Stereotype und negative Emotionen in Marketing und Kommunikation

Recent examples, such as the consumer protests in China in 2014, show the role of negative consumer emotions and their consequences for companies. Here stereotypes also play a role. In marketing communication practice stereotypes are applied to improve potential customers’ identification with the product, brand, or company. It is commonly assumed that stereotypes positively affect customers’ product perception and corporate perception. However, sociologists also demonstrated negative effects of stereotypes. Accordingly, stereotypes can also trigger negative emotions, thus an analysis from a marketing perspective is required. The objective of this paper is to examine the effect of stereotypes in corporate communications on customers’ negative emotions and resulting consequences for the customer-supplier relationship. The analysis is based on findings from stereotype research in psychology, sociology, and emotion theory.