Antecedents and consequences of brand hate: a study of Pakistan’s telecommunication industry

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to extend the body of knowledge on brand hate and further examine its significant antecedents and consequences to investigate how brand hate affects consumers’ behavioural responses. Design/methodology/approach This study used a questionnaire to collect data from 403 consumers of Pakistan’s mobile telecommunication industry. Smart partial least square was then used to analyse the data. Findings This study provides insights into the conception of brand hate in the context of Pakistani consumers. This study’s findings indicate that “neuroticism”, as a consumer-related antecedent, “perceived price unfairness”, “poor product/service quality” and “post-purchase service failures” as company-controlled determinants have significant impacts on brand hate. This, in turn, leads to brand avoidance and brand retaliation. Managerial implications and avenues for future research are also discussed. This study provides insights into the conception of brand hate in the context of Pakistani consumers. Originality/value The original findings of this work can thus provide meaningful guidance for companies to mitigate the spread of brand hate among consumers.

Unpacking the influence of anthropomorphism and stereotypes on consumer attitude towards luxury brand

“…The term "anthropomorphism" originates from the Greek words "Anthropos," meaning human, and "morphe," meaning shape or form. This concept is linked to customer behaviours related to brand engagement, affection and loyalty in the existing literature (Attiq et al, 2022). Brands use anthropomorphism in marketing through techniques like giving human names, using visual cues resembling human body parts and personification.…”

“…The term “anthropomorphism” originates from the Greek words “Anthropos,” meaning human, and “morphe,” meaning shape or form. This concept is linked to customer behaviours related to brand engagement, affection and loyalty in the existing literature (Attiq et al. , 2022).…”

“…Furthermore, consumers place significant emphasis on a brand's relationship aspect in addition to its features, benefits and emotional attributes (Fournier, 2014), shaping perceptions and attitudes, influenced by perceived competence and warmth. Luxury retail consumption surged in Asian markets, particularly in emerging markets like India, China and the Middle East (Gupta and Mukherjee, 2022), possibly due to evolving consumer lifestyles (Attiq et al, 2022). Interestingly, research on luxury brand retailing in emerging markets often overlooks brand attitudes.…”

Brand hate in the cosmetic industry: drugstore versus luxury make-up brands

“…Marketing scholars have begun to look at negative emotions that young consumers could develop toward brands, such as brand dislike (Dalli et al , 2007), brand divorce (Fournier, 2014), brand aversion (Park et al , 2013) and the more recent topic of brand hate (Zarantonello et al , 2016; Aziz and Rahman, 2022; Attiq et al , 2022). From a brand management perspective, companies should focus on reaching the happiness and loyalty of young customers to avoid certain young consumers’ negative brand relationships toward the company that lead to negative sentiments and dissemination.…”

“…Second, this research will provide a specific industry context involving young consumer opinions. As discussed above, studying negative emotions is still a relatively newer area of academic interest (Attiq et al , 2022). This research will provide interesting insights to managers of various types of brands with different positioning strategies (luxury versus low-cost) as far as differences between drugstore and luxury make-up brands will be analyzed.…”