Consumer Blame Attribution: Exploring Culpability and Severity in Brand Transgressions with Social Media Influencers

Sara Abbasi

doi:10.25907/01064

Influencer marketing has become an integral component of contemporary brand communication, enabling brands to reach consumers through trusted and relatable third parties. However, when brand transgressions occur within influencer marketing contexts, accountability becomes complex due to the joint visibility and interdependence of brands and influencers. Despite this complexity, existing research on brand transgressions and crisis communication has predominantly relied on dyadic frameworks, examining either brand– consumer or influencer–consumer relationships in isolation. Consequently, limited attention has been paid to how consumers distribute blame across brands and influencers, and to how response strategies operate when responsibility is shared. This thesis addresses these limitations by investigating consumer blame attribution and the effectiveness of responses following brand transgressions in influencer marketing. The research is guided by two research questions: 1. To whom do consumers attribute blame for brand transgressions in influencer marketing, and what factors influence these blame attributions? 2. In the context of brand transgressions in influencer marketing, which response strategies are perceived as most effective by consumers? To ensure a comprehensive examination of these questions, three research objectives were developed and investigated: 1. To investigate how consumers attribute blame for different types of brand transgressions in influencer marketing, based on perceived responsibility controllability, intentionality, and severity. 2. To identify effective strategies for brand endorsers (influencers) and brand owners to mitigate the negative impact on consumer perceptions in response to brand transgressions in influencer marketing. 3. To develop and test a model of response strategy using Image Repair Theory, grounded in Attribution Theory. Following the introduction of the research problem, Chapter 2 presents the two theories on which the thesis draws to address the research questions and objectives: Attribution Theory and Image Repair Theory. Further, the thesis conceptualises blame attribution as a multidimensional evaluative process involving perceptions of responsibility, intentionality controllability, and severity, and examines how these perceptions shape emotional responses, trust, and behavioural outcomes. Building on this theoretical foundation, Chapter 3 presents a systematic literature review synthesising findings from 21 peer-reviewed studies on brand transgressions, influencer misconduct, and response strategies. The review examines transgression types and severity, theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and the role of influencers and social media platforms in crisis contexts. The findings reveal several critical gaps in the literature, including limited examination of brand-focused transgressions within influencer marketing, insufficient attention to perceived severity, minimal consideration of follower -specific responses, and a lack of integration between attribution-based explanations and image restoration approaches. To address these gaps, a staged mixed-methods research design was employed, consisting of a systematic literature review, an exploratory qualitative study (Study 1), and a quantitative experimental study (Study 2). This design enabled a progressive examination of theoretical gaps, stakeholder perspectives, and causal mechanisms underpinning blame attribution and recovery in brand transgression in influencer marketing. Study 1, presented across three chapters (Chapter 4: Methodology; Chapter 5: Study 1A – Results (Blame Attribution); and Chapter 6: Study 1B – Results (Response Strategy)), adopts an exploratory qualitative design underpinned by a critical realist paradigm. Convergent, semi- structured interviews were conducted with consumers (n = 19), brands (n = 5), and influencers (n = 5), supported by scenario-based Instagram stimuli demonstrating fictitious brand transgressions in influencer marketing. Study 1 examines how stakeholders interpret blame, responsibility, and appropriate response strategies following brand transgression in influencer marketing s. The findings indicate that blame is rarely attributed to a single actor. Instead, accountability is commonly perceived as shared, with brands held primarily responsible for product quality, safety, and the accuracy of claims, and influencers expected to demonstrate transparency, due diligence, and ethical endorsement behaviour. Blame intensified when transgressions were perceived as preventable, intentional, or highly severe, particularly in cases involving health-related claims or reputational risk. In terms of response strategies, accommodative approaches combining apology with corrective action were consistently favoured, while defensive strategies such as denial, minimisation, and blame shifting elicited strong negative emotional and behavioural reactions, including anger, distrust, avoidance, and negative word of mouth. Informed by the findings of Study 1, a conceptual model and a set of hypotheses grounded in the literature are developed and presented in Chapter 7. Based on the scope and findings of Study 1, the conceptual model focuses on the accommodative response of apology, examining whether the response is enacted by the brand, the influencer, or both, and how this influences consumer responses and key stakeholder outcomes. Study 2, with the methodology presented in Chapter 8 and results reported in Chapter 9, tests the proposed conceptual model using a quantitative between-subjects experimental design. Participants (n = 277) were recruited via Prolific and exposed to realistic Instagram -style apology stimuli presented through an online survey. The experiment manipulated response source (brand-only, influencer-only, or joint brand–influencer responses). The results demonstrate that response source significantly influences consumer outcomes, with effects differing across actors. Brand-led responses were most effective in restoring brand trust, whereas joint brand–influencer responses produced the most favourable overall outcomes by supporting trust in both parties and reducing influencer avoidance. Mediation analyses reveal distinct psychological recovery pathways. For brands, trust repair occurred primarily through a cognitive attributional process, whereby brand or joint responses reduced perceived intentionality, leading to increased trust. Emotional responses played a limited role in shaping brand outcomes. In contrast, influencer trust recovery followed a combined cognitive– emotional pathway, in which perceived responsibility triggered negative moral and basic emotions, including anger, disappointment, and disgust, which subsequently reduced trust and increased avoidance behaviours. Joint responses mitigated this process by redistributing responsibility and attenuating emotional backlash. In the final chapter, Chapter 10, the thesis presents its key contributions. Theoretically, it advances a triadic framework for understanding brand transgression in influencer marketing by integrating Attribution Theory and Image Repair Theory to explain blame formation and recovery as interconnected processes. The findings demonstrate the necessity of a triadic perspective in influencer marketing contexts, as consumer evaluations vary in blame attribution, response effectiveness, and psychological processing across brands and influencers. Practically, the thesis provides guidance for brands and influencers in coordinating crisis responses, indicating that brand-led responses are most appropriate for product-related failures, influencer involvement is essential for endorsement-related issues, and joint responses are particularly effective when responsibility is shared. The thesis concludes by outlining directions for future research.

Consumer Blame Attribution: Exploring Culpability and Severity in Brand Transgressions with Social Media Influencers

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