Should Brands Talk about Environmental Sustainability Aspects That “Really Hurt”? Exploring the Consequences of Disclosing Highly Relevant Negative CSR Information

Jonas Müller (), Michael Schade and Christoph Burmann
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Jonas Müller: markstones Institute of Marketing, Branding & Technology, University of Bremen, Max-von-Laue-Straße 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Michael Schade: markstones Institute of Marketing, Branding & Technology, University of Bremen, Max-von-Laue-Straße 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Christoph Burmann: markstones Institute of Marketing, Branding & Technology, University of Bremen, Max-von-Laue-Straße 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 22, 1-14

Abstract: When communicating their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities many companies predominantly release positive information. However, relying solely on positive information holds potential risks. Brands are consequently confronted with the dilemma of whether to exclusively disclose positive details about their environmental CSR activities (i.e., one-sided messages) or opt for voluntary disclosure of positive and negative information (i.e., two-sided messages). Existing literature distinguishes moderately and highly relevant types of negative information. However, prior research has predominantly overlooked the investigation of highly relevant negative CSR information. Therefore, our primary objective is to explore the impact of two-sided messages encompassing highly relevant negative CSR information in comparison to one-sided messages. We conducted four online experiments in two countries with different brands (study 1 (Germany, Mercedes-Benz, n = 457); study 2 (Germany, Porsche, n = 431); study 3 (USA, Mercedes-Benz, n = 468) and study 4 (USA, Tesla, n = 465)). The results reveal that two-sided messages with the disclosure of highly relevant negative CSR information lead to negative effects in comparison to one-sided messages with only positive information. Consequently, brands should exercise caution in communicating highly relevant negative CSR aspects. Our findings offer notable theoretical insights and practical implications.

Keywords: two-sided messages; CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility); message sidedness; attribution theory; online experiment; automotive industry; highly relevant negative CSR information; transparency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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