When the accuser meets the accused: Exploring the role of nonprofit legitimacy and CSR reputation in corporate social irresponsibility

Nonprofits like environmental groups and consumer activist organizations play an important role in exposing corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) practices. However, very few studies have paid attention to this specific stakeholder group in the CSI context. Applying the concept of infomediaries, this study explores the effect of nonprofit legitimacy on consumers’ blame toward the accused company and when the company’s CSR reputation can defend such an accusation. Using two experiments, this study found that an accusing nonprofit’s entity legitimacy and action legitimacy drive consumers’ blame attribution to the accused company. In addition, a strong CSR reputation helped defend the company against accusations from a highly legitimate nonprofit, but this effect was not observed when the nonprofit took highly legitimate action. The conclusions advise practitioners to meticulously examine the characteristics of the nonprofit involved in a nonprofit-led CSI incident.