Corporate social irresponsibility and consumer punishment: a systematic review and research agenda

Abstract

This paper offers an integrative review of the past work on consumers’ reactions to corporate social irresponsibility (CSI). The study summarises and integrates the existing research into two conceptual models: a punitive response to CSI and a nonpunitive response to CSI. In each model, the study reviews relevant antecedents, mediators, and moderators. The paper also identifies gaps in the literature and problematizes several key research assumptions that have gone unquestioned in earlier accounts of consumers’ reactions to CSI. The paper contributes to the existing research by offering a parsimonious and yet comprehensive conceptualization of which, when, why and how consumers punish (or do not punish) firms following CSI. The analysis further leads to the identification of a research agenda to continue advancing our understanding of how consumers respond to CSI.