SHAME IS A BRAND EATING EMOTION: NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF CONSUMER-BRAND IDENTIFICATION IN THE AFTERMATHS OF BRAND FAILURES
(A2022-106522)

AUTHORS

Wolfgang Weitzl, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria; Clemens Hutzinger, Seeburg Castle University, Department of Management

ABSTRACT

Brands are essential components of consumers’ identity. Consumers regard beloved brands as extensions of their self-concepts. In case of a brand failure, however, this oneness is challenged: Dissatisfied consumers may feel betrayed, which ultimately triggers anger and revenge. This effect is strongly associated to brand anger. The purpose of our research is to add an inward-oriented emotional perspective by introducing brand shame to further explain the interrelationship between dissatisfaction, brand anger, and consumer-brand identification (CBI). In line with our conceptual model, the empirical results show that brand shame mediates the relationship between dissatisfaction and brand anger. Notably, brand shame has a positive impact on brand anger. Most importantly, CBI moderates spillover-effects of customer dissatisfaction on subsequent negative emotions.