The suffering company: Consumer compassion towards companies exposed to negative events: MEYER et al.

When a company commits misconduct, it will usually suffer; for example, in the form of a short-term decline in sales, a medium-term loss of reputation, or a long-term drop in its bottom line. But when a company is involved in a negative event for which it is fully responsible, for example, public customer agitations due to false expectations, some consumers might feel compassion for the company. In turn, they might aim to help the company overcome its period of suffering; for example, by making supportive recommendations. Drawing upon deservingness theory and previous findings on these issues, the authors propose a causal model suggesting antecedents of compassion and subsequent helping behaviors towards the company. A main finding is that the emergence of helping behaviors as a result of consumers' compassion depends largely on company reputation. Self-efficacy is a further focal construct influencing the intensity of felt compassion and helping behaviors depending on company reputation, suggesting that consumers apply emotion regulation strategies in such incidents.