Attachment Styles and Corporate Political Action Accommodations

Traditionally, businesses have shied away from politics, except when lobbying for more favorable business policies. But in the past few years, many companies have moved beyond lobbying and have gotten involved in or have been pulled into controversial social and political issues, which often pit different segments of society against each other. Examples of corporate political activism (CPA) include the stands taken by Apple on gay marriage, Starbucks on Immigration, and NCAA on LGBT rights. Given the contentious nature of such issues, these companies have faced a backlash from consumers that hold contrary views. Such crises, related to a company’s political activities, are becoming common and can lead to severe deterioration of customer relationships with a company. Handling CPA crises in a manner that minimizes damage to these relationships is of critical importance. In this research, I employ attachment theory to develop response strategies that can be used in case of CPA crises. Attachment theory is particularly useful in predicting consumer response to CPA crises as it can (a) help identify consumers who are more likely to continue their relationship with the company despite CPA related transgressions (e.g. taking an opposing stand), and (b) guide the development post-crisis communication strategies that improve the chances of appeasing disgruntled consumers (e.g. message frames). Given that a company has no option but to upset some customers when responding to CPA crises, knowing which customers are more likely to excuse its actions is of great value as it enables the company to minimize crises damage by accommodating customers that are less forgiving.

Many thanks to Anubhav’s Dissertation Committee:

1. Committee Chair - Daniel Korschun - Associate Professor - Drexel University
2. Committee Member - Trina Andras - Professor - Drexel University
3. Committee Member - Rolph Anderson - Professor - Drexel University
4. Committee Member - Bert Rosenbloom - Professor - Drexel University
5. Committee Member - Shuili Du - Associate Professor - University of New Hampshire