Firm actions and Media tenor after a data breach: A quasi replication and extension of Zavyalova et al.'s (2012) product harm study

Abstract

Replications are especially useful to test the generalizability of managerial knowledge across diverse situations and contexts. In this study, we conduct a quasi-replication of Zavyalova and colleagues’ (2012) influential product harm paper, which explored how firm impression management strategies shaped media tenor following misconduct. Extending their approach to a new context, we seek to understand how firm impression management strategies impact media tenor following data breaches, representing a case of firm misfortune. Drawing on a sample of 287 U.S. data breach events, we find that media evaluations are shaped by firm impression management responses and industry features following a breach. Our findings also suggest that firms should respond differently in cases of misfortune than in instances of misconduct, adding important nuance to the literature. Taken together, our study tests the theory of Zavyalova et al. in a different context, finds contextual differences that resulted in dissimilar empirical results, and contributes new knowledge by showing how firm impression management strategies and industry context affect media tenor differently after data breaches than after toy recalls.