Cultural Differences in Consumer Responses to Celebrities Acting Immorally: A Comparison of the United States and South Korea

In-Hye Kang () and Taehoon Park ()
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In-Hye Kang: University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Taehoon Park: Florida Gulf Coast University

Journal of Business Ethics, 2022, vol. 180, issue 1, No 21, 373-389

Abstract: Abstract Scandals involving celebrities’ moral transgressions are common in both Western and Eastern cultures. Existing literature, however, has been primarily based on Western cultures. We examine differences between South Korea and the United States (U.S.) in consumers’ support for celebrities engaged in moral transgressions and for the brands they endorse. Across six studies, we find that Korean (vs. U.S.) consumers show lower support for celebrities who engaged in moral transgressions. This effect occurs because Korean (vs. U.S.) consumers have a stronger belief that an individual’s competence and morality are interconnected. Thus, Korean (vs. U.S.) consumers are less likely to separate their judgments of celebrities’ morality and competence in professional performance, thereby lowering support for the celebrities. Building on the proposed mechanism, we identify the moderating role of transgression relevance. When a moral transgression is relevant (vs. not relevant) to the domain of the celebrity’s professional competence, the difference in celebrity support between the two countries is attenuated. This difference extends to the support for a brand endorsed by the celebrity transgressor when the brand retains the celebrity endorser, but not when the brand dismisses the endorser.

Keywords: Celebrity’s moral transgression; Moral judgment; Cross-cultural effect; Moral decoupling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-021-04887-0

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