Navigating brand activism: the role of brand betrayal and brand anthropomorphism in influencing consumer backlash
Gema Vinuales & Daniel A. Sheinin
Abstract
Purpose Brand activism can elicit backlash among consumers with opposing political views. The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to understand the mechanism underlying negative consumer responses to brand activism; and (2) to identify strategies for mitigating this potential outrage. Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses were tested through two online experimental studies that used different stimuli and samples (MTurk, n = 161; University participant pool, n = 89). Findings A mismatch between a brand’s political position and an individual’s political affiliation leads to more negative brand attitudes than a political match, an effect mediated by brand betrayal. This mediation process is moderated by brand anthropomorphism. In a political mismatch, high anthropomorphism intensifies feelings of betrayal, whereas low anthropomorphism mitigates them. This effect is asymmetric, as brand anthropomorphism does not influence consumer emotional reactions in a political match. Originality/value This research introduces brand betrayal into the conceptual domain of brand activism and identifies brand anthropomorphism as an effective strategy for mitigating consumer backlash in a political mismatch.
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.