Sharing the Blame: How Political Ideology Affects Reactions to Service Failures in the Sharing Economy

ABSTRACT

When service failures and transgressions occur, consumers often look for someone to blame. In contexts like the sharing economy, are consumers more likely to attribute responsibility and blame to the individual gig worker or the organization? This research argues that responsibility and blame attribution depend on beliefs in personal responsibility and corporate distrust, both of which are predicted by political ideology—a managerially actionable predictor of consumer responses. Across three studies, consumers with a liberal (vs. conservative) political ideology exhibit differential attribution patterns, being more likely to blame sharing economy organizations when a gig worker transgresses. This effect is associated with liberals' weaker beliefs in personal responsibility and stronger corporate distrust. Importantly, providing a clear message emphasizing gig workers' independent status reduces liberals' tendency to blame organizations, given their weaker beliefs in personal responsibility, thereby increasing intentions to continue using the service. These findings link political ideology to organizational blame in the sharing economy and offer actionable strategies for addressing ideological differences in blame attribution after service failures and transgressions.