From Trust to Turmoil_Analysing Customer Attitude Changes in the Face of Product-Based and Morality-Driven Scandals

2.1 Overview of customer attitudes

Consumers occupy a central place in marketing, because the formation of market conditions, the success of marketing programs implemented by manufacturing companies, and the general economic situation in the country and region depend on their level of well-being, the content of their needs, and their behavior.

For example, if consumers perceive certain changes in their surrounding social, economic or political environment as negative, in most cases their natural reaction will be to reduce expenses with the translation of saved funds into savings. A reduction in consumer spending causes a drop in demand for goods and services, a decrease in demand forces manufacturers to reduce the volume of production and provision of goods and services.

The decline in production, in turn, leads, among other things, to a reduction in jobs, as a result of which the incomes owned by the population (that is, consumers) decrease, thereby intensifying the drop in demand and provoking the development of crisis situations in the economy of entire industries, regions, and countries. It is because of such a tangible influence on the state of supply and demand in the markets of goods and services that consumers occupy a key position in marketing.

Most researchers do not provide a specific definition of the conceptualization of satisfaction (Prayag et al. 2019). However, satisfaction can be characterized as an emotional state that results from an evaluation that the consumer makes concerning a service or product and their response to it, and its totality can only be achieved when the desires and preferences of customers are prioritized (Khudhair et al. 2019). Palací et al. (2019) consider that there are two ways - affective and cognitive - of internalizing the experience with the brand and that they will influence the satisfaction of the consumer.

The study of the main antecedents of satisfaction has become a strategic issue. In fact, consumers are increasingly autonomous, reflective, and critical. Thus, the antecedents of satisfaction should be analyzed in a deeper way to predict some consumer behaviors and, subsequently, to obtain a series of beneficial results for organizations, such as WOM communication, loyalty, and financial profitability (Palací et al. 2019). Mohammed and Rashid (2018), based on Carroll's (1991) four dimensions of CSR, concluded that CSR positively affects consumer satisfaction.

Currently, consumers are more satisfied with products developed by socially responsible companies. Consumer satisfaction is formed through rational judgments and experience throughout the buying process (Palací et al. 2019), where service quality (Lee et al. 2020) and brand attitude (Lee et al. 2020; Rivera et al. 2016) leveraged by CSR tend to influence consumer satisfaction.

Customers are sensitive to how a business responds to their needs. If the crisis hits you, and you start interacting with customers worse at any or all stages of the funnel, you risk losing them.

Digital interaction has become more active due to distance mode and self-isolation, many have started to spend more time online, and this has changed habits. Confirmation of volume - customer responses about what has changed during 2020. 63% of respondents noted receiving goods and services, and 62% transferred their lives online.

Customer experience is the most important factor not only in increasing sales, but also in building relationships with the customer. Companies that provide impeccable service win twice. 53% of customers say they feel an emotional connection to the brands they buy from the most.

The transition of an increasing number of customers online sets higher standards of interaction. Along with excellent service, 88% of respondents expect new digital products and services in response to the pandemic. Desires are divided depending on which generation of people you work with - Millennials, Baby Boomers or Generation Z. 90% of customers said that a company's behavior during a crisis shows its reliability. Compared to 2019, in 2020 the reliability of the company is more important - 82% against 73%, which is also a high indicator.

Due to the pandemic, many buyers have been forced to go online. The same applies to companies. Offline service implies direct contact between the customer and the manager, so customers have retained offline behavior patterns - hence the increased expectations.

Do not forget about the quality of service. If the client receives quick and high-quality help, sees your expertise and knowledge, the probability that he will return to you increases greatly.

It is important to note that help can come not only from a person. Understanding your customer, their needs, and their journey through your product will allow you to anticipate questions, know where the customer is most likely to have a question, and act ahead of time. For example, setting up a bot in such "key" places. This can be the stage of selection, comparison, decision-making, payment, etc.

91% of respondents said they are more likely to make another purchase after a positive service experience.

Quality service is personalized, holistic and fast - easy to say, but hard to do in reality. However, this is exactly what all companies should strive for - customer care will bear fruit not only in the form of engagement and loyalty, but will also give an opportunity to regain lost trust in the brand.

If in 2019, 49% of customers expected an individual approach every time they contact a brand, then in 2020 this figure increased to 52%.

2.2 Relevant theories for studying attitude changes

Originally the term “Brand” referred to a piece of burning wood. In the Middle Ages, it becomes a verb meaning a permanent mark with a hot iron. In the seventeenth century, it represented a mark of ownership (Ries & Ries, 2005). Yet, it is in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries that it grows in relevance and started to designate goods, services, and institutions, but now also destinations, people, and robots. Brands are present in human lives in the physical, online, or virtual world (Loureiro et al., 2021).

Nowadays, more businesses are prioritizing the importance of branding. „Brand image can be interpreted as sentiment, and as an intrinsic commodity, which guarantees the company's long-term success “ (Išoraitì, 2018, p. 33-39).

In this way, it can be seen that brand image plays a significant role in customer attraction as well as the creation of customer loyalty and profitability. „Brands that can fulfill the key elements of exposure, consistency, price, partnership, brand name, loyalty, and partnerships build value for the customer. “ (Išoraitì, 2018, p. 33-39) Exactly those factors have a great impact on the customer impression and perception, as well as brands` positioning on the market.

„Brand image has been researched extensively since the twentieth century.“ (Zhang, 2015, p. 8) „Brand equity is perceived as the most important predictor of brand imagery, which refers to a consumer's overall view and feelings towards a brand and effects of their behavior.“ (Zhang, 2015, p.14) „A brand may be a word or a symbol, a word, a digit, a design, an icon, a slogan, or a spatial feature of the product (image, packaging, form, color) that is marked and aids in distinguishing between an individual or a product belonging to the corporation.“ (Išoraitì, 2018, p. 33-39) Some brand names have become so well-known that no one else refers to an object by its name and instead, they refer to it by its symbol which has a higher recognition level among the customers.

Companies need to get a better perspective into customer preferences in the highly dynamic global marketplace to teach customers about the brand to establish successful marketing campaigns. To implement campaigns in today's highly dynamic world marketplace, marketers must gain a better understanding of customer behavior and inform customers about the brand.

Brand image refers to the personality traits of a company or one of its brands operating on the market (Dong 2016) and to consumer perceptions of that same brand and/or a product (Malmelin and Moisander 2014), reflected through the associations stored in the memory of consumers (Leone et al. 2006). Brand image is indivisible from the brand itself and reflects its strength and essence (Dong 2016), relating, then, with a series of associations (Aaker 1992). Martínez et al. (2014), regarding brand image, studied two dimensions of the brand: the affective and the functional.

Regarding CSR and its relationship with brand image, there are several studies that associate these two concepts (Kodua et al. 2022; Mohammed and Rashid 2018; Özcan and Elçi 2020; Srivastava 2019). Products' or services' brand image is affected by CSR actions, meaning that when CSR works for the benefits of society, the environment, and the living conditions of its employees and society in general, consumers favor the products and services of these companies.

Consequently, there is a significant improvement in brand image (Maldonado-Guzman et al. 2017) and in clients' retention that expresses intentions to return to the same (Othman and Hemdi 2015) and to have other behaviors and intentions, such as revisiting the intention, making recommendations, and having a willingness to pay more (Singh et al. 2023).

Corporate responsibility strengthens brand image when a company knows how to inspire trust, build credibility, and develop a strong image in the eyes of others (Maldonado-Guzman et al. 2017). Consumer satisfaction is influenced by brand image, which has CSR contributions (Bianchi et al. 2019). Brand image is cognitively and affectively affected by corporate social responsibility (He and Li 2011). CSR contributes to brand image, not only to customers but also to other stakeholders (Sun and Cui 2014), and the organizations should develop communication strategies that promote CSR initiatives, promoting their brand image (Bianchi et al. 2019).

One of the business goals is to gain a competitive advantage by making customers loyal to the brands being sold. (Ashraf et al, 2018) argue that brand loyalty plays an important role because it is not easier for companies to get new customers than to maintain loyal customers, so they do not easily switch to competitors.

Therefore, companies must make strategic plans to create consumer value in order to remain competitive in their business. To create loyal customers, of the strategies to create them is by always pay attention to the responses given by consumers or the consumer's experience. Because now consumers tend to look at the experiences of other people before deciding to buy a product, they also always pay attention to consumers from their love for the brand because that can increase passion and satisfaction for the brand, which makes increased love for the brand which in turn will make consumers make repurchases.

Brand love greatly affects brand loyalty Anggraeni & Rachmanita (2015). Brand loyalty is said to be consumer behavior that is committed to a particular brand and makes purchases repeatedly over time. To Cuong (2020), Brand loyalty reduces marketing costs. It improves the relationship between sellers, so they are not afraid to compete because loyal customers are likelier to buy more products and recommend them to others.

Loyalty is also one of the main drivers of company profitability because it provides a cost advantage by retaining loyal customers (Popp & Wilson, 2018). Therefore, loyalty has a vital strategy and requirement for business; loyalty also has a strategic strength for retailers to compete in an intensely competitive environment.

Brand love is influenced by brand satisfaction and consumer experience (Roy et al., 2012; Drennan, 2015 ). Brand love is considered a marketing concept because, with the existence of brand love, the relationship between consumers and brands can lead to sustainable and long term.

Brand and love are considered the level of emotional attachment satisfied consumers have to certain brands (Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006). From Valaei (2017), Brand love is known as emotions toward the brand, attachment to the brand, positive experiences toward the brand, and expressions of love for the brand.

Satisfaction results from transactions after purchasing, but brand love results in long-term relationships between consumers and brands. Milan et al. (2021 ) brand love has a predictor variable for customer loyalty and has a positive effect on loyalty. Brand love for hijab increases the intention to return, especially among teenage consumers.

Another factor that strongly influences purchase loyalty is the consumer experience. In online marketing that uses social media, consumer experience is one of the sections that must be read before making a purchase, namely the experience of other people, or you can experience it yourself.

The impression of the consumer experience of a brand in consumer memory lasts a long time compared to memories of the characteristics or benefits of the product (Chase & Dasu, 2014). Therefore, the consumer experience associated with the brand plays an important role in marketing and consumer behavior because businesses consider it a very relevant element in building long-term relationships between consumers and brands, which can also lead to brand loyalty. (Khan & Rahman, 2017).

2.2.2 Brand loyalty

Brand loyalty is a consumer's preference for a product or service, which is formed as a result of constant interactions. The emotions that arise in the client during this process create the basis for a future emotional connection that is formed for a long time and can be broken at any moment along the client's journey.

During each interaction of a consumer with a brand, he receives both positive and negative experiences that create associations in him about the product or brand. Therefore, an important task for businesses is to put themselves in the customer's shoes and understand their potential behavior and reactions during each such experience.

Emotional reactions of consumers to a particular situation are decisive in shaping the overall experience. By studying such reactions, a business can confront negative customer biases, work with them, and achieve maximum customer satisfaction from every contact with the product.

Customer loyalty consists of behavioral characteristics - repeated purchases, interactions with the brand, as well as emotional perception - satisfaction, received emotions, impressions, trust.

At first, a person develops a habit of making purchases in a certain store or buying this particular product or brand: on average, 5-6 purchases are enough for this. Then there is a feeling of respect for the brand. After each new interaction of the client with the brand, provided there is no negative experience, his satisfaction increases and an emotional connection is formed.

Over time, the stage of admiration and trust comes: a satisfied customer turns into a brand advocate. Brand advocates look for it on store shelves or shop in specific retail chains.

Human memory plays a big role in the formation of loyalty. With the help of automatic reactions, we remember when we touch something hot or spicy. In this process, the synapses that form between the nerve cells transmit information to the brain, whether we are aware of this sensation.

The same happens with business customers when they interact with a service or product. We receive, respectively, positive or negative reactions that stimulate the nerve "client" receptors. This leads to compliance with the rule known as the peak-end rule: consumers' emotions shape the overall experience of the shopping process.

For example, brands often resort to tricks by offering small gifts at the checkout for customers, so this unexpectedness allows you to build the overall shopping experience and influence the formation of loyalty.

It turns everyday work into interesting entertainment. Impressions become a component of the economic offer, which provides an opportunity to form a strong emotional connection with consumers and touch their feelings. Impressions give a business the dream loyalty.

People tend to identify with certain brands, sharing their values and broadcasting it to society. Researchers have found that the process of loyalty arises from our fundamental need for belonging, which is why we constantly seek social connections (according to Baumeister & Leary).

By offering goods or services on the market, brands not only address the needs of customers, but also allow them to find like-minded people, highlight their significance and allow them to belong to a group of individuals (other customers) and receive desired value markers through contact with a certain brand.

„Customer loyalty is one of a company's most important commodities and the opposite side of brand value “. (Shugan, 2005, p. 21) Customer loyalty is faith and trustiness toward a company, product, service, or visual identity, which results in constant consumption. A loyal customer is the one who makes frequent transactions, takes advantage of a variety of business promotions, promotes the brand to other customers, and refuses to buy from other brands. Trust is one of the principles of loyalty, according to the literature on loyalty and trust. „In view of the positive effects on trust and loyalty of online communities as a social structure, it was claimed that strengthened relationships in the customer-centered brand community model can improve brand trust, which has a positive influence on brand loyalty“ (Laroche, 2013, p. 17).

The fragility of loyalty is made evident by situations where brands undermine their reputation and trust with customers in a matter of hours. For example, the Volkswagen case and the diesel scandal. As a result, the brand suffered approximately EUR 31.3 billion in losses and, along with this, faced the disappointment of 240,000 loyal customers. Trust in the brand, which claimed the image of a manufacturer of ecological and economical cars, was lost. Business owners are still working on building relationships with customers, even though it's been more than 5 years.

Loyal customers can forgive mistakes if they are specific to one person or are random. Brand response to mistakes and crisis communication is the whole art of creating a flawless customer journey.

However, when problems become systemic and affect an entire group of consumers, an apology alone will not be enough. Most importantly, even big marketing budgets won't fix consumer dissatisfaction. Loyalty is lost much faster than we expect.

One of the essential factors is failure to fulfill business promises to customers. When agreements are violated, such as loss of product quality, low level of customer orientation, indifference to consumers, it leads to negative perception and resentment on the part of customers. The customer does not feel that he is important to the brand, his need to belong is ignored, and he begins to look for an alternative in the market.

Also, the formation of loyalty is affected by uncontrolled changes, namely situations that make adjustments in the interests of customers and change their life values. For example, in a country where a large part of your brand's audience is present, a war begins or a natural disaster occurs. The ideal scenario: the business communicates with the audience in a timely manner and offers any assistance. But if the company ignores the actual problems of its consumers, it accordingly destroys trust.

A business should be attentive to the daily life of its customers in order to maintain warm relations with them and form a loyal community around them.

It is always necessary to maintain the love and loyalty of customers to the brand and not only with the help of pricing and high quality of the product. In today's fast-paced world, it's important to be attentive to your audience and their needs. This will allow you to create a positive experience during each contact with the brand and form the habit of the client to cooperate with you on a long-term basis.

Brand love and brand loyalty variables. Where brand satisfaction increases brand love (Roy et al ., 2012; Correia Loureiro & Kaufmann, 2012; Drennan, 2015; Aro et al ., 2018; Al-Haddad, 2019; Ghorbanzadeh & Rahehagh, 2020). And brand loyalty ( Belaid & Behi, 2011; Lombart & Louis, 2012; Drennan et al ., 2015; Song et al ., 2019; Ghorbanzadeh & Rahehagh, 2020). Consumer experience positively influences brand love (Drennan, 2015; Karjaluoto et al ., 2016; Milan et al ., 2021). and brand loyalty (Khan & Rahman, 2016; Tafesse, 2016; Milan et al ., 2021 ). Brand love influences brand loyalty (Carroll & Ahuvia, 2006; Bergkvist & Bech-Larsen, 2010; Correia Loureiro & Kaufmann, 2012; Hwang & Kandampully, 2012; Fetscherin et al., 2014; Drennan, 2015; Aro et al., 2018; Ghorbanzadeh & Rahehagh, 2020; Le, 2021; Milan et al., 2021).

Ghorbanzadeh & Rahehagh conducted previous research related to brand loyalty (Ghorbanzadeh & Rahehagh, 2020).However, this study only looks at it from the side of brand satisfaction, engagement, and love. In this study, the brand attachment was replaced with consumer experience, where consumer experience is also positively related to brand loyalty (Milan et al ., 2021).

Brand loyalty is demonstrated when customers stick with a par- ticular brand despite comparable options from rivals. Understanding the attitude, emotions, and loyalty of the consumers is very important for organizations to sustain in the market (Liu, Zhou, et al., 2023; Zhou et al., 2023).

2.2.3 Brand responsibility

In the era of globalization challenges regarding limited resources, corporate social responsibility is an important reputational component that ensures the minimization of the company's negative impacts on the economy, environment, and social communities.

A positive image and a high level of business reputation become a kind of trust credit for the company's customers, a source of additional benefits both for the company itself and for external stakeholders. As elements of intangible assets, image and reputation are a powerful source of strategic development of the company. They influence the decisions of counterparties in matters of cooperation with the firm, contribute to the attraction of highly qualified personnel, provide access to investment resources, and turn into a competitive advantage that cannot be imitated by competing companies.

In view of the above, corporate social responsibility should be considered as an important tool for managing the company's image and business reputation.

The implementation of corporate social responsibility practices, which are diverse in terms of purpose and content, ensures an improvement of the image and an increase in the level of business reputation, which, in turn, allows not only to maintain, but also to expand the client base, improve the quality of products, increase labor productivity, ensure the possibility of attracting and securing highly competent and talented employees, to strengthen the confidence of investors, thereby ensuring the formation of prerequisites for receiving short- and long-term investments.

It should be noted that the concepts of image and business reputation are often equated, since they characterize the attitude of the environment to the company, but the image is based on the brand and perception, that is, it is a desired state, and the basis of reputation is multi-vector evaluations, that is, the real state.

From the point of view of corporate social responsibility, image can be defined as a stable image or idea about the company, which is formed in the minds of stakeholders as a result of the purposeful influence of the company itself on all interested parties.

Managing business reputation on the basis of corporate social responsibility is a closed-loop process that begins and ends with a reputation audit. Depending on the problems identified as a result of the audit, the key areas of reputation correction and the main reputation measures are determined, taking into account the principles of corporate social responsibility.

At the same time, corporate social responsibility programs must be integrated into the company's reputation program. In addition, corporate social responsibility programs help to resolve a situation that can damage a company's reputation. This is especially important for companies that own high-value retail brands, as they are most vulnerable to criticism from the media and various types of public organizations - environmentalists or consumer rights defenders.

For consumers, information about social responsibility programs is significant when making a decision to purchase a product or service. A significant part of the mentions of companies in the press is related to the discussion of their activities during the implementation of corporate citizenship programs. Among the advantages of the development of corporate social responsibility for business, 60.1% of respondents recognized the improvement of the internal and external image of the company.

At the same time, for the vast majority of companies, the use of CSR practices as a tool for forming a positive image and high business reputation contributes to attracting new partners and consumers and strengthening their ties with the company, and therefore, strengthening market positions and improving the financial and economic condition.

Management of the organization based on the principles of corporate social responsibility increases the importance of the image and reputational component, which is determined by economic, environmental and social parameters. The degree of detailing of the content of the image and business reputation is determined by the specifics of the business (type of economic activity, scale and diversification of activity, etc.), and the assessment of the impact of corporate social responsibility on the organization's business reputation is based on the results of a survey of the organization's stakeholders.

Social responsibility has become an increasingly important aspect of brand building and management. Consumers are more conscious of the impact of their purchasing decisions, and companies are under pressure to prove their commitment to ethical and sustainable practices. In 2023, it's more crucial than ever for brands to prioritize social responsibility efforts to stay competitive and build trust with consumers.

Currently, there are many definitions attributed to CSR. According to Dahlsrud (2008), most of them are congruent, and, therefore, the absence of a single universally accepted definition is not relevant. However, this absence caused by the broad nature of the concept and the different views of scholars (Brunk 2010) causes the lack of a normative basis that explains, in practice, the concept of CSR. It is this necessary to create a common ground that relates the various concepts of CSR (Okoye 2009).

Votaw (1972) mentions that CSR does not have the same meaning for everyone, since for some, it means legal responsibility, for others, it can be understood as socially responsible behavior at the ethical level, and for others, it can mean the responsibilities in general. The author also adds that CSR is often seen as a charitable contribution or as a duty that imposes higher standards of behavior on entrepreneurs than on citizens in general.

Carroll (1999) conducted a study and found that there are several aspects mentioned by different authors. In general, authors associate CSR with economic, environmental, social, ethical, philanthropic, and legal factors, among others.

In addition, the author mentioned that the concept is constantly under construction and that it is necessary to pay more attention to its measurement, and empirical research is important insofar as it links theory to practice. Regarding the consequences of CSR, it is known that it influences several aspects, including customer loyalty, corporate reputation, and customer trust (Islam et al. 2021).

In general, a commitment to socially responsible actions leads to positive outcomes for a company. In fact, companies may be able to enhance reputation and corporate image through CSR activities (Kodua et al. 2022; Harjoto and Salas 2017; Özcan and Elçi 2020). In addition to brand image, and based on the literature, there are reasons to believe that CSR can also positively affect brand equity (Cowan and Guzman 2020; Kim and Manoli 2020; Zhao et al. 2021; Nguyen et al. 2022).

According to Prayag et al. (2019) and He and Li (2011), consumer satisfaction may also result from CSR activities, and thus, when they are successfully achieved, they positively affect consumer satisfaction (Agyei et al. 2021; Mohammed and Rashid 2018), since when customers see companies as responsible, they are more satisfied (Zhang and Ahmad 2022). CSR is a key precursor to promoting brand image and customer satisfaction (Bianchi et al. 2019).

More and more brands are becoming socially responsible: IKEA refuses to use single-use plastic, Google builds affordable housing for low-income people, and Apple stores switch to renewable energy. According to a Nielsen study, 80% of consumers believe that a brand's work on social issues is one of the factors they consider before making a purchase.

2.3 Definition and types of scandals

A scandal is defined as an incident that brings public shame with a high level of undeniable responsibility stemming from perpetrators' misbehaviour or fault, which requires an immediate apology and preventive measures. In scandals, victims tend to be a large number of people whose sense of fair play is violated (Bowen et al. 2018). The victims of a scandal may be those directly affected by the event and secondary or indirect victims, who are affected indirectly and through their relationship with others. The secondary victims can even extend to an increasing number of people who observed or heard about the incident losing their sense of security and fair play.

To define a scandal, Coombs and Tachkova (2019) also introduce the concept of “scansis” and argue that an organisation can be in crisis but not scandalised. “Scansis” is a situation characterised by inappropriate behaviour provoking strong moral outrage among the public (Coombs and Tachkova 2019). A crisis becomes a scandal when the organisation is considered highly responsible and accountable and an incident is regarded as an offensive transgression and unfairness (Karl Grebe 2013).

While not all crises are scandalous, they can escalate to a scandal if improperly handled. Where the response is interpreted as unethical and inappropriate, and people are suspicious that the organisation is lying, deceiving, misleading, avoiding responsibility, or even equivocating, the cri- sis can be exacerbated and turn into a scandal (Karl Grebe 2013).

An example of this is the United Airline crisis; when in the eye of the public, United Airlines did not appropriately respond to the incident (Benoit 2018). In 2017, a video of a man forcibly removed from his seat and dragged off in the aisle in one of United Airlines' flights went viral on social media.

While the incident caused deep emotional out- rage across social media and was crying out for an apology, United Airlines attempted to downplay this hostile manner. In his initial response, the CEO relied on differentiation and mortification and did not sincerely apologise and promise corrective actions. This response strategy provoked public outrage and disgrace. People blamed the organisation not only for the incident but for the CEO's inappropriate reaction to the incident (Benoit 2018).

With the consideration of the “scansis” concept, the United Airlines incident and initial response provoked a high level of moral outrage among the public, making it a serious scandal for the brand (Jong and van der Linde 2022).

Studies have classified scandals into two main categories: product and performance-related scandals and value-related scandals (Guèvremont and Grohmann 2018; Liu et al. 2018). While the for- mer refers to the organisation's ability to deliver functional benefits to the customers (Hansen et al. 2018), the latter is related to the social and ethical issues that questions organi- sation's values and motives (Guèvremont and Grohmann 2018; Hegner et al. 2016).

Many studies focus on performance-based scandals (Kapoor et al. 2022; Ma et al. 2021; Thaler et al. 2018) and some studies examine the negative impacts of value-related scandals (Gabrielli et al. 2021; Guèvremont and Grohmann 2018), but limited studies compared the differential implications of performance-based versus value-based scandals on public emotion and behaviour (Hegner et al. 2016; Liu et al. 2018).

Some studies argue that performance-based crises cause more significant threats than value-based ones (Hansen et al. 2018). Doherty et al. (2011), for example, compare two types of value and financial scandals and argue that in the scandals that are not involved in the abuse of power, people respond more negatively to financial scandals than to value-based scandals.

Liu et al. (2018), on the other hand, assert that customers have stronger negative responses to values- related negative publicity than to performance-related one, and that “negative associations related to values are more harmful to a brand than those related to performance” (p. 138).

The study also reveals that while corrective actions are an effective response strategy, the effectiveness of this response strategy is stronger in performance-based negative publicity than in value-based scandals (Liu et al. 2018). It is also argued that in an individualistic culture, people are more sensitive to value-based than performance-based scandals (Baghi and Gabrielli 2019).

Due to the key role played by the media in evoking scandals, recent research has been devoting increasing attention to the media reporting of wrongdoing at corporate (e.g., Clemente & Gabbioneta, 2017) and individual (Bishop, Trevin˜o, Gioia, & Kreiner, 2020) levels. High- reputation individuals and organizations are indeed expected to behave appropriately by stakeholders over time, when their behavior deviates from such expectations, they are blamed for their actions with negative consequences on their reputation (Zavyalova, Pfarrer, Reger, & Hubbard, 2016).

Elites' misbehaviors are targeted and blamed by the media that tend to magnify their transgression (Bishop et al., 2020). Similarly, firms with an enhanced reputation that are caught in acts of wrongdoings, provoking a scandal, are more harshly sanctioned by the media (Janney & Gove, 2011).

This is because they are considered hypocritical, as their actual behavior contradicts stated behavior (Tillmann, Lutz, & Weitz, 2009). As such, high status and prominent image become a liability under circumstances of scandals (Dewan & Jensen, 2020).

When the transgression becomes public causing a scandal, it can be highly consequential for the offender, but also those that can be personally, institutionally, or categorically associated with the su pected culprit are contaminated (Adut, 2008).

These are some of the reasons why individuals and collectives keep regulating themselves and each other to avert scandals (Adut, 2005). However, once the misbehavior is publicized, how organizational leaders respond to such accusation determines whether they are able to rebuild their reputation moving forward (Anand, Ashforth, & Joshi, 2004) or are blamed with stigma. To avoid the spreading of such contamination, organizations can respond to a scandal with apologies, denials, announcing reforms, or top management resignation (Marcus & Goodman, 1991). These reactions are signals that organizations send to protect their identity, image, and reputation.

A product-harm crisis, defined as a `discrete event in which products are found to be defective and therefore dangerous to at least part of the product's customer base', can represent a significant threat to a brand (Cleeren et al., 2017, p.593).

Examples of recent product-harm crises include the Samsung battery scandal and Toyota's vehicle defect with unintended acceleration (Cleeren et al., 2017; Robson& Farquhar, 2021). In recent years, the frequency of product-harm crises has risen due to the increased complexity of products, enhanced scrutiny of manufacturers and policymakers, and greater challenge of quality control during the globalisation of production (Aon, 2021; Chen et al., 2022; Cleeren et al., 2017; Haas-Kotzegger & Schlegelmilch, 2013).

With the prevalence of digital platforms including online brand communities, consumers have easier access to various information about crises and have become more demanding, which poses increasing challenges for brands to decide how to respond once product-harm crises occur (Cleeren et al., 2017; Robson & Farquhar, 2021).

There is a surge of interest among scholars in understanding consumer responses when a product-harm crisis occurs to provide crisis management implications (Khamitov et al., 2020). Prior research shows that when a product-harm crisis breaks out, consumers gather information and form a view about the causal explanations for the crisis (Folkes, 1984; Weiner, 1980). This psychological process is called `attribution', which helps consumers figure out the cause and key characteristics of the crisis so they can navigate themselves in such uncertain circumstances (Carvalho et al., 2015; Klein & Dawar, 2004).

Attribution has important impacts on consumers' downstream responses, such as forgiveness and revenge that lead to various behavioural consequences including purchase, word-of-mouth, and complaints (Grégoire et al., 2010).

Past research has focused on how consumer responses, especially attribution as the key mechanism, are affected by information about product-harm crises from traditional sources, including media reports (Liu & Shankar, 2015), company announcements (Backhaus & Fischer, 2016), and government announcements (Cleeren et al., 2013).

This section focuses on the context of product-harm crises and reports the review on online brand communities, attribution and consumer forgiveness which are the key theoretical components of this research. The process of attribution is the most common consumer response following a product-harm crisis (Folkes, 1984).

Consumers gather information so that they can determine who is to blame for the crisis and to get a sense of whether it will reoccur (Robson et al., 2021; Whelan & Dawar, 2016). Such attributions help consumers manage potential risk and uncertainty after a crisis. Recent research suggests that online brand communities could serve as a critical information source for consumers (Mandl & Hogreve, 2020; Yuan et al., 2020).

However, the role of these communities in influencing the formation of consumer attribution and consequently consumer responses to a product-harm crisis remains unclear (Kuchmaner et al., 2019; Yuan et al., 2020). Particularly, it is unclear if consumers may apply personally related information from the communities to form responses both cognitively and emotionally (e.g., Brodie et al., 2013; Yuan et al., 2020) and if they are subject to the social dynamics within the online brand communities (Füller et al., 2008; Meng, 2022a; Meng, 2022b; Schau et al., 2009). This research there- fore aims to address the question of how online brand communities influence consumer responses to a product-harm crisis.

A product-harm crisis triggers a flurry of sensemaking activity of attribution through which a consumer seeks a causal explanation to determine whether the brand or others are responsible and whether the crisis will reoccur (Robson & Farquhar, 2021; Whelan & Dawar, 2016). This research draws on attribution theory to explore the influence of online brand com- munities on consumer responses following a product-harm crisis.

Attribution theory explores the process by which consumers gather information and form a view about the causal explanations for an event (Folkes, 1984; Kelley & Michela, 1980; Weiner, 1980). Attribution is important in the process as it helps consumers figure out the cause and key characteristics of the product-harm crisis so they can navigate themselves in such uncertain circumstances.

Weiner's (1980) model is widely used to understand attribution and identifies three dimensions, namely, (1) locus: whether the cause of the crisis is inferred as internal or external to the brand; (2) stability: whether the problem is perceived as stable as opposed to temporary and (3) controllability: whether the problem occurred within or outside the con- trol of the brand (Klein & Dawar, 2004).

These three dimensions are not factually based on objective evidence, but rather subjective judgements that are formulated based on the information available to the consumer (Klein & Dawar, 2004), such as the information shared by online brand community members. As consumers work through the process of attribution, they may interact with others gaining new information, perspectives, and insights (Yuan et al., 2020), indicating the dynamic and evolving nature of attribution in social settings.

Product-harm crises studied through the theoretical lens of attribution have discussed factors influencing consumer attribution such as prior beliefs, experience, and expectations of the brand (Dawar & Pillutla, 2000; Lei et al., 2012), perceived impact and the severity of the crisis (Haas-Kotzegger & Schlegelmilch, 2013; Vassilikopoulou et al., 2018). The extent of self-brand connection (Cheng et al., 2012) and consumers' attachment (Whelan & Dawar, 2016) have also been found to influence consumer responses including attribution following a product-harm crisis.

Scholars have recently suggested a theoretical gap in the product-harm crisis literature, that the role of other stakeholders (e.g., consumers) could influence consumer responses (Khamitov et al., 2020; Kuchmaner et al., 2019).

We support this view that consumers are socially embedded and during social interactions are likely to align their approaches with others (Dunn & Harness, 2018; Shaw et al., 2016; Zollo, 2020). Recent research has recognised that attribution may also be shaped by consumer-to-consumer interactions in social media (Dunn & Harness, 2018).