Title
How negative celebrity publicity influences consumer attitudes : the mediating role of moral reputation
Document Type
Journal article
Source Publication
Journal of Business Research
Publication Date
8-1-2013
Volume
66
Issue
8
First Page
1013
Last Page
1020
Publisher
Elsevier Inc.
Keywords
Negative publicity, celebrity endorsement, morality, Asia, attitudes
Abstract
This paper explores consumer reactions to negative celebrity publicity. We draw from the sociological analysis of morality and propose that an individual's concerns with moral norms of the target celebrity's personal conduct (deontology) and perceived wrongness of his/her act to the general public (teleology) have detrimental effects on celebrity endorsements. The results based upon a convenience sample of young Asian consumers reveal the crucial role of the evaluation of moral reputation in shaping respondents' reaction to the poorly behaving celebrity and the endorsed brands. The major implication is that moral reputation is an important bridging connection between the attribution process and consumers' reaction to negative celebrity publicity and therefore the celebrity endorser's moral reputation should be incorporated into celebrity endorsement research. Our approach captures a broad sociological process underlying consumer resistance to erratic behavior of celebrity endorsers.
DOI
10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.12.025
Print ISSN
01482963
E-ISSN
18737978
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc
Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Whitla, P. A., & Zhou, L. (2013). How negative celebrity publicity influences consumer attitudes: The mediating role of moral reputation. Journal of Business Research, 66(8), 1013-1020. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.12.025
