When Consumers Tell Hate Stories: Narrative Frames as Predictors of Brand Hate Intensity
(A2026-134120)

AUTHORS

Marta Grybś-Kabocik, University of Economics in Katowice; Agnieszka Tetla, University of Economics in Katowice

ABSTRACT

This study examines how narrative interpretations shape the intensity and forms of consumer brand hate. Drawing on a nationwide online experiment (N = 1,302), participants were exposed to three types of brand-misconduct narratives or evaluated a brand based on personal experience. Findings show that narrative framing significantly amplifies brand hate: threat-based interpretations are the strongest predictor of emotional, behavioral, active, and moral hate. Regression results demonstrate that narrative framing significantly predicts brand hate (R= .152, p < .001), with Threat (β = .393) and Immorality (β = .334) emerging as the strongest amplifiers of hostility across all dimensions. The absence of a narrative construction strongly predicted lower hate (β = –.381, p < .001). The study demonstrates that narrative meaning-making is a critical mechanism driving extreme negative brand responses and offers a new lens for understanding how consumers translate negative incidents into hostile actions.