Consumer response to corporate political advocacy: the role of policy attitudes, policy change, and perceived controversy

As firms have become more engaged in political issues, researchers have been keen to understand the consumer response to such corporate political advocacy (CPA). Drawing on an event study (S1) and an experiment (S2), the present work examines three novel questions relevant to the theoretical and managerial implications of CPA: 1) whether issue-specific policy attitudes are better predictors of consumer responses to CPA than political orientation; 2) how consumer responses toward CPA are influenced by a change to the advocated policy; and, 3) how consumer responses are amplified as perceived controversy increases. Results reveal several key findings. First, policy attitudes predict consumer responses to CPA better than political orientation (across six policy contexts). Second, when CPA-related policy changes occur, consumers on the ’losing’ side of the change punish firms on the winning side. Lastly, polarized responses to CPA are amplified when CPA is viewed as more controversial.