Consumer-driven racial stigmatization: the moderating role of race in online consumer-to-consumer reviews

Azer, J. , Anker, T., Taheri, B. and Tinsley, R. (2023) Consumer-driven racial stigmatization: the moderating role of race in online consumer-to-consumer reviews. Journal of Business Research, 157, 113567. (doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113567)

Abstract

Marketing studies highlight the importance of recognizing different cultures and suggest that race plays an integral role in the functioning and ideological underpinnings of marketplace actions. Nevertheless, this role remains understudied in research on online consumer-to-consumer (C2C) interactions. Guided by extant literature and drawing on critical race theory, this study conducts two experimental studies that show how the race of online consumer reviewers influences other consumers’ interpretation of the quality of the reviews. This study contributes to the marketing literature by extending the existing knowledge of racial stigmatization and bias found in marketing communications to C2C exchanges. An understanding of the role, scope, and impact of consumer-driven stigmatization is of growing importance due to the growing empowerment of consumers in the business ecosystem. Regulatory frameworks are designed to protect consumers from unfair market practices on the part of firms and businesses. However, C2C interaction is a largely unregulated territory where our study demonstrates that entrenched racial stigmatization may still exist. The study findings reveal important implications and directions for future research.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Azer, Dr Jaylan

Creator Roles

Azer, J.: Writing – review and editing, Writing – original draft, Validation, Software, Resources, Project administration, Methodology, Investigation, Funding acquisition, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization

• Authors: Azer, J., Anker, T., Taheri, B., and Tinsley, R.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Research Group: Marketing
• Journal Name: Journal of Business Research
• Journal Abbr.: JBR
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0148-2963
• ISSN (Online): 1873-7978
• Published Online: 23 December 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc.
• First Published: First published in Journal of Business Research 157:113567
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy