Should businesses take a stand? Effects of perceived psychological distance on consumers’ expectation and evaluation of corporate social advocacy

Nowadays companies are increasingly engaging in social-political issues. In light of the Construal Level Theory, this study examined the polarizing/depolarizing effects of perceived psychological distance on consumers’ expectation of corporate social advocacy and evaluations among consumers from different partisan identities. A between-subjects experiment (N = 296) with a continuous independent variable–perceived psychological distance–was employed. The study found that consumers with a closer perceived psychological distance to the company tended to have a higher expectation of corporate social advocacy. However, perceptions of psychological distance resulted in mixed effects regarding people’s attitudes and buycott/boycott intentions, where consumer-company identification mediated these relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.