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Blaming me, blaming you! The pendulum of blame in payday lending

Brown, J.; Apostolidis, C.; Farquhar, J.D.

Authors

J. Brown

J.D. Farquhar



Abstract

Following a negative service experience, existing studies assert that consumers attribute blame either internally (self-blame) or externally (other-blame) with little indication that the attribution ever changes. This study explores blame to discover whether there are changes in attribution, specifically whether it may shift from self to other. Analysing qualitative data from borrowers in the payday lending market using I-/They-poems, this study finds firstly that blame oscillates between self and other and, secondly, that payday borrowers practice counterfactual thinking to alleviate negative emotions, which in turn prompts this blame oscillation. In revealing that blame attribution can act as a pendulum oscillating between self and other, this study makes a critical advance to existing blame research. The study also supports previous studies in I-/They-poems in uncovering novel insights into consumer theory. Evidence also emerges that the neoliberal view of the ‘empowered consumer’ interacts with the more traditional, organisation-oriented perspective, as from a consumer behaviour perspective, the attempts to improve psychological well-being and the oscillation of blame contribute to shifts in the perceived power in the loan market.

Citation

Brown, J., Apostolidis, C., & Farquhar, J. (2021). Blaming me, blaming you! The pendulum of blame in payday lending. Marketing Theory, 21(4), 517-538. https://doi.org/10.1177/14705931211027930

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 2, 2021
Online Publication Date Jul 2, 2021
Publication Date 2021-12
Deposit Date Oct 19, 2021
Journal Marketing Theory
Print ISSN 1470-5931
Electronic ISSN 1741-301X
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 21
Issue 4
Pages 517-538
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/14705931211027930
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1231750