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This study aims to explore consumer motivations to mitigate the contagion effect in access-based consumption after instances of prior customer misbehavior. Reverse contagion, demonstrated through customer citizenship behavior, entails using both firm-provided and personal resources to cocreate value, even in the presence of norm violations by others. The research delves into the influence of empathy, narrative appeal and past misbehavior severity on customer behavior, specifically in the context of reverse contagion.

Two scenario-based studies and a field study were used within the context of scooter-sharing to assess the conceptual model. Study 1 (n = 156) and Study 2 (n = 97) were conducted through surveys. Study 3 (n = 54) was a field study.

The results emphasize the crucial role of empathy in breaking the cycle of misbehavior contagion. Specifically, the findings suggest that narrative appeals have the potential foster greater empathy, encouraging customers to counteract the contagion. However, the intensity of prior misbehavior lessens the efficacy of narrative appeals in triggering reverse contagion, thereby moderating the mediating effect of empathy.

This study investigates reverse contagion stemming from customer misbehavior in accessed-based consumption. It delves into the impact of empathy, narrative appeal and previous misbehavior on the dynamics of value codestruction and cocreation. This comprehensive examination of these factors within a unified framework represents a new contribution to the literature. The results illuminate this intricate phenomenon, offering valuable insights for managers to address adverse customer behavior and harness the positive aspects of reverse contagion.

Access-based services (ABS) have been adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to validate customer barriers to ABS focusing on the contamination barrier. As service employees’ presence violates the COVID-19 physical distancing norms and heightens contamination fear, this paper tests its effects on continued use intentions of ABS. This study also empirically examines the role of conspicuous virtue signaling and organizational response.

The study was conducted in the context of scooter sharing and uses a mixed-method to explore the relatively under-researched problem of contamination fear in ABS. Study one uses the survey method and study two uses a 2 × 2 matrix between-subject design.

The results reveal that perceptions of resource sufficiency positively affect continued use intentions of ABS. The presence of a service employee hurts continued use intentions. Further, there are a three-way interaction between ABS type (service employee presence/absence), organizational response (solution-oriented/general information) and resource sufficiency perceptions. Organizational response mitigates the negative effect of service employee presence on the link between resource adequacy perceptions and ABS continued use intentions.

In contrast with prior research, this study shows that contamination fear invokes protection motivation, resulting in better preparedness and continued use intentions of ABS. The predicted difference is primarily between customers who attribute responsibility and ABS type differently (presence/absence of service employee). This study also explores the role of organizational response to COVID-19.

This study examines the impact of the brand's corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumers' brand experience and, in turn, consumers' intention of word-of-mouth (WoM). The study also investigates customer satisfaction with service recovery (CSATR) as a boundary condition for the proposed relationship.

The study used a survey-based research design to test the conceptual model. A structured questionnaire was distributed to the participants through a survey link. A total of 276 valid responses were used and analysed using Smart PLS3, a structural equation modelling technique.

Results of this study demonstrate that perceived CSR have a positive impact on brand experience which eventually affects the WoM intention. Also CSATR moderates the relationship between brand experience and WoM such that satisfaction (dissatisfaction) with service recovery enhances (reduces) the effect of brand experience on WoM.

Managers can use CSR as a communication tool to enhance consumers' brand experience and focus on service recovery as a successful service recovery can enhance WoM over and above CSR.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate brand experience as a mediator of CSR and WoM from the lens of signalling theory. The study also tries to address the scepticism of the consumers related to WoM for a brand's CSR by incorporating the service aspect into the CSR.

Access-based services (ABSs) provide short-term access to goods, physical facilities, space or labor in exchange for access fees without transferring legal ownership (e.g. bike-sharing). This study aims to investigate what service providers can do to minimize financial losses when customers misbehave with the service providers’ assets in ABSs. The study also examines the effects of product misuse on subsequent customers and what factors may mitigate it.

The study uses a scenario-based experiment to test the conceptual model.

Injunctive norms reduce the mediating effect of descriptive norms on misbehavior contagion. As generally accepted and approved (injunctive) norms become salient, they override the impact of prevailing (descriptive) norms, thereby breaking the vicious cycle of misbehavior contagion. Customer-company identification (CCI) and reduced interpersonal anonymity mitigate the effects of previous misbehavior on misbehavior contagion.

ABS firms should strive to mitigate the financial and reputational losses they suffer from customer misbehavior. Such mitigation would be a win-win for the ABS firm (reduced misbehavior) and the customers (improved user experience).

The research complements prior research highlighting the role of social norms in misbehavior contagion. The study demonstrates the role of boundary conditions by investigating the interactive effects of descriptive and injunctive norms. In addition, it shows the positive impact of CCI and reduced interpersonal anonymity on containing misbehavior contagion.

This study aims to investigate the extent to which consumers recognize participation in consumption tax evasion (CTE) as an ethical issue and the impact of moral recognition on consumer intention to participate. It also explores the role of religiosity and attitude toward government in the ethical decision-making process of consumers.

The model was tested using the structural equation modeling approach over 128 responses collected through the mail survey.

The results of the study suggest that attitude towards government and religiosity influences the consumers’ intention to participate in CTE. The negative attitude toward government enhances the intention to participate in CTE. Religiosity negatively influences the intention to participate in CTE and makes people recognize participation in CTE as a moral issue.

There is a need to explore the impact of other factors such as social norms and personality traits on the consumer decision-making to participate in CTE.

This study indicates that the even when people recognize participation in CTE as morally wrong, they do not have intentions to avoid such behavior because of their attitude toward government. Governments need to improve their image among consumers to reduce CTE. Also, there is a need to launch social marketing campaigns to move consumers from just recognizing moral issues in CTE to forming intentions to resolve those issues.

Earlier studies have explored the moral issue related to tax evasion in a context where an individual has directly participated in such an act, whereas this study explores the ethical aspect in the situation where consumers play an indirect role in tax evasion, i.e. CTE. In the context of participation in CTE, this study points out that the consumers recognize their indirect participation in CTE as a moral issue, but they lack the intention to curb such behavior. Further, no earlier study has explored the impact of religiosity and attitude toward government in such indirect participation in tax evasion.