Past research shows how information about corporate irresponsibility that contradicts an organization's social responsibility commitments causes hypocrisy perceptions. Extant research on stakeholder engagement however, has not explained how inconsistent corporate social responsibility (CSR) information affects the perceptions of consumers strongly connected with a brand. This study investigates how, rather than protecting the firm against hypocrisy perceptions, self-brand connectedness magnifies the negative effect of inconsistent CSR information. We tested the research hypotheses across two experimental studies, using both fictitious and real brands in two different industries. We estimated a multi-group structural equation model model to show how self-brand connectedness increases people's willingness to distance themselves from the hypocritical brand. Results show that consumers that feel close to the hypocritical brand have a stronger desire to disengage their identity from the brand and protect their self-esteem. The desire to avoid the brand in turn drives more negative consumer reactions in terms of brand attitudes, brand loyalty and negative word of mouth. Our findings contribute to the literature by demonstrating that a close relationship between the consumer and the brand may aggravate behavioral reactions to hypocrisy perceptions. This is the first study to consider how hypocrisy perceptions influence attitude and behaviors of consumers that are closely connected to the company. Our results extend research on hypocrisy perceptions and brand avoidance by showing that closely connected consumers are especially likely to reject brands that send inconsistent messages about their involvement in CSR.

中文翻译：

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爬得越高，跌得越惨：自有品牌关联在消费者对企业社会责任虚伪的反应中的作用

过去的研究表明，与组织的社会责任承诺相矛盾的有关企业不负责任的信息如何导致虚伪的看法。然而，现有关于利益相关者参与的研究并没有解释不一致的企业社会责任 (CSR) 信息如何影响与品牌密切相关的消费者的看法。这项研究调查了自我品牌关联如何放大不一致的企业社会责任信息的负面影响，而不是保护公司免受虚伪的看法。我们测试了两项实验研究中的研究假设，使用了两个不同行业的虚构品牌和真实品牌。我们估计了一个多组结构方程模型模型来展示自我品牌连接如何增加人们的 愿意与虚伪的品牌保持距离。结果表明，感觉接近虚伪品牌的消费者有更强烈的愿望，希望将他们的身份从品牌中分离出来并保护他们的自尊。回避品牌的愿望反过来会在品牌态度、品牌忠诚度和负面口碑方面引发更多的负面消费者反应。我们的发现通过证明消费者和品牌之间的密切关系可能会加剧对虚伪感知的行为反应，从而为文献做出贡献。这是第一项考虑伪善观念如何影响与公司密切相关的消费者的态度和行为的研究。