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In loyalty program (LP) literature, research on how non-loyalty program members would react to preferential treatment is scarce. Nested within reactance theory, this paper suggests that negative customer responses arise due to the perceived threat to freedom and that the effects are moderated by the importance of freedom and relationship norms. Through two 2 × 2 between-subjects-design experiments, our results indicate that when the perceived threat to freedom of receiving LP benefits is high, non-member customers show increased anger, decreased attitude towards the company, and decreased intention to revisit. Similar results are observed when a company presents the image of building a communal relationship with its customers and when non-member customers perceive a high threat to freedom in terms of receiving the LP benefits. Both studies indicate that the interaction effects are less pronounced when non-member customers perceive a low threat to freedom of receiving the LP benefits.

In the U.S., the foodservice industry has been responsible for significant portions of food waste. Recently, on-site foodservice industry leaders advocate for the potential use of imperfect produce. However, lack of research efforts on the use of imperfect produce limits its adoption by the industry. Thus, this study investigates ways to enhance guests’ perception of companies when they adopt imperfect produce in their operations. Grounded in stigma theory, this research conducted two studies to evaluate the application of stigma theory to imperfect produce in a foodservice setting: study one, 3 (disclosure strategies: simple vs. de-categorization vs. integration) × 2 (controllability: high vs. low) and study two, 3 (same disclosure strategies) × 2 (aesthetics: standard vs. aesthetic). Findings of this research indicate that simple disclosure strategies are not effective compared to the other two strategies. However, this depends on controllability of the stigma and environmental aesthetics of imperfect produce presentation.