Militant Consumers: A Consumer-Centered Exploration of Communal Identity and Brand Politicization in Polarized Social Environments
(A2025-125873)

AUTHORS

Steven Tadlock, Toulouse School of Management; Linda Hamdi-Kidar, TBS Education; MATHIEU ALEMANY OLIVER

ABSTRACT

Consumer identity is becoming increasingly impacted by brand politicization and social polarization. This study examines consumer identity and brand politicization in polarized environments through an expansion of the Hirschman (1970) framework (exit, voice, and loyalty) to include an aggressive consumer behavior as a response to brand action. Using the Bud Light community's response to a marketing partnership with a transgender influencer, we analyze consumer reactions via netnography and interviews. Three consumer types emerge: Loyalists (loyalty), Separatists (voice/exit), and Militants (aggressive voice/exit). Militants represent a novel category of extreme dissent, targeting broader socio-political issues. The findings reveal that brand politicization intensifies identity-based conflicts, challenging community cohesion.