Cobrand-harm Crises and Consumers Attributions of Responsibility

Although product-harm crises are addressed in solo-brand contexts (e.g., Lei, Dawar, & Gürhan-Canli 2012) and cobranding research is growing, consumer response to negative cobrand events is not well understood. To address this gap, we focus on how consumers assign responsibility for retail cobrand performance (e.g., Chili’s Baby Back Ribs with Shiner Bock Beer BBQ Sauce, Cuisinart products made for Williams-Sonoma) in both a neutral and negative product-harm context.