Would you forgive Kristen Stewart or Tiger Woods or maybe Lance Armstrong? Exploring consumers’ forgiveness of celebrities’ transgressions |
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Authors: | Jörg Finsterwalder Thomas Yee Alastair Tombs |
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Institution: | 1. UC Business School, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand;2. Novo Strategic Advertising &3. Design, Christchurch, New Zealand;4. UQ Business School, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia |
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Abstract: | Employing a qualitative approach, within the context of Generation Y consumers, this research investigates the internal justification processes used by consumers contemplating to forgive a celebrity who has transgressed society’s norms of acceptable behaviour. A thematic analysis of data from in-depth interviews identified nine emergent categories, grouped into four themes or core drivers: celebrity-related drivers, consumer-related drivers, context-related drivers and time-related drivers. The findings show that although there is generally no personal relationship between consumers and celebrities, consumers tend to bond with celebrities in para-social relationships. Many consumers see these relationships as similar to how they connect with friends thus leading them to show forgiveness tendencies towards a celebrity comparable to forgiving friends. The paper presents a conceptual framework highlighting the consumer’s forgiveness justification process. |
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Keywords: | Celebrity forgiveness consumers qualitative research grounded theory |
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