Our conceptual framework and development of hypotheses involve three steps. First, we explain the underpinnings of attitudinal advocacy and the commitment-consistency principle. Second, we argue that participating in a CRP constitutes a public commitment. Third, we analyze how customer tenure affects the recommendation-loyalty link according to self-perception theory.
Attitudinal advocacy and the commitment-consistency principle. Social psychology research shows that people who advocate a specific issue position tend to align their attitudes in the direction of that position (Cialdini 1971). Pledging or binding to a behavior results from having taken an action or made a statement (termed a "commitment" in psychology literature; Kiesler 1971). Such commitment arises because people who recognize that they have endorsed a position will attribute favorability toward it. A key factor that determines the magnitude of the advocacy effect is the "publicness" with which the person declares his or her commitment to a position (Cialdini 1971). Deutsch and Gerard (1955) find that commitments made in front of large groups are strongest, although broad publicity is not a necessary condition to evoke commitment; as Cialdini (1971) points out, intended advocacy also can induce it. The commitment-consistency principle is relevant to the desire to appear consistent to others (public consistency), but it also applies to a person's desire to be consistent within his or her own attitudes and behaviors (internal consistency).