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The Political CEO: An Event Study Comparing Consumer Attributions of CEO Behavior

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  • Jessica Mikeska
  • Elise Johansen Harvey

Abstract

type="main"> We sought to establish a relationship between negative political behavior of key firm members and consumer evaluations of the firm through an attribution theories extension. We sample and code approximately 1,500 Tweets surrounding Dan Cathy's political beliefs about marriage and Taco Bell's response to a lawsuit regarding beef. Consumers are more likely to attribute a volitional event (CEO political disapproval) toward the firm than toward societal elements. However, consumers experienced a greater degree of negative affect following the situational than the volitional event. While none of the consumers who attributed this situation toward Taco Bell also communicated decisions to no longer return for Taco Bell products, approximately 15 percent of the consumers who attributed Dan Cathy's political beliefs toward Chick-fil-A communicated intentions to no longer return to Chick-fil-A. A firm operated by a political CEO could lose 15 percent of all its consumers.

Suggested Citation

  • Jessica Mikeska & Elise Johansen Harvey, 2015. "The Political CEO: An Event Study Comparing Consumer Attributions of CEO Behavior," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(1), pages 76-92, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:96:y:2015:i:1:p:76-92
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ssqu.12134
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Young Hou & Christopher W. Poliquin, 2023. "The effects of CEO activism: Partisan consumer behavior and its duration," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 672-703, March.

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