Should businesses take a stand? Effects of perceived psychological distance on consumers' expectation and evaluation of corporate social advocacy

• Published in: Journal of marketing communications Vol. 28; no. 8; pp. 840 - 863
• Main Authors: Xu, Hao, Lee, Eugene, Rim, Hyejoon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Routledge 17.11.2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: boycott; buycott; construal level theory; consumer-company identification; Corporate social advocacy; partisan identity; psychological distance
• ISSN: 1352-7266; 1466-4445
• DOI: 10.1080/13527266.2021.1969588

Nowadays companies are increasingly engaging in social-political issues. In light of the Construal Level Theory, this study examined the polarizing/depolarizing effects of perceived psychological distance on consumers' expectation of corporate social advocacy and evaluations among consumers from different partisan identities. A between-subjects experiment (N = 296) with a continuous independent variable - perceived psychological distance - was employed. The study found that consumers with a closer perceived psychological distance to the company tended to have a higher expectation of corporate social advocacy. However, perceptions of psychological distance resulted in mixed effects regarding people's attitudes and buycott/boycott intentions, where consumer-company identification mediated these relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.