Most relevant empirical studies on consumers’ reactions after transgressions involving a favorite brand
| Study | Research context | Emotions studied | Brand betrayal studied | Brand retaliation studied | Negative word-of-mouth studied | Key takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empirical work considering no central element | ||||||
| Hebblethwaite et al. (2017) | Milk, corn chips, cereal | No | No | No | No | If the favorite brand is discontinued, there is an overall reduction in product category sales |
| Hegner et al. (2017) | Fashion | No | No | No | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, pre-transgression brand love has a positive impact on brand forgiveness |
| Puligadda et al. (2012) | Toothpaste, breakfast cereal | No | No | No | No | If the favorite brand is out of stock at the preferred store, between-store (within-store) substitution occurs to a larger (lesser) extent when the favorite brand is available at a less preferred store than when it is not |
| Verbeke et al. (1998) | Soft drink, cooking margarine, coffee creamer, rice, detergent | No | No | No | No | If the favorite brand is out of stock in their usual store and if consumers have a small – as compared to a large – total purchase amount per trip, they are more likely to postpone buying the brand |
| Empirical work considering one central element | ||||||
| Almazyad et al. (2023) | Soft drink | Yes (love) | No | No | No | After the deletion of the favorite brand, threats to freedom and nostalgic brand love are positively associated with psychological reactance, which has a positive impact on participation in social media activism for brand resurrection |
| Davvetas and Diamantopoulos (2017) | Freely selectable product | Yes (regret, satisfaction) | No | No | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, there is a direct negative and an indirect (via satisfaction) effect of regret on brand repurchase intentions and brand recommendation intentions. These effects are moderated by consumer–brand identification |
| Kordrostami and Kordrostami (2019) | Sneakers, chain restaurants | no | No | Yes | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, individuals with a promotion focus will show a lower desire for revenge toward the brand, a lower tendency to avoid the brand and higher levels of trust in and loyalty to the brand than individuals with a prevention focus |
| Empirical work considering two central elements | ||||||
| Jain and Sharma (2019) | Smartphone | Yes (hate) | Yes | No | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, individuals experience higher betrayal as compared to a brand transgression of a hypothetical brand. Betrayal has a positive impact on active brand hate, which in turn increases online commenting |
| Japutra et al. (2021) | Freely selectable product/service | Yes (anxiety, hate) | No | Yes | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, there is a direct and an indirect (via brand hate) positive effect of brand anxiety on brand obsession |
| Sarkar et al. (2021) | Restaurant, airline, hotel | Yes (dissatisfaction, hate) | No | Yes | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, failure severity has a positive relation with brand dissatisfaction, which has a positive impact on brand hate, which in turn is positively related to brand retaliation |
| Weitzl et al. (2024) | Freely selectable product, restaurant | Yes (dissatisfaction, shame, anger) | No | No | Yes | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, there is a direct and an indirect (via brand shame) positive effect of transgression-induced dissatisfaction on brand anger. These effects are moderated by consumer–brand identification. Brand anger is positively related to negative word-of-mouth |
| Empirical work considering three central elements | ||||||
| Jabeen et al. (2022) | Online food delivery platforms | Yes (hate) | Yes | Yes | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, brand betrayal and brand hate have a positive impact on desire for avoidance and desire for retaliation toward the brand |
| Empirical work considering all four central elements | ||||||
| This study | Freely selectable product, smartphone | Yes (dissatisfaction, shame) | Yes | Yes | Yes | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, the positive impact of brand dissatisfaction on desire for retaliation towards the brand is sequentially mediated by brand betrayal and brand shame. Desire for retaliation towards the brand has a positive effect on negative word-of-mouth |
| Study | Research context | Emotions studied | Brand betrayal studied | Brand retaliation studied | Negative word-of-mouth studied | Key takeaway |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milk, corn chips, cereal | No | No | No | No | If the favorite brand is discontinued, there is an overall reduction in product category sales | |
| Fashion | No | No | No | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, pre-transgression brand love has a positive impact on brand forgiveness | |
| Toothpaste, breakfast cereal | No | No | No | No | If the favorite brand is out of stock at the preferred store, between-store (within-store) substitution occurs to a larger (lesser) extent when the favorite brand is available at a less preferred store than when it is not | |
| Soft drink, cooking margarine, coffee creamer, rice, detergent | No | No | No | No | If the favorite brand is out of stock in their usual store and if consumers have a small – as compared to a large – total purchase amount per trip, they are more likely to postpone buying the brand | |
| Soft drink | Yes (love) | No | No | No | After the deletion of the favorite brand, threats to freedom and nostalgic brand love are positively associated with psychological reactance, which has a positive impact on participation in social media activism for brand resurrection | |
| Freely selectable product | Yes (regret, satisfaction) | No | No | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, there is a direct negative and an indirect (via satisfaction) effect of regret on brand repurchase intentions and brand recommendation intentions. These effects are moderated by consumer–brand identification | |
| Sneakers, chain restaurants | no | No | Yes | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, individuals with a promotion focus will show a lower desire for revenge toward the brand, a lower tendency to avoid the brand and higher levels of trust in and loyalty to the brand than individuals with a prevention focus | |
| Smartphone | Yes (hate) | Yes | No | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, individuals experience higher betrayal as compared to a brand transgression of a hypothetical brand. Betrayal has a positive impact on active brand hate, which in turn increases online commenting | |
| Freely selectable product/service | Yes (anxiety, hate) | No | Yes | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, there is a direct and an indirect (via brand hate) positive effect of brand anxiety on brand obsession | |
| Restaurant, airline, hotel | Yes (dissatisfaction, hate) | No | Yes | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, failure severity has a positive relation with brand dissatisfaction, which has a positive impact on brand hate, which in turn is positively related to brand retaliation | |
| Freely selectable product, restaurant | Yes (dissatisfaction, shame, anger) | No | No | Yes | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, there is a direct and an indirect (via brand shame) positive effect of transgression-induced dissatisfaction on brand anger. These effects are moderated by consumer–brand identification. Brand anger is positively related to negative word-of-mouth | |
| Online food delivery platforms | Yes (hate) | Yes | Yes | No | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, brand betrayal and brand hate have a positive impact on desire for avoidance and desire for retaliation toward the brand | |
| Freely selectable product, smartphone | After a brand transgression of the favorite brand, the positive impact of brand dissatisfaction on desire for retaliation towards the brand is sequentially mediated by brand betrayal and brand shame. Desire for retaliation towards the brand has a positive effect on negative word-of-mouth | |||||
The papers are presented in ascending order according to which they address the four central elements (i.e. emotions, brand betrayal, brand retaliation and negative word-of-mouth) identified in this study. Within each category, the papers are arranged in alphabetic order. Papers are evaluated based on the inclusion of the four central elements, measured after a brand transgression of the favorite brand. The literature on favorite brands and brand transgressions was examined on Google Scholar, ScienceDirect and diverse further research databases. Details about the systematic literature review can be obtained by contacting the authors
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