Avoiding the brand for me, us, or them? Consumer reactions to negative brand events

Consumers react negatively to wrongdoings by brands. In this regard, managers often struggle to allocate their recovery resources effectively, as some consumers react more negatively to incidents that affect only themselves while others react more strongly to events that affect many people. In three experiments, we examine how consumers react to negative brand events (NBEs) that only affect themselves (i.e., personal scope) and NBEs that affect many people, including or excluding themselves (i.e., communal scope or external scope). Drawing on self-bias theory, we find that consumers experience stronger feelings of betrayal following an NBE with a personal (vs communal or external) scope, which in turn drives avoidance. We show that this effect may be mitigated if consumers are less self-focused (i.e., score low in grandiose narcissism or egocentric selfishness) or are from a less self-focused culture (i.e., collectivists). This research provides actionable implications for brand managers regarding NBEs

Solid-State Microwave Electronics

Contains reports on status of research and nine research projects.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGR-22-009-163

Solid-State Microwave Electronics

Contains research objectives and reports on status of research projects.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGR-22-009-163

Examining how companies’ support of tourist attractions affects visiting intentions: The mediating role of perceived authenticity

As public funding for the restoration of tourist attractions decreases, assistance is often sought from the private sector in the form of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, research has yet to understand how such CSR activities impact the beneficiary, namely tourist attractions. Thus, extending past CSR literature, we explore whether differing company CSR motivations can influence a tourists’ visiting intentions. The results of two experimental studies show low company altruism (e.g., demanding to acquire naming rights of the site), compared to high company altruism (e.g., demanding nothing in return), decreases visiting intentions. Furthermore, we show that perceived authenticity of the site mediates this effect. Finally, we find the negative effect of low altruistic CSR is mitigated in the case of no heritage. Based on the results, we show tourist attraction managers should be wary of companies displaying nonaltruistic intentions, as such activity may have harmful consequences

Transcriptome Sequences Resolve Deep Relationships of the Grape Family

Previous phylogenetic studies of the grape family (Vitaceae) yielded poorly resolved deep relationships, thus impeding our understanding of the evolution of the family. Next-generation sequencing now offers access to protein coding sequences very easily, quickly and cost-effectively. To improve upon earlier work, we extracted 417 orthologous single-copy nuclear genes from the transcriptomes of 15 species of the Vitaceae, covering its phylogenetic diversity. The resulting transcriptome phylogeny provides robust support for the deep relationships, showing the phylogenetic utility of transcriptome data for plants over a time scale at least since the mid-Cretaceous. The pros and cons of transcriptome data for phylogenetic inference in plants are also evaluated

Solid-State Microwave Electronics

Contains reports on two research projects.National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGR-22-009-163