might benefit from self-disclosing the information, it is likely that the impact of crisis communication on customers’ evaluation of the brand depends on the type of crisis. This study aims to investigate the influence of type of crisis on the relationshp between disclosure and brand outcomes.

A 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment with 180 Dutch participants was conducted.

Results show that self-disclosure of a negative incident positively affects consumers’ attitude, trust and purchase intention compared to third-party disclosure. Additionally, disclosure and crisis type interact. In times of a product-harm crisis, self-disclosure does not represent an advantage to third party disclosure, while in times of a moral-harm crisis disclosure by the brand is able to maintain customers’ positive attitude towards and trust in the brand compared to disclosure by a third party. Moreover, blame attribution mediates the effect of crisis type on brand evaluations.

Recent research indicates that self-disclosing crisis information instead of waiting until thunder strikes has beneficial effects for a brand in times of crisis. However, these studies use the context of product-harm crises, which neglects the possible impact of moral-harm crises. Furthermore, this study adds the impact of blame attributions as a mediator in this context.

Financial constraints recently confronting performing arts organizations propel them to employ various marketing tactics to not only win new visitors but also to maintain its current clientele. Fostering a long-term relationship with clients is regarded a vital solution to a survival-related predicament these organizations face. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of four marketing tactics – personalization, two-way communication, preferential treatment, and rewarding – on the dimensions of customer relationship, namely, satisfaction, trust, and commitment.

Data to test the various research hypotheses were collected through a survey with 252 clients of a performing arts venue in a Dutch city. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.

Results reveal that extension of rewards to and maintaining a two-way communication with clients of a performing arts venue positively influence their satisfaction with, trust in, and commitment to the performing arts venue. Personalization of services impacts commitment only. However, the effect of preferential treatment on the three relationship dimensions is not statistically significant. Additionally, analysis shows that satisfied customers are more likely to trust the performing arts venue, although clients’ satisfaction with and trust in the performing arts venue do not influence their commitment to the venue.

Research into the ways to strengthen customer relationships in the performing arts is still scarce. The current research aims at investigating the impact of several marketing tactics on customer relationship measured in terms of satisfaction, trust, and commitment and shows how performing arts venues can strengthen their bonds with customers.