Abstract

This article investigates potential negative effects of a product-harm crisis (PHC) involving a product category that benefits from positive country-of-origin (COO) effects. In particular, the authors hypothesize that such a PHC generates deteriorations in consumers’ attitudes toward the product category involved, which in turn spill over to a country’s products in general (broad COO level) and, subsequently, to other product categories (narrow COO level), in that they generate attitude deteriorations on these two levels as well. Two online experiments confirm these negative effects and that attitudinal deterioration is particularly strong among consumers with relatively high initial trust if intentional actions of the concerned companies have caused the crisis.

摘要

本文研究了产品危害危机（PHC）的潜在负面影响，其中涉及受益于原产国（COO）积极影响的产品类别。尤其是，作者假设这样的PHC会使消费者对所涉及产品类别的态度恶化，从而反过来蔓延到一个国家的一般产品（广泛的COO等级），然后蔓延到其他产品类别（狭窄的COO等级）。 ），因为它们也会在这两个级别上导致态度恶化。两项在线实验证实了这些负面影响，并且如果相关公司的故意行为引起了危机，则在初始信任度相对较高的消费者中，态度恶化尤为严重。