Do the Crime, Always Do the Time? Insights into Consumer-to-Consumer Punishment Decisions
Journal of Consumer Research, Forthcoming
University of Alberta School of Business Research Paper No. 2013-14
Posted: 23 Feb 2013
Date Written: February 22, 2013
Abstract
Norm violations disrupt social order, and based on prior research, social order can be restored through the punishment of norm violators. Based on this conceptual framework, the current research examines a prevalent yet overlooked behaviour in the consumer literature by showing that consumers play an active role in making punishment decisions. Importantly, this paper highlights three factors that impact the balance in social order and thus are critical in consumer-to-consumer punishment decisions. First, when a third party in the consumption environment restores social order through punishment, consumers will refrain from punishing further (study 1). Second, punishment is mitigated when the norm violator faces an unjustified adversity as punishment would create a further imbalance in social order (studies 2a/b). Third, the level of punishment required to achieve social order is reduced for a higher status norm violator (study 3). Finally, this paper identifies multiple avenues for future research that build on the current work.
Keywords: norm violations, punishment, consumer behaviour
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