The Intention Of China’s Generation-Y To Abandon A Brand After A Celebrity Endorsement Scandal: A Theory Of Planned Behavior Approach

Abstract: Background: With increased scrutiny of celebrities by the Chinese government, more and more celebrities are being exposed to being caught in various scandals. This leads to the challenge of how companies respond to such celebrity endorsements followed by scandals to incorporate the intentions of independent, socially conscious China’s Generation-Y. Therefore, companies need to understand the factors that influence abandonment intentions and thus take more action on preventive celebrity endorsement management. Purpose: This dissertation aims to examine China’s Generation-Y's intention to abandon brands following a celebrity endorsement followed by a scandal. A theory of planned behavior incorporating tax evasion scandals forms the theoretical basis for examining which factors most impact abandonment intention. Method: To achieve the purpose of this thesis, the researcher conducted a quantitative study through an interpretive research method with a sample of 246 Chinese respondents. In addition to demographic questions and two modules on celebrity endorsement and scandal context, the questionnaire consisted of eight modules derived from the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The researcher used descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regressions to analyze the data to investigate the relationship between the variables better and determine if the hypotheses set by the study were supported. Finally, demographic factors were combined to explore the intrinsic link with the variables further. Conclusion: This research provides evidence that the factors influencing the intention of China’s Generation-Y to use a brand change after a scandal concerning a celebrity who had endorsed the brand in question. The main finding concerns the increased importance of subjective norms and the decreased comparative importance of attitude towards intention to use/abandon said brand after the scandal. However, in contrast with previous studies, the results of this study showed no significant influence of perceived behavioral control before or after the scandal. Furthermore, the researchers found that while before a scandal there was a significant difference in the influence of subjective norms between men and women, that difference disappeared after a scandal. Those results allowed the researchers to draw conclusions, make managerial implications, and suggest further possible research opportunities.