Consumer Assessments of Responsibility For Product-Related Injuries: the Impact of Regulations, Warnings, and Promotional Policies

This paper examines the impact of regulations, warning labels and promotional policies on consumers' attributional processes. The results of an experiment manipulating these characteristics within a product-injury scenario show that the manner in which these managerial factors are treated can affect assignments of responsibility. In addition, the degree to which an injury is unanticipated is also shown to affect consumer attributions.