Kobe Millet

Stimulating Referral Behavior May Backfire for Men: The Effect of Referral Failure on Susceptibility to Persuasion

We present the referral-backfire effect, reflecting the phenomenon that consumers become less susceptible to persuasive attempts when they experienced referral failure. In two lab studies and one field study, we provide evidence for the effect and for the hypothesis that the effect occurs because referral failure is interpreted as a sign that the senders social relations are threatened.