Table 2. Thematic mapping of brand... | Emerald Publishing

Table 2.

Thematic mapping of brand engagement taxonomy

Taxonomy of online brand engagement
First-order quotes	Open coding	Axial coding
“Hypocrisy is the only constant” “They claim to be green but kept drilling for oil. It makes my blood boil” “Their CEO earned millions while workers got laid off. Disgusting!”	Confrontational discourse Moral outrage	Critical activists
“Brand X made mistakes, but they did correct their pricing error promptly” “I changed my mind about them after seeing how they handled the crisis” “I believed that this firm will not short-change hard-working staff”	Balanced evaluation Willingness to revise opinions Acknowledgement of corporate responsibility	Neutral netizens
“X is the only brand in fashion clothing that emphasizes Britishness” “I loved it”	Brand advocacy Emotional connection	Active evangelists
“They won’t listen to customers like us anyway” “What can one person do against such a big corporation?” “This is totally unfair”	Expressed resignation Perceived powerlessness Cynical observation	Passive irates
“Frankly, I don’t see any point in posting about any of this” “Why bother complaining? Nothing ever changes” “I just read what others post about the brand”	Conscious disengagement Perceived futility Passive observation	Silent spectators
“X is a choco paradise, but I haven’t posted any comments” “Their products are good but I don’t talk about it online”	Conscious non-participation Passive appreciation	Disconnected loyalists

Taxonomy of online brand engagement
First-order quotes	Open coding	Axial coding
“Hypocrisy is the only constant”“They claim to be green but kept drilling for oil. It makes my blood boil”“Their CEO earned millions while workers got laid off. Disgusting!”	Confrontational discourse Moral outrage	Critical activists
“Brand X made mistakes, but they did correct their pricing error promptly”“I changed my mind about them after seeing how they handled the crisis”“I believed that this firm will not short-change hard-working staff”	Balanced evaluation Willingness to revise opinions Acknowledgement of corporate responsibility	Neutral netizens
“X is the only brand in fashion clothing that emphasizes Britishness”“I loved it”	Brand advocacy Emotional connection	Active evangelists
“They won’t listen to customers like us anyway”“What can one person do against such a big corporation?”“This is totally unfair”	Expressed resignation Perceived powerlessness Cynical observation	Passive irates
“Frankly, I don’t see any point in posting about any of this”“Why bother complaining? Nothing ever changes”“I just read what others post about the brand”	Conscious disengagement Perceived futility Passive observation	Silent spectators
“X is a choco paradise, but I haven’t posted any comments”“Their products are good but I don’t talk about it online”	Conscious non-participation Passive appreciation	Disconnected loyalists

Source(s): Authors’ own work