When Brands Do Right But Decide Wrongly: the Impact of Perceptions of Procedural and Outcome Fairness on Brand Attitudes

Marketers often assume that activities beneficial to consumers, such as discontinuing late fees for movie rentals, will lead to enhanced evaluations of the brand. We demonstrate, in three studies, that favorable marketing activities may not always lead to enhanced evaluations. Drawing on the organizational justice literature, we suggest that if consumers perceive that a marketing action is procedurally unfair, they may evaluate a brand less favorably, even when they perceive that the action has a favorable and desirable outcome. Our work adds to research on fairness in marketing by examining the role of perceived procedural injustice in the context of favorable marketing activities.