Cultural cognition and endorser scandal: Impact of consumer information processing mode on moral judgment in the endorsement context

Joon Sung Lee, Dae Hee Kwak and Richard P. Bagozzi

Journal of Business Research, 2021, vol. 132, issue C, 906-917

Abstract: Robust evidence suggests that cultural variation affects consumer information processing. However, how different cultural orientations lead consumers to different moral judgments toward celebrity endorsers’ unethical behaviors is less appreciated. Drawing on the dual agency model, we show through two experiments that consumers’ information processing mode (holistic vs. analytic) leads to different moral judgment outcomes. This study contributes to the literature by (1) identifying the substantial roles of consumers’ cultural background and cognitive processing style on their response to negative publicity about celebrity athletes, (2) demonstrating the influence of cultural cognition on moral reasoning for both chronic (study 1) and working self-concepts (study 2), and (3) empirically testing the mediating role of the information processing mode on the effect of cultural cognition on moral judgment processes and its subsequent outcomes for celebrity athlete evaluation. The findings shed important managerial insights for managers dealing with athlete’s unethical behaviors in different cultural contexts.

Keywords: Celebrity endorsement; Transgression; Motivated cultural cognition; Moral reasoning; Consumer behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:132:y:2021:i:c:p:906-917

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.11.029

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