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Wednesday, February 16th, 4:45PM
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What is the best response for a company confronting a symbolic consumer boycott? A symbolic boycott is a consumer expression of disapproval and disassociation, usually to highlight social injustices and utilize moral pressure against a targeted company. It may cost little or nothing for consumers to initiate a boycott via the Internet, but the long-term economic damage to a company is considerable. Thus, company management of the boycott situation is critical. Corporate press releases are often the most common response to calls to boycott in the media, but several ways to execute the counter-messages are possible. The current research examines a few of these counter-message tactics. The experimental data examining emotional and cognitive factors suggest that, 1) initiating counter-messages of any type are effective in reducing boycott intentions and, 2) the greater the extent that a counter-message can reduce consumer perceived moral violation, the greater the overall reduction in boycott intentions. _______________________________________________ Dr. Johnny Chen is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Southern Maine. He currently teaches consumer behavior and customer relationship management. His research interests include experiential consumption, sports marketing, and prosocial behavior. He holds a B.S. Computer Science (Oregon State University), an M.B.A. from the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center (University of Oregon), and a Ph.D. in Marketing (University of Oregon). His articles appear in the Journal of Sports Management and Journal of Advertising Research, as well as in conference proceedings from meetings of the Academy of Marketing Science, Advances in Consumer Research, and the Society of Consumer Psychology. Prior to his academic career, Professor Chen worked eleven years for Intel Corporation in Internet engineering, product marketing engineering, and strategic alliance management, among other functions. |
USM Professor Jeffrey Gramlich was appointed the first L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Chair in Accounting in the USM School of Business in 2003. His appointment was made possible by a $1 million gift from L.L. Bean, Inc., its board chair, Leon Gorman, his wife Lisa, Jim and Maureen Gorman, and Tom Gorman, who established the chair in memory of L.L. Bean CFO Lee Surace '73, '81, who died in March of 2001. Surace was chair of the USM School of Business' Advisory Council and was a frequent guest lecturer. The USM School of Business is accredited by the prestigious AACSB International. For students seeking the finest education and companies seeking the highest caliber talent, partnership, and educational opportunities, AACSB International accreditation is one of the most important affirmations of sustained quality in the word. For more information about School of Business programs, call 780-4020. |
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