Phenomenon of brand hate. Behavioral consequences and managerial implications

Master’s Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Business economics - Marketing, Corporate Communication, CRM, Market Research, Social Media, grade: 1,7, Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen (Nijmegen School of Management), language: English, abstract: Brand hate can entail a series of consumer behaviors that may result in brand equity loss. The following thesis explores the phenomenon of brand hate through the conduction of in-depth interviews among 20 consumers from a variety of backgrounds. Drawing on theory from social psychology and Sternberg’s (2003) duplex theory of hate, the author presents results with regard to the nature of brand hate, the consequences it entails, its development over time, as well as managerial implications to tackle this phenomenon. An important finding is that a significant proportion of consumers is more inclined to feel dislike rather than hate towards brands and that consumers’ disposition to engage in online WOM and activism is particularly low.