This study examines the antecedents and consequences of brand hate by applying a multi-emotion perspective of brand hate in the context of travel apps. The study investigates how identity-based and experiential factors contribute to the emergence of brand hate and how distinct emotional responses influence consumer behavioral reactions.
Using survey data from 549 travel app users, this study examines four antecedents of brand hate ideological incompatibility, symbolic incongruity, negative experiences, and poor relationship quality conceptualized as a multidimensional construct (anger, fear and sadness) and analyzed via PLS-SEM.
Results show that both identity-related factors and experiential failures drive brand hate toward travel applications. Ideological incompatibility and symbolic incongruity trigger negative emotions, while negative experiences and poor relationship quality further reinforce brand hate. This, in turn, leads to both passive and active responses (e.g. avoidance, reduced patronage and private and public complaints), with distinct emotional dimensions linked to different consumer reactions.
The findings underscore that brand hate is multidimensional, with distinct emotions (anger, fear and sadness) driving different behavioral outcomes. Managers should tailor strategies to specific emotional responses to mitigate negative reactions and improve customer relationships in digital tourism platforms.
This study extends the multi-emotion perspective of brand hate by applying it to digital tourism platforms and providing empirical evidence from a non-Western context. By linking antecedents, emotional manifestations of brand hate and consumer behavioral outcomes, the study advances understanding of negative consumer–brand relationships in the context of travel applications.
