تاثیر شهرت بد: وقوع بحران، مسئولیت اجتماعی شرکتی و ادراک ریاکاری و نگرش نسبت به یک شرکت  The effect of bad reputation: The occurrence of crisis, corporate social responsibility, and perceptions of hypocrisy and attitudes toward a company

1. Introduction Corporate social responsibility (hereinafter CSR) has drawn significant attention from both scholars and corporate professionals. CSR is corporate citizenship in which a company conducts pro-social acts for community wellbeing and development (Pride & Ferrell, 2006). According to the Commission of the European Communities (2001), CSR is defined as “the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society” (p. 681). Companies attempt to build relationships with their stakeholders by investing in volunteer efforts to address social or environmental concerns. Many studies have shown CSR’s effect on attitudes toward firms (e.g., Brown & Dacin, 1997) and the causal attributions of corporate activities and events (e.g., Sen, Bhattacharya, & Korschun, 2006). Also, previous studies have examined the perceived importance of CSR in shaping purchase intentions (Chua & Lin, 2013), building brand sincerity (Ragas & Roberts, 2009), and affecting salient beliefs about an organization (Werder, 2008). Well-managed CSR communication includes specific details of CSR information, which serve as diagnostic cues about underlying CSR motives (Sen, Du, & Bhattacharya, 2009). Sen, Bhattacharya, and Korschun (2006) noted that a company’s commitment to social causes and the community can enhance the positive attribution of CSR motives; yet the impression of “bragging” might lead to an unfavorable attribution of CSR motives, thus pose an obstacle to reaping benefits from CSR communication. Further, Du, Bhattacharya, and Sen (2010) warned ofthe possibility of stakeholders’ negative attributions toward CSR motives when they think a company’s promotional efforts might exaggerate actual outcomes. Also, some researchers have noted that a good reputation will have a boomerang effect in a company’s bad times, as high expectations toward a firm will turn into a sense of betrayal (Sohn & Lariscy, 2012).