Table 4 Consumers’ cognitive-emotional... | Emerald Publishing

Table 4

Consumers’ cognitive-emotional responses following an online brand transgression

Responsibility dimension	Negative emotion	Cognitive appraisals (context-specific factors)	Representative quotation
Other-attributed	Aggression	Lack of available information on malfunctions; perceived ineffectiveness of own efforts; failure of vouchers to work, despite being the initial motivator for purchase	Exemplary quote for “failure of vouchers to work, despite being the initial motivator for purchase”: “I hadn’t experienced it like that at BRAND before. But it totally made me… yeah, aggressive in that sense. You have this inner anger, like “Why isn’t this working again? Why can’t there just be a voucher code that works for once?” And yeah, you’re really just frustrated that… well, also that a brand communicates this way because it doesn’t benefit anyone.” (Antonia)
	Anger	Lack of transparency and insufficient information; excessive or redundant e-mail notification; poor navigation and usability in online shop; exploitation of personal data; unmet consumer expectations for digital services and experiences; inaccurate product recommendations; unforeseen efforts in the service process	Exemplary quote for “excessive or redundant e-mail notification”: “I was really angry because my email inbox was so full, and I actually really like it when it’s organised …. And that overview was completely destroyed the entire time. I had no idea why it was happening. … I also felt a bit deceived, I have to say, because you get the feeling that BRAND thinks they are smarter than the consumer and that they can fool the consumer.” (Jannette)
	Contempt	Incompetent customer service; unprofessional newsletter offers	Exemplary quote for “incompetent customer service”: “In that moment, I really … thought to myself, “How can they all be doing such a bad job?” … Contempt in the sense that I was thinking: This can’t be. I mean, this can’t be happening [here]. We have laws, we have contracts. This is a contractual relationship. I paid. So that part is already fulfilled - I can’t just undo my part of the deal.“ (Maria)
	Disappointment	Exploitation of personal data; ineffectiveness of voucher codes; inability to unsubscribe from newsletters; unmet consumer expectations for digital services and experiences; inappropriate communication tonality and automated service procedures; betrayal of core brand meaning by undesirable peer group	Exemplary quote for “unmet consumer expectations for digital services and experiences”: “Yes, from the feeling that I wasn’t really appreciated or given enough attention, that my messages were not seriously read [by the customer service].” (Maria)
	Frustration	Urgent need for new clothes, but inaccurate size recommendation	“I would’ve actually kept the pants in four different colors - that’s why I intentionally ordered so many in different variations, but specifically not in different sizes. And maybe that was also frustrating, that nothing fit and I had to redo everything.“ (Julia)
	Hostility	Brand users representing opposing beliefs and values, made visible through social media	“This self-image-signaling and group-belonging-signaling aspect that‘s important to me when it comes to fashion brands… um, it just stood in such strong contrast to my own worldview and values that I really didn’t want to be associated with that brand in any way. Even though it’s not like a typical brand for Nazis or anything, I’d still go out of my way to avoid any connection with it, because for me, it’s just such a big no go.“ (Alex)
	Rejection	Inappropriate or irrelevant advertisements or newsletters; unreliable or incompetent behaviour by the brand; failure to meet industry or competitive standards; perception of being deceived by marketing tactics	Exemplary quote for “inappropriate or irrelevant advertisements or newsletters”: “Actually, [rejection] against the brand itself, because if they had placed this advertisement on Instagram themselves or on any digital platform, I would have said that the people who came up with it didn’t think it really through. And since they can’t be separated from it, even in this case where they ran the ad, I would really say that the brand didn’t do a good job.” (Josephine)
Situational-attributed	Anxiety/ nervousness	Urgent need with few alternatives due to time constraints; dependence on messenger service; uncertainty about key information (e.g., delivery status)	Exemplary quote for “dependence on messenger service”: “… it also made me nervous because … the dependency is just greater. And – dependency sounds a bit odd, but it really is a greater dependency because I only receive this message via BRAND. I could, of course, theoretically ask the person – let’s say, if I had left my phone somewhere else and needed the message at that moment but couldn’t get up and needed it on my desktop – I’d have to ask the person to send it to me somewhere else again. But that’s super inconvenient and would likely take up a lot of the person’s time. So, in a way, you have this certain dependency on BRAND. And in that moment, it made me nervous.” (Antonia)
	Boredom	Uninspiring or irrelevant ad or newsletter content	“Maybe also boredom, because considering that you’re listening to the podcast for its content, I found that ad section pretty long, and it just didn’t fit thematically at all.” (Josephine)
	Fear	Concerns regarding financial implications (lost parcel, unprocessed order, or data lacks); concerns about the future of an industry not becoming sustainable	Exemplary quote for concerns regarding financial implications’: “Yes, so there was fear that the order doesn’t exist, that I’ve spent my money for nothing.” (Jana)
	Insecurity	Inauthentic online shop reviews	“It’s more about feeling insecure, in the sense that you just can’t trust it. I mean, generally, I don’t trust every customer review I read either. But I do like to get an overall picture somehow. There are usually some negative and some positive comments, and you can take something from that for yourself. And I think when you feel a bit insecure based on that, you also take longer to think about your purchase decision, and you might conclude to leave more quickly.” (Annalena)
	Submissiveness	Feeling out of control or unable to influence the situation	“I can definitely keep scrolling, and I do. I also try to skip over [social media ads] as much as possible. I don’t watch the whole story, but it’s still always there, and I just notice it. It kind of annoys me that it’s in between. Just also partly … it’s often with sound and it suddenly starts. Super loud … And the thing is, of course I have the option to keep going, but I can’t turn off the fact that it’s there. (Maria)
Self-attributed	Guilt	Buying fast fashion, despite awareness of unethical practices; poor preparation in spontaneous online purchase situation	Exemplary quote for “buying fast fashion, despite awareness of unethical practices”: “So, I would also place some of the blame on myself because, although I’m not a BRAND customer, I still support fast fashion by shopping at other brands like BRAND or BRAND. And in a way, I’m also partly responsible for the fact that such brands even exist, even though I’m not an active BRAND customer.” (Clara)
	Regret	(Purchase) decision turned out unfavourable; initial intuition that potential issues might arise (awareness of online shopping risks)	Exemplary quote for "(purchase) decision turned out unfavourable”: “I regretted redeeming the voucher, even though I didn’t really want to. In the end, I had the hassle of packing up the package and returning it, plus the fact that I lost the money.” (Sarah)
	Sadness	Perceived ineffectiveness of own efforts to communicate with customer service; disabled “invoice” payment option impels retailer switching	Exemplary quote for “disabled ‘invoice’ payment option impels retailer switching”: “Because I had often ordered from there in the past. Not just ordered, but also made purchases. And I always found it very pleasant, reliable, and so on -I had a positive relationship with the brand. And in that moment, I realised that this wouldn’t continue if I wanted to keep paying by invoice.” (Sofia)
	Shame	Almost spending money for something not needed, because of social media ad	“Sometimes I’m actually glad that the shoes weren’t available after all, because I think to myself, “Okay, I didn’t really need them anyway, and I can actually use the money for something else now,” and then I’m glad that I didn’t spend the money … unnecessarily. So in hindsight, depending on how often that kind of thing has happened and how much I had consumed before, especially in the case of BRAND, BRAND, or other clothing-related stuff, I do feel a tiny bit of shame.” (Emil)
	Vicarious embarrassment	Misalignment of brand’s original image and current brand users; embarrassed for peer group due to anticipated future brand associations by new brand users	Exemplary quote for “misalignment of brand’s original image and current brand users”: “For me … it was like I thought: Ah, this person, although I found them likable at the time, and still do, but they represent something completely different. I then felt ashamed for the brand, that it is now being worn in such circles, and that all the people who used to wear it for different reasons might soon be associated with it in that way.” (Alex)

Responsibilitydimension	Negative emotion	Cognitive appraisals (context-specific factors)	Representative quotation
Other-attributed	Aggression	Lack of available information on malfunctions; perceived ineffectiveness of own efforts; failure of vouchers to work, despite being the initial motivator for purchase	Exemplary quote for “failure of vouchers to work, despite being the initial motivator for purchase”:“I hadn’t experienced it like that at BRAND before. But it totally made me… yeah, aggressive in that sense. You have this inner anger, like “Why isn’t this working again? Why can’t there just be a voucher code that works for once?” And yeah, you’re really just frustrated that… well, also that a brand communicates this way because it doesn’t benefit anyone.” (Antonia)
	Anger	Lack of transparency and insufficient information; excessive or redundant e-mail notification; poor navigation and usability in online shop; exploitation of personal data; unmet consumer expectations for digital services and experiences; inaccurate product recommendations; unforeseen efforts in the service process	Exemplary quote for “excessive or redundant e-mail notification”:“I was really angry because my email inbox was so full, and I actually really like it when it’s organised …. And that overview was completely destroyed the entire time. I had no idea why it was happening. … I also felt a bit deceived, I have to say, because you get the feeling that BRAND thinks they are smarter than the consumer and that they can fool the consumer.” (Jannette)
	Contempt	Incompetent customer service; unprofessional newsletter offers	Exemplary quote for “incompetent customer service”:“In that moment, I really … thought to myself, “How can they all be doing such a bad job?” … Contempt in the sense that I was thinking: This can’t be. I mean, this can’t be happening [here]. We have laws, we have contracts. This is a contractual relationship. I paid. So that part is already fulfilled - I can’t just undo my part of the deal.“ (Maria)
	Disappointment	Exploitation of personal data; ineffectiveness of voucher codes; inability to unsubscribe from newsletters; unmet consumer expectations for digital services and experiences; inappropriate communication tonality and automated service procedures; betrayal of core brand meaning by undesirable peer group	Exemplary quote for “unmet consumer expectations for digital services and experiences”:“Yes, from the feeling that I wasn’t really appreciated or given enough attention, that my messages were not seriously read [by the customer service].” (Maria)
	Frustration	Urgent need for new clothes, but inaccurate size recommendation	“I would’ve actually kept the pants in four different colors - that’s why I intentionally ordered so many in different variations, but specifically not in different sizes. And maybe that was also frustrating, that nothing fit and I had to redo everything.“ (Julia)
	Hostility	Brand users representing opposing beliefs and values, made visible through social media	“This self-image-signaling and group-belonging-signaling aspect that‘s important to me when it comes to fashion brands… um, it just stood in such strong contrast to my own worldview and values that I really didn’t want to be associated with that brand in any way. Even though it’s not like a typical brand for Nazis or anything, I’d still go out of my way to avoid any connection with it, because for me, it’s just such a big no go.“ (Alex)
	Rejection	Inappropriate or irrelevant advertisements or newsletters; unreliable or incompetent behaviour by the brand; failure to meet industry or competitive standards; perception of being deceived by marketing tactics	Exemplary quote for “inappropriate or irrelevant advertisements or newsletters”:“Actually, [rejection] against the brand itself, because if they had placed this advertisement on Instagram themselves or on any digital platform, I would have said that the people who came up with it didn’t think it really through. And since they can’t be separated from it, even in this case where they ran the ad, I would really say that the brand didn’t do a good job.” (Josephine)
Situational-attributed	Anxiety/nervousness	Urgent need with few alternatives due to time constraints; dependence on messenger service; uncertainty about key information (e.g., delivery status)	Exemplary quote for “dependence on messenger service”:“… it also made me nervous because … the dependency is just greater. And – dependency sounds a bit odd, but it really is a greater dependency because I only receive this message via BRAND. I could, of course, theoretically ask the person – let’s say, if I had left my phone somewhere else and needed the message at that moment but couldn’t get up and needed it on my desktop – I’d have to ask the person to send it to me somewhere else again. But that’s super inconvenient and would likely take up a lot of the person’s time. So, in a way, you have this certain dependency on BRAND. And in that moment, it made me nervous.” (Antonia)
	Boredom	Uninspiring or irrelevant ad or newsletter content	“Maybe also boredom, because considering that you’re listening to the podcast for its content, I found that ad section pretty long, and it just didn’t fit thematically at all.” (Josephine)
	Fear	Concerns regarding financial implications (lost parcel, unprocessed order, or data lacks); concerns about the future of an industry not becoming sustainable	Exemplary quote for concerns regarding financial implications’:“Yes, so there was fear that the order doesn’t exist, that I’ve spent my money for nothing.” (Jana)
	Insecurity	Inauthentic online shop reviews	“It’s more about feeling insecure, in the sense that you just can’t trust it. I mean, generally, I don’t trust every customer review I read either. But I do like to get an overall picture somehow. There are usually some negative and some positive comments, and you can take something from that for yourself. And I think when you feel a bit insecure based on that, you also take longer to think about your purchase decision, and you might conclude to leave more quickly.” (Annalena)
	Submissiveness	Feeling out of control or unable to influence the situation	“I can definitely keep scrolling, and I do. I also try to skip over [social media ads] as much as possible. I don’t watch the whole story, but it’s still always there, and I just notice it. It kind of annoys me that it’s in between. Just also partly … it’s often with sound and it suddenly starts. Super loud … And the thing is, of course I have the option to keep going, but I can’t turn off the fact that it’s there. (Maria)
Self-attributed	Guilt	Buying fast fashion, despite awareness of unethical practices; poor preparation in spontaneous online purchase situation	Exemplary quote for “buying fast fashion, despite awareness of unethical practices”:“So, I would also place some of the blame on myself because, although I’m not a BRAND customer, I still support fast fashion by shopping at other brands like BRAND or BRAND. And in a way, I’m also partly responsible for the fact that such brands even exist, even though I’m not an active BRAND customer.” (Clara)
	Regret	(Purchase) decision turned out unfavourable; initial intuition that potential issues might arise (awareness of online shopping risks)	Exemplary quote for "(purchase) decision turned out unfavourable”:“I regretted redeeming the voucher, even though I didn’t really want to. In the end, I had the hassle of packing up the package and returning it, plus the fact that I lost the money.” (Sarah)
	Sadness	Perceived ineffectiveness of own efforts to communicate with customer service; disabled “invoice” payment option impels retailer switching	Exemplary quote for “disabled ‘invoice’ payment option impels retailer switching”:“Because I had often ordered from there in the past. Not just ordered, but also made purchases. And I always found it very pleasant, reliable, and so on -I had a positive relationship with the brand. And in that moment, I realised that this wouldn’t continue if I wanted to keep paying by invoice.” (Sofia)
	Shame	Almost spending money for something not needed, because of social media ad	“Sometimes I’m actually glad that the shoes weren’t available after all, because I think to myself, “Okay, I didn’t really need them anyway, and I can actually use the money for something else now,” and then I’m glad that I didn’t spend the money … unnecessarily. So in hindsight, depending on how often that kind of thing has happened and how much I had consumed before, especially in the case of BRAND, BRAND, or other clothing-related stuff, I do feel a tiny bit of shame.” (Emil)
	Vicarious embarrassment	Misalignment of brand’s original image and current brand users; embarrassed for peer group due to anticipated future brand associations by new brand users	Exemplary quote for “misalignment of brand’s original image and current brand users”:“For me … it was like I thought: Ah, this person, although I found them likable at the time, and still do, but they represent something completely different. I then felt ashamed for the brand, that it is now being worn in such circles, and that all the people who used to wear it for different reasons might soon be associated with it in that way.” (Alex)

Source(s): Authors’ own work