Consumer cynicism: antecedents and consequences

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -By examining the behaviours of cynical consumers and the factors that give rise to them, the paper's aim is to highlight the potential impact of consumer cynicism on firms and to investigate the possibility of influencing the evolution of those behaviours over time. Design/methodology/approach -A multi-method approach uses five focus groups, a survey, and a longitudinal experiment to explore the behaviour of cynical consumers experiencing different patterns of goal/value (in)congruence with the actions of a firm. Findings -Progressive development in the frequency and severity of cynical behaviours results from repeated incongruence between consumers' goals or values and firm actions. Value incongruence has a greater effect on the severity of cynical behaviours. Recency effects remove cynical behaviours when the underlying drivers of cynicism are reversed.Research limitations/implications -The results are based on consumers' behavioural intentions, requiring a degree of subjective interpretation to quantify the severity of consumer behaviours. Practical implications -Because of the potentially severe nature of cynical consumer behaviours, the study helps managers to gain a better understanding of these behaviours, their source, and how to monitor their frequency, severity, and development over time. Originality/value -Several facets of consumer cynicism are examined that have not been explored together previously, including drivers, cognitive/affective mechanisms, and the pattern of resulting behaviours. This approach provides managers with a tool to predict how consumers will react to a given situation and suggests actions to mitigate these reactions.

Social Desirability and Cynicism: Bridging the Attitude-Behavior Gap in CSR Surveys

“…Recently, it has been introduced to the domain of academic researchers (Kalag an & Aksu, 2010;Karadag , Kilic¸ og lu, & Yilmaz, 2014). In marketing literature, cynicism has gained new popularity for explaining the behavior of consumers, be it general reactions toward companies and advertising or consumer disappointment in a company (Chowdhury & Fernando, 2013;Chylinski & Chu, 2010;Odou & de Pechpeyrou, 2011).…”

“…However, a few brands that cynics truly trust can gain loyalty among this group (Helm, 2004). Chylinski and Chu (2010) synthesized studies on the effects of cynicism on consumer behavior toward a company and classified the result-ing behaviors as positive, neutral, or negative. The findings of their study further support this classification, but the analysis is restricted to scenarios where cynicism is prompted by negative company behavior.…”

“…This type of cynicism further coincides with the "complaint" theme of Chylinski and Chu; consumers vent frustration or offer a company another chance through negative feedback without corresponding action. Cynicism toward marketing and advertising is easier to create than to eradicate (Chylinski & Chu, 2010) but the resulting consumer behavior varies widely.…”

Ad skepticisms: Antecedents and consequences

“…Cynicism is studied in many disciplines with different context, such as interpersonal and personality studies, organization and behavior of employee, social and political (Chylinski & Chu, 2010). Consumer cynicism is a process of related cognitive, behavioral, and affective reactions expressed by initial suspicion, defensive attempts, and eventual alienation of the consumer (Chylinski & Chu, 2010).…”

“…Consumer cynicism is a process of related cognitive, behavioral, and affective reactions expressed by initial suspicion, defensive attempts, and eventual alienation of the consumer (Chylinski & Chu, 2010). Cynicism is defined as "the suspicion of other people's motives, faithfulness, and goodwill" (Kanter & Wortzel, 1985) and it is linked directly to the believability of advertising claims (Obermiller et al, 2005;Thakor & Goneau-Lessard, 2009) Cynicism refers to ''disbelief in the possibility of the good'' (Berman, 1997) Consumers intend to achieve the desired ends with the availing services or consuming goods; they may achieve the goal or face the failure.…”