Delicate Snowflakes and Broken Bonds: A Conceptualization of Consumption-Based Offense

Peggy J Liu, Cait Lamberton, James R Bettman, Gavan J Fitzsimons

Journal of Consumer Research · 2019 · Volume 45 · Issue 6

Abstract

When do consumers experience offense due to another individual’s choice, use, display, gifting, sharing, or disposal of a product? Why do they experience offense, and does it matter if they do? In this article, we first draw from past work in multiple disciplines to offer a unique conceptualization of consumption-based offense . We then develop a framework of types of violations that may generate consumption-based offense and propose a set of affective, consumption, and cognitive outcomes we anticipate may follow. We close by offering an agenda for future research that may establish the antecedents and consequences of different types of consumption-based offense, glean new insights from past findings through integration of this novel construct, and offer practical insights into the effects and management of consumption-based offense both in consumers’ lives and in the marketplace.

Keywords

offense, morality, identity, threat, norms, microaggression

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