Temporal buffering: Exploring how temporal distance affects consumers’ reactions to product recalls

Products frequently undergo multiple recalls throughout their lifecycle. This study analyzes the impact of the temporal distance between the current recall and its previous one on the market share loss of the focal product in the Chinese automotive industry from 2013 to 2021. Our findings suggest that a longer temporal distance generally mitigates the negative impact of recalls on product market performance. However, this mitigating effect weakens significantly under conditions of high defect severity, when the firm has recalled other products for the same defect, or when the recall frequency in the industry is low. This study contributes to research in attribution theory by integrating temporal distance as a cue and examining its functional boundary conditions. The findings offer insights into how firms can better manage component sharing and quality control, and how regulators can protect consumer rights while mitigating the negative impact of recalls on businesses.