Following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, many companies withdrew from or altered their Russian operations. This research explores the impact of such corporate actions on three important consumer mindset metrics: net brand buzz, consideration set inclusion, and purchase intent. We also examine the moderating role of the firm’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reputation, the type of business (B2B vs. B2C), and the focal firm’s decisions relative to peers. We test our propositions using a unique dataset that combines a firm’s decision related to its Russian operations, consumer mindset metrics, and ESG performance after controlling for firm-level factors. Our findings indicate that decisions such as withdrawal from or suspension of activities in Russia are positively related to consumer mindset metrics. Moreover, this effect is accentuated for firms with a strong prior ESG reputation such that they experience a greater level of net brand buzz, brand consideration set inclusion, and purchase intent following the decision compared to the period before such decisions. Our study contributes to understanding the relationship between such corporate actions and consumer mindset metrics in a novel geopolitical context, providing valuable insights for managerial decision-making and public policy.

中文翻译：

---

EXPRESS：应对地缘政治动荡：企业对乌克兰战争的反应及其对消费者心态的影响

俄罗斯 2022 年入侵乌克兰后，许多公司撤出或改变了在俄罗斯的业务。本研究探讨了此类企业行为对三个重要消费者心态指标的影响：净品牌知名度、考虑范围包容性和购买意向。我们还研究了公司的环境、社会和治理 (ESG) 声誉、业务类型（B2B 与 B2C）以及焦点公司相对于同行的决策的调节作用。我们使用独特的数据集来测试我们的主张，该数据集在控制公司层面因素后结合了公司与其俄罗斯业务相关的决策、消费者心态指标和 ESG 绩效。我们的研究结果表明，退出或暂停在俄罗斯的活动等决定与消费者心态指标呈正相关。此外，对于先前在 ESG 声誉方面拥有良好声誉的公司来说，这种影响会更加明显，因此与做出决定之前相比，他们在做出决定后会经历更高水平的净品牌嗡嗡声、品牌考虑集包含度和购买意向。我们的研究有助于理解新型地缘政治背景下此类企业行为与消费者心态指标之间的关系，为管理决策和公共政策提供宝贵的见解。