The power to voice my hate! Exploring the effect of brand hate and perceived social media power on negative eWOM
Journal of Asia Business Studies
ISSN: 1558-7894
Article publication date: 29 July 2021
Issue publication date: 27 June 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer brand relationship literature has recently seen a surge of studies on brand hate, its antecedents and outcomes. Hate alone will not drive consumers to engage in negative electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and indicates the interplay of other social relationship factors that can strengthen the effect of brand hate on negative eWOM. The purpose of this study is to integrate the emerging concept of brand hate and perceived social media power with the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to expand the understanding of negative eWOM.
Design/methodology/approach
Data is collected through a survey conducted among university students based in the National Capital Region of Delhi in India. The research model is empirically tested using structural equation modeling in AMOSv23.
Findings
The three TPB dimensions, including brand attitude, subjective norms and individual’s propensity to anthropomorphize, are found to influence brand to hate significantly. The other perceived control factors included in the model, perceived homophily and social media self-efficacy, were found to affect perceived social media power, which, in turn, is crucial in predicting consumers’ engagement in negative eWOM behavior, both directly and through interaction with brand hate.
Originality/value
The study contributes to brand hate literature and offers a novel perspective by advocating the role of consumers’ propensity to anthropomorphize in augmenting feelings of brand hate.
Keywords
Citation
Sharma, I., Jain, K. and Gupta, R. (2022), "The power to voice my hate! Exploring the effect of brand hate and perceived social media power on negative eWOM", Journal of Asia Business Studies, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 652-675. https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-10-2020-0423
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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