A Framework for Understanding Consumer Response to the Depiction of Historically Underrepresented Identities in Marketing Communications
提出一个框架，解释为何消费者对营销中历史弱势群体形象的反应不同：自由派普遍支持，保守派则根据形象在能动性和规范性两个维度上的感知产生差异，仅在两者都高时（如肥胖、跨性别或戴头巾模特）才负面反应。
Abstract In recent years, firms’ depictions of some historically underrepresented identities (HUIs) in marketing communications have elicited backlash, while depictions of other HUIs have been more broadly accepted. The present work develops a framework to explain when and why these divergent responses occur. We propose that, while liberals respond positively to the depiction of all HUIs due to their prioritization of the Fairness moral foundation, conservatives’ responses are more nuanced and depend on how a focal identity is perceived on two dimensions: agency and normativity with respect to descriptive norms related to bodily purity. These dimensions produce a four-quadrant typology whereby, due to their greater emphasis on the Purity/Sanctity moral foundation, conservatives respond negatively only to HUIs perceived as high on both dimensions (e.g., an obese model, a transgender model, or a model who wears a hijab). We validate this framework by showing that conservatives’ negative responses are attenuated when an identity is perceived as low on either dimension. We further identify a managerially relevant boundary condition, wherein conservatives’ negative reactions are also attenuated when the focal identity appears as a numerical minority within a broader campaign featuring primarily non-HUIs.