From Admiration to Ambivalence: Understanding Consumer Responses to Tesla’s Ethical Decline
(2025) BUSN39 20251Department of Business Administration
- Abstract
- This research aims to explore how consumer navigate their behavior in response to conflicting ethical dilemmas, in which a brand that was once perceived as ethical breaches its commitments and thereby becomes unethical in public discourse. The theoretical lens of Boltanski and Thévenot’s (2006) Economies of Worth serves as a lens to explore how the participants navigate ethical brands becoming unethical. To answer the research question, this study adopts a qualitative methodological approach using semi-structured interviews. In total, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with Tesla owners. Once transcribed, the empirical data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework for a thematic analysis. The findings of the... (More)
- This research aims to explore how consumer navigate their behavior in response to conflicting ethical dilemmas, in which a brand that was once perceived as ethical breaches its commitments and thereby becomes unethical in public discourse. The theoretical lens of Boltanski and Thévenot’s (2006) Economies of Worth serves as a lens to explore how the participants navigate ethical brands becoming unethical. To answer the research question, this study adopts a qualitative methodological approach using semi-structured interviews. In total, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with Tesla owners. Once transcribed, the empirical data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework for a thematic analysis. The findings of the empirical data revealed four key themes. The study showed that participants experienced moral tensions between conflicting worlds and social narratives. Participants navigating controversy surrounding Tesla shared similar experiences of social negotiation and distancing as they aligned with group ethics to avoid social risks linked to being associated with Tesla. Additionally, many participants expressed a sense of betrayal, feeling that Tesla violated their trust; nevertheless, they indicated a willingness to forgive the brand, provided that Tesla took accountability. We determine that the navigation process is best understood as a continuous, socially embedded negotiation. Through our research, it becomes clear that consumers do not merely assess brands through isolated ethical lenses, but instead, weigh multiple moral, social, and functional dimensions as they manage their own identities and public image. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9203716
- author
- Nielsen, Sarah LU and Shepherd, Mattias LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- BUSN39 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Ethics, Moral Judgment, Moral Obligation, Moral Identity, Dissonance, Navigating, Tesla, Accountability, Economies of Worth
- language
- English
- id
- 9203716
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-30 12:15:14
- date last changed
- 2025-06-30 12:15:14
@misc{9203716,
abstract = {{This research aims to explore how consumer navigate their behavior in response to conflicting ethical dilemmas, in which a brand that was once perceived as ethical breaches its commitments and thereby becomes unethical in public discourse. The theoretical lens of Boltanski and Thévenot’s (2006) Economies of Worth serves as a lens to explore how the participants navigate ethical brands becoming unethical. To answer the research question, this study adopts a qualitative methodological approach using semi-structured interviews. In total, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with Tesla owners. Once transcribed, the empirical data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework for a thematic analysis. The findings of the empirical data revealed four key themes. The study showed that participants experienced moral tensions between conflicting worlds and social narratives. Participants navigating controversy surrounding Tesla shared similar experiences of social negotiation and distancing as they aligned with group ethics to avoid social risks linked to being associated with Tesla. Additionally, many participants expressed a sense of betrayal, feeling that Tesla violated their trust; nevertheless, they indicated a willingness to forgive the brand, provided that Tesla took accountability. We determine that the navigation process is best understood as a continuous, socially embedded negotiation. Through our research, it becomes clear that consumers do not merely assess brands through isolated ethical lenses, but instead, weigh multiple moral, social, and functional dimensions as they manage their own identities and public image.}},
author = {{Nielsen, Sarah and Shepherd, Mattias}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{From Admiration to Ambivalence: Understanding Consumer Responses to Tesla’s Ethical Decline}},
year = {{2025}},
}