Abstract
In the past few decades, marketing academicians and researchers have shown a profound interest in exploring how brand relationships can be conceptualized, measured, and studied. In conjunction with research on positive brand relationships, recent authors and practitioners are concerned with understanding the dark side of brand relationships and anti-brand behaviors. Consumer brand sabotage (CBS) is the most aggravating concern to deal with as it harms brand image and ruins consumer-brand relationships. Therefore, the objective of this study was to find the relationship between negative word of mouth (negative WoM) and consumer brand sabotage with mediating effect of brand hate and perceived brand betrayal with the help of affective event theory. Furthermore, this research study has investigated the effects of consumers’ intention to sabotage a brand. Data were collected from 205 respondents through google forms. Various scenarios related to brand sabotage were added to the survey and consumers were asked to respond to the questions following the scenarios. Results through Smart PLS revealed a negative relationship between negative word of mouth and consumer brand sabotage intention (CBSI). Lastly, implications for marketers and limitations of the study have been discussed.
Keywords:
Negative word of mouth, brand hate, brand betrayal, consumer brand sabotage.