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Despite the role of shopping in alleviating stress, the influence of shopping in coping with the stress experienced during Covid by people with different personality traits is under researched. We addressed this literature gap by conducting an online survey (n = 490) with the U.S. national population. Analysing the data through structural equation modelling, we found that extraversion and neuroticism positively influenced, and conscientiousness negatively influenced Covid-stress; Covid-stress positively influenced intentions for hedonic shopping, panic buying, utilitarian shopping and; Covid-stress mediated the relationships between the personality traits in terms of conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism and shopping intentions in terms of hedonic shopping, panic buying, and utilitarian shopping. Extraversion and neuroticism had an indirect positive influence and conscientiousness had a negative influence on the intentions for hedonic shopping and panic buying. Extraversion and neuroticism had an indirect positive influence on the intentions for utilitarian shopping. Implications for fashion industry are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigates the factors influencing tourists' online booking intentions. This study employed structural equation modeling to evaluate the online booking intentions of tourists after the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in India, extending the application of reactance theory in tourism and hospitality services. Mediation and moderation analysis facilitated the unfurling of direct and indirect linkages among the constructs. The findings suggest that online hotel reviews, perceived scarcity, and perceived enjoyment aggrandize tourists' perceived value quotients, escalating their online booking intentions. Besides, visual presentations improve the strength of the linkage, while perceived pandemic threat weakens the linkage between tourists' perceived value and online booking intentions. The research demystifies critical facilitators of tourists' perceived value and online booking intentions that may assist hotel owners in engaging potential tourists and maximizing their hotels' bottom line. The hotel industry lacks research on perceived scarcity, visual presentations, and perceived pandemic threat. This research adds to the body of knowledge by combining the abovementioned factors through a coherent theoretical framework. It makes prospective tourists cautious about COVID-19's virulence and the devastating consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mandatory policies for waste separation may induce residents’ psychological reactance, which always manifests as multiple negative emotions. This psychological reaction changes dynamically and may continuously harm municipal waste management. However, how this psychological reactance changes over time and how we can intervene in it still lacks exploration. To bridge this gap, the development trends of psychological reactance for different residents and the intervention effects of information publicity were theoretically analyzed based on psychological reactance theory and persuasion theory. A four-times tracing questionnaire survey of 200 general residents from Shanghai was launched, and the data were statistically analyzed using latent variable mixed growth modeling. The results show that: (1) Mandatory policies for waste separation can lead to three trends of psychological reactance among residents: growth mode, decline mode, and inverted U mode. The latter two of these categories account for a greater proportion of the population and may be influenced by values and cultural background. (2) In all three modes, normative and knowledge-based information publicity have a mitigating effect on the growing trend of psychological reactance, while the effect on their initial state is not significant. (3) The changing trend of residents’ psychological reactance to waste separation is dynamic. Information publicity can effectively alleviate the trend of residents’ psychological reactance. The findings provide a dynamic perspective on the negative outcomes of mandatory waste separation policies and are helpful for the government to develop more appropriate policies and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vaccine hesitancy—the reluctance, delay, or refusal to vaccinate regardless of availability—is not a new concept in psychology, medicine, or public health. However, given the emotions surrounding the COVID‐19 vaccine, hesitancy has proven difficult to overcome. To‐date, the bulk of available data on vaccine hesitancy are quantitative, leaving room for exploratory investigations into the reasons adults remain unvaccinated. This qualitative study assessed the motivations, beliefs, and perceptions of individuals who have decided to remain unvaccinated against COVID‐19. We had one exploratory research question: What social psychological justifications emerge from vaccine hesitant people's explanations of their decisions to remain unvaccinated? To assess this question, we conducted 18 interviews with unvaccinated adults throughout 2021–2022. The interviews consisted of 20 questions regarding participants' perceptions of the COVID‐19 vaccine and their intentions to get vaccinated. Thematic analysis revealed four main themes in the answers provided by participants: rationalization; identity, beliefs and potential modifiers; emotional responses; and information sources. These results offer insight for future vaccination efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 outbreak and its declaration as a pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020 resulted in consumer panic buying across the globe. Extant research into panic buying is scant, and its cultural context practically unexplored. This article uses mobility change data provided by Google and draws on reactance theory to establish how perceived scarcity limits freedoms, and ultimately drives individuals to panic buying. It hypothesizes and analyzes the influence of cultural factors; the findings show that individualism and uncertainty avoidance both exert a positive effect on the extent of panic buying, whereas power distance has a negative effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the association of intrusive and sexually appealing advertisements in a mobile news environment with audiences' perceptions of the content and reactive behaviors. Based on the psychological reactance theory, we conducted a 2 × 2 (sexual ad versus nonsexual ad × highly intrusive ad versus low intrusive ad) full factorial experimental design measuring associations with behavioral ad avoidance and ad memory (recall and recognition). The results indicate that users were more concerned to avoid pop-up ads than banner ads. Also, we observed significant main effects of intrusiveness and sexual appeals in advertisements on audiences' recall of ads. Our findings call into question the effectiveness of advertising that relies on intrusive exposure and sexual images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We tested two counter-propaganda strategies for boosting peoples’ resistance to extremist propaganda, one based on Self-Determination Theory and one based on Psychological Reactance theory. Caucasian mTurk worker participants (N = 387) were told they would read extremist messages and were randomly assigned to either a neutral control condition, an autonomy-supportive inoculation condition (‘it is your choice to agree or not’), or a reactance-supportive inoculation condition (‘don’t let them manipulate you’). They then read and rated their agreement with two anti-immigrant extremist messages. Both inoculations produced lower agreement with the extremist messages, compared to the control condition. These effects were independent of participants’ political conservatism and trait reactance, although these person variables were both associated with message agreement. Both the autonomy-support and reactance-support effects were mediated by felt autonomy need-satisfaction, but not by state reactance. Ironically, telling participants that they are free to accept extremist claims may help them to resist such claims.

We tested two counter-propaganda strategies for boosting peoples' resistance to extremist propaganda, one based on Self-Determination Theory and one based on Psychological Reactance theory. Caucasian mTurk worker participants (N = 387) were told they would read extremist messages and were randomly assigned to either a neutral control condition, an autonomy-supportive inoculation condition ('it is your choice to agree or not'), or a reactance-supportive inoculation condition ('don't let them manipulate you'). They then read and rated their agreement with two anti-immigrant extremist messages. Both inoculations produced lower agreement with the extremist messages, compared to the control condition. These effects were independent of participants' political conservatism and trait reactance, although these person variables were both associated with message agreement. Both the autonomy-support and reactance-support effects were mediated by felt autonomy need-satisfaction, but not by state reactance. Ironically, telling participants that they are free to accept extremist claims may help them to resist such claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with potential effects of incidental online exposure to political information (IOEP) on the German electorate during the 2017 national election campaign. We argue that the difference in currently unexpected and generally unwanted exposure to political online communication is crucial to the study of IOEP effects. While the former might result in "passive learning," we hypothesize that–based on psychological reactance theory–the latter may be linked to defensive reactions with undesirable consequences among those who already are alienated from politics. Using cross-sectional data from an online survey among 1100 eligible voters, we can demonstrate that IOEP correlates with reactance in substantial segments. The study's results are indicating, that the viral character of online campaigning may lead to the opposite of what was intended: voters are not only "trapped," but might be repelled instead. Further empirical elaboration dealing with causal assumptions is encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poaching rhinos to sell their horns is one of the most pressing threats to wildlife and constitutes an illicit yet extremely profitable business. Employing construal level and reactance theory, two studies examine which marketing campaign is most effective in countries where the crime is actually taking place by distinguishing supply (=poachers in Kenya) and demand (=consumers of Chinese traditional medicine in China). Both studies follow a 2 × 2 between‐subject design with an additional control group whereby temporal distance and social distance are manipulated to outline weaknesses of current antipoaching campaigns and identify alternatives that are more effective. Results suggest that economic and identity‐related factors can explain consumers (China) and poachers (Kenya) intentions to purchase traditional Chinese medicine with rhino horn or sell rhino horn. In both countries, marketing campaigns featuring temporal distance were superior to close counterparts; yet, the mediating variables differ for each country. Close temporal distance elicits reactance. Interestingly, poachers do not seem to discriminate between close and far social distance. The findings have lifesaving implications for wildlife, profound practical implications for non‐governmental organizations, and governmental agencies' additional theoretical contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research fills a gap in the literature regarding face-to-face privacy invasions. Most research in the privacy arena examines information privacy (e.g., credit card and data information) and ignores the privacy component of face-to-face interactions. Using three studies, the authors explore the impact of physical and visual invasions on privacy control. The findings show that only one dimension of privacy needs to be invaded for consumers to feel less control over their privacy. Perceptions of privacy control have a negative relationship with satisfaction, as mediated through feelings of anxiety. Importantly, two invasions do not have a greater impact than one, and a legitimate reason for physical or visual invasions can lessen the negative consequences in terms of anxiety and satisfaction. These results have important theoretical and practical implications for marketers aiming to design satisfying consumption experiences that also preserve consumer welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the interrelated effects of perceived ad intrusiveness of rich media ads in online advertisements with respect to attitudes towards brands, online advertisement and the publisher’s website on young Indian travellers. Despite the widespread use of the term in marketing literature, ad intrusiveness has received almost no attention in the destination marketing literature especially in the context of rich media ads. Data have been collected from 304 young Indian travellers using a structured questionnaire in an experimental design setting. Results indicate that perceived ad intrusiveness has direct and negative relationship on attitude towards brand, online advertisement and the publisher’s website. Results suggest strategies that advertisers may adopt to minimize the negative influence of intrusiveness in case of direct response when compared to branding objectives. Various theoretical and managerial implications are discussed with directions for future research.

The evoking freedom or "but you are free" (BYAF) technique is a social influence tactic that offers recipients the freedom to accept or decline a request. This research tested the effectiveness of the evoking freedom technique in two field experiments. Participants were asked either to complete a survey (Experiment 1) or to allow a stranger to borrow their mobile phone to make a call (Experiment 2) on an urban university campus. Half of the requests involved language that evoked freedom, and half of the requests were direct. In both experiments, results showed significantly greater compliance in the evoking freedom condition. This research extends previous work by demonstrating the effectiveness of the technique using a high-stakes request and in a culture other than that of France, where the majority of evoking freedom studies have been conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on social concerns of Rhinoceros (rhino) poaching in wildlife management in Southern Africa. Topics disused include views on the importance of strategic communications with stakeholders that impact on achieving objectives of rhino conservation; views on efforts of governmental and conservation agencies for rhino conservation; and role of mass media in wildlife conservation.

This paper examines the interrelated effects of perceived ad intrusiveness of rich media ads in online advertisements with respect to attitudes towards brands, online advertisement and the publisher's website on young Indian travellers. Despite the widespread use of the term in marketing literature, ad intrusiveness has received almost no attention in the destination marketing literature especially in the context of rich media ads. Data have been collected from 304 young Indian travellers using a structured questionnaire in an experimental design setting. Results indicate that perceived ad intrusiveness has direct and negative relationship on attitude towards brand, online advertisement and the publisher's website. Results suggest strategies that advertisers may adopt to minimize the negative influence of intrusiveness in case of direct response when compared to branding objectives. Various theoretical and managerial implications are discussed with directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the impact of scarcity on consumer behavior and on perception of scarce goods consumer qualities. The author examines and subjects to the critical analysis the impact of scarcity on consumer behavior within economic theory, the theory of reactance and commodity theory. The differences in explaining the impact of scarcity on consumer behavior in economic and psychological sciences is highlighted. The current researcher experimentally proves the impact of the scarcity as an isolated factor on consumer behavior and the impact of scarcity on consumer perception of product quality. According to the reactance theory, an individual perceives scarcity as the restriction of his freedom that causes resistance in response to a possible restriction of freedom of actions. This reinforces the desire to have such a scarce product. To confirm the psychological impact of scarcity on a domestic consumer the author designs and conducts the experiment that confirms the following hypotheses: scarcity affects consumer behavior and stimulates consumers to purchase scarce commodities; scarcity has impact on the perception of scarce product consumer qualities. Such consumer behavior relatively to scarce goods can be used by marketers to promote products on the market.

Watching television advertising can represent a significant decision in time allocation. Those who avoid advertising represent a threat to advertisers and to television companies who depend upon advertising revenue. Two factors central to time allocation theory are identified as relevant to an understanding of television advertising avoidance behavior: time pressure and time planning. Drawing from Reactance theory, their significance in predicting two different types of avoidance, mechanical and behavioral, is examined empirically. As attitudes to time allocation are culturally and contextually dependent, two studies are reported, one in the UNITED KINGDOM, the other in Chile. In the former, time planning is a significant predictor of mechanical avoidance, in the latter behavioral avoidance is predicted by time pressure. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As companies continue to utilize co-production (customer participation in product or service creation) strategies with consumers, academic researchers have expanded their study on issues related to co-production. However, research has been scant on the issue of control in such situations. The underlying belief in increasing customer participation and involvement is it increases customers' perceived control, thereby enhancing their experience and outcomes; this belief creates the necessity for further examination of control in co-production environments. This study examines consumers' affective responses to differing levels of three types of control (cognitive, behavioral, and decisional) in low and high co-production conditions. Using two experimental contexts and one survey study, the results show increasing cognitive control will increase affect when co-production is low. Behavioral control can negatively or positively influence affect depending on specific situational contexts and perceptions of customization in low co-production conditions. Lastly, decisional control is found to be an important positive contributor to affect regardless of co-production level. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines employees’ intention to comply with organizational BYOD security policies (ISSP). We derived our research model from reactance, protection motivation and organizational justice theories. Our results demonstrate that employees perceived response efficacy and justice positively affect intention to comply with BYOD ISSP. Perceived freedom threat negatively affects compliance intention. Employees’ perceived cost associated with compliance behavior increases perceptions of freedom threat. Security awareness programs have a dual effect: an increase in employee’s response efficacy (positive) and response cost (negative). The availability of an IT support team for BYOD increases employees’ response-efficacy and perceived justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies are encouraging customers to participate in the process of creating and delivering their offering(s). In this strategy, not only do providers select a level of customer co-production, but also the level of customer control. This study examines the effects of control types (cognitive, behavioral, and decisional) and their interaction on customers' affective responses in service operations with varying levels of co-production. An extensive two-study design, across two service contexts, tests the interaction of different levels of co-production and control types on customers' affective responses. Results show when decisional control is low, one additional control type (behavioral or cognitive) in the operational process can compensate for low decisional control. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic studies reveal that copyright enforcement regimes are not reaching their full potential in lowering digital piracy rates. Still, very few demand-side studies tap into the reasons why this occurs. We conducted a scenario-based experiment on a sample of 401 consumers engaged in content streaming. We draw on cognitive appraisal theory to reveal that digital piracy beliefs shape consumers' emotional reactions (positive emotions vs. indignation) differently in opposing copyright enforcement regimes. Through reactance theory, we unfold consumers' coping mechanisms through which they comply with or show reactance to the designated regime (measured by intention to use illegal or legal streaming services). Our findings show that positive digital piracy beliefs drive positive emotions in loose and indignation in tight copyright enforcement regime. In terms of coping, we reveal that compliance to the regime is driven by positive while negative emotions drive reactance. Our study provides valuable insights by revealing antecedents that have not been previously addressed in digital piracy literature. Findings provide value to policymakers and managerial practice to better understand digital piracy's realities and redesign their policies and strategies accordingly. • We use a demand-side approach to reveal why copyright enforcement regimes fail. • This paper uses cognitive appraisal and reactance theories. • Two opposing copyright enforcement regimes (loose and tight) are designed. • (Mis)alignment between beliefs and regime triggers positive emotions (indignation). • Positive emotions (indignation) lead to compliance (reactance). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organisations increasingly rely on information and related systems, which are also a source of risk. Unfortunately, employees represent the greatest risk to organisational information because they are the most frequent source of information security breaches. To address this 'weak link' in organisational security, most organisations have strict information security policies (ISPs) designed to thwart employee information abuses. Regrettably, these ISPs are only partially effective because employees often ignore them, circumvent them or even do the opposite of what management desires. Research on attempts to increase ISP compliance has produced similarly mixed results. Lack of compliance with ISPs is a widespread organisational issue that increasingly bears disproportionately large direct and qualitative costs that undermine strategy. Consequently, the purpose of our study was to contribute to the understanding of both motivations to comply with new ISPs and motivations to react negatively against them. To do so, we proposed an innovative model, the control-reactance compliance model (CRCM), which combines organisational control theory - a model that explains ISP compliance - with reactance theory - a model used to explain ISP noncompliance. To test CRCM, we used a sample of 320 working professionals in a variety of industries to examine the likely organisational outcomes of the delivery of a new ISP to employees in the form of a typical memo sent throughout an organisation. We largely found support for CRCM, and this study concludes with an explanation of the model's contributions to research and practice related to organisational ISP compliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how individual differences affect consumer responses to corporate advertising during a corporate crisis. Study 1, based on qualitative data, showed brand ownership, involvement with the crisis, and news media exposure were important factors in understanding consumer response toward the crisis and the company. Study 2, a survey, empirically demonstrated that prior attitude toward the company was the most critical factor affecting advertising-related behaviors. The study further suggested consumers of the brand were more likely to view the company favorably, to know more about the company, and to be more involved in their following of the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework of consumer evaluation of corporate advertising in a corporate crisis. It also suggests future research propositions by investigating how the so-called inoculation effect from pre-crisis corporate advertising influences consumer response to corporate advertising during a crisis. First, the paper describes how the inoculation effect confers resistance to negative news in a corporate crisis. Next, the paper determines whether the inoculation effect further reduces consumer resistance to corporate advertising during a crisis. Other factors that figure into the broader context of corporate crises are then discussed. These include four other types of external impacts on a crisis situation – the crisis, the corporation, the media, and individual differences. The article concludes with implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The “but you are free” (BYAF) compliance-gaining technique operates by telling the target that he or she is free to refuse the request. A meta-analysis of 42 studies of the effectiveness of that technique indicated that it was an effective means of increasing compliance rates in most contexts. It was effective regardless of type of request, but effectiveness diminished when the decision to enact the target behavior was not made immediately, consistent with a self-presentation explanation of the technique's effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript examines the unintended consequences that organizational computer monitoring can foster within the firm. We apply justice and reactance theories to explain why monitoring can actually increase the occurrence of detrimental organizational behaviors. Our model suggests monitoring activities that invade employees' privacy lead to perceived injustices, which provoke destructive behavior by employees. Empirical results obtained from 439 survey respondents employed in the banking, finance, and insurance industries provide support for most of our hypotheses. Computer monitoring was found to increase internal computer abuse but not antisocial behaviors. Privacy invasions resulting from the monitoring activities were related to perceptions of procedural injustice, which in turn influenced distributive injustice perceptions. Both injustices acted as direct precursors to internal computer abuse, but only distributive injustice was a significant antecedent to antisocial behavior. We discuss these findings and their limitations in the context of modern organizations that are inundated with information-security responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term 'ratings creep' refers to the belief that various types of adult content escalate in films with the same rating over time. The purpose of this study was to test the ratings creep hypothesis through a quantitative analysis of films from 1988, 1997, and 2006 in the PG-13 rating category used by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). A quantitative content analysis of 45 films was conducted, and significant increases in violent content in the PG-13 rating category from Time 1 (1988) to Times 2 (1997) and 3 (2006) were found. However, similar increases in other types of adult content in the PG-13 rating category were not found. Results suggest a leniency toward violent content by the MPAA ratings board that parallels America's parents' greater comfort with children being exposed to violence than other types of adult content-sex, for example-in the unrestricted PG-13 rating category. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this article we suggest that independent vs. interdependent aspects of the self yield different manifestations of psychological reactance and that this is especially relevant in a cross-cultural context. In Studies 1, 2, and 4 we showed that people from collectivistic cultural backgrounds (individuals holding more interdependent attitudes and values) were less sensitive to a threat to their individual freedom than people from individualistic cultural backgrounds (individuals holding more independent attitudes and values), but more sensitive if their collective freedom was threatened. In Study 3 we activated independent vs. interdependent attitudes and values utilizing a cognitive priming method and yielded similar results as the other studies hinting at the important causal role of self-related aspects in understanding reactance in a cross-cultural context. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

With production increases and new affordances offered by wearable devices, it is surprising that individuals resist the adoption and use of smartwatches. This study examines the barriers to smartwatch adoption to understand why individuals avoid smart technologies. To more fully understand this phenomenon, we draw from reactance theory, which suggests that individuals will react against efforts that infringe upon their perceptions of freedom. Specifically, we develop a research model that explores how perceptions of value incongruence and social influence affect perceptions of freedom restriction, affecting perceptions of intrusiveness of the smartwatch and result in status quo behaviors towards the smartwatch. We test this model by surveying individuals who do not own smartwatches about their perceptions. We contribute to research with new applications of reactance theory to explain smartwatch status quo. We offer implications for practitioners on how to mitigate the status quo behaviors towards smartwatches. • Non-use and status quo behaviors towards smartwatches. • Reactance theory as a lens for understanding status quo towards smartwatches. • Evaluating value incongruence and social influence as antecedents of smartwatch reactance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When users begin to feel uncomfortable about the influence of social network services (SNSs) on their lives, they react with various discontinuance behaviors. This comparative study intends to provide a comprehensive explanation of how the fatigue or regret phenomenon is related to users' diverse reactions against SNSs. This study attempts to answer two questions: (1) How do specific types of relationships influence social overload from SNS interactions on Facebook? and (2) How does social overload threaten the free usage of services and lead to users' dissatisfaction with SNSs, and how do these constructs influence users' intent to discontinue usage of SNSs? To this end, we test a reactance model with Facebook users (n = 433) using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). This study found significant results of the reactance mechanism using samples from two countries, Korea and Japan, which support the generalizability of the reactance mechanism in SNS fatigue. The path of the psychological reactance mechanism in SNSs could differ by country. We also found that reactions toward persona non grata in SNSs differed by country. Our findings suggest that the specific cultural context should be considered when analyzing social overload in SNSs. In previous studies, insufficient attention has been paid to the social features or contexts of SNS. This study proposes a new categorization of relationships in the context of SNSs through the persona non grata concept. As SNSs are social platforms, emotions perceived from the social features of SNSs are an important construct that motivates people to continue using SNSs. Therefore, promoting free activities for users can be an important strategy for maintaining their motivation to use the service. It should be noted that the sample used in this study was slightly unbalanced by the inclusion of a greater proportion of young participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In loyalty program literature, how non-loyalty program members would react to the preferential treatment is shallow. • This study investigates non-member customers' negative responses to loyalty programs. • Two 2 × 2 between-subjects-design experimental studies were conducted to evaluate the application of reactance theory in hospitality settings. • The results show that negative customer responses arise due to the perceived threat to freedom and is moderated by the importance of freedom. • This study also finds that relationship norms moderate the influence of perceived threat to freedom on non-member customers' negative responses. In loyalty program (LP) literature, research on how non-loyalty program members would react to preferential treatment is scarce. Nested within reactance theory, this paper suggests that negative customer responses arise due to the perceived threat to freedom and that the effects are moderated by the importance of freedom and relationship norms. Through two 2 × 2 between-subjects-design experiments, our results indicate that when the perceived threat to freedom of receiving LP benefits is high, non-member customers show increased anger, decreased attitude towards the company, and decreased intention to revisit. Similar results are observed when a company presents the image of building a communal relationship with its customers and when non-member customers perceive a high threat to freedom in terms of receiving the LP benefits. Both studies indicate that the interaction effects are less pronounced when non-member customers perceive a low threat to freedom of receiving the LP benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]