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Negative publicity has the potential to create negative corporate associations. However, consumers' identification with a company might moderate the extent of this effect. This article examines the impact of consumer-company identification on reactions to variable levels of negative publicity about a company. Exposing consumers who had strong identification with a company to moderately negative publicity was found to result in less negative corporate associations than for consumers who had relatively weak identification. In contrast, consumers' levels of identification did not affect reactions to extremely negative information, resulting in equally negative corporate associations for those with strong versus weak consumer-company identification. Thus, strong identification mitigates the effects of moderately negative publicity but does not attenuate the effects of extremely negative publicity. Consumers' perceptions of and thoughts regarding negative information about a company partially mediated the effect of identification on attitudes and behavioral intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluate electronic commerce in Germany as a typology of entrepreneurial communicators. Exposure of corporate communications to a high degree of pressure and to an unpredictable environment; Observation of high disregard of legal demands for the transparency of stock corporations; Evidence for the necessity to establish internal competencies before outsourcing corporate communications.