Avoidance or trash talk: the differential impact of brand identification and brand disidentification on oppositional brand loyalty
Journal of Product & Brand Management
ISSN: 1061-0421
Article publication date: 5 May 2023
Issue publication date: 15 August 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Oppositional brand loyalty (OBL) has become widespread and has thus received growing scholarly attention in recent years. Although opposition behaviors have distinct manifestations, their differential antecedents remain underexplored. Drawing from the identity-based motivation model, this article aims to examine the impact of brand identification and brand disidentification on the two distinct dimensions of OBL (i.e. brand avoidance and trash talk) according to their different intensity and activation levels (passive or active). In addition, article aims to examine the moderating role of perceived inter-group rivalry.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected survey data and obtained 392 valid questionnaires from smartphone users. Structural equation modeling was used for hypothesis testing.
Findings
The results show that brand identification has a significant positive effect on avoidance of rival brands, but not on trash talk; brand disidentification has a significant positive effect on both avoidance and trash talk of rival brands; and perceived inter-group rivalry positively moderates the relationship between brand disidentification and trash talk, but does not alter the relationship between brand disidentification and brand avoidance.
Originality/value
This study extends the literature on OBL by investigating differential antecedents of two distinct dimensions of brand opposition. It provides more complete understanding of the formation of OBL by examining the role of users’ relationship with a focal brand, its competing brand and inter-group relationship.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This project is supported by National Social Science Foundation of China (21BGL132); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (72272061 and 71802097); The Ministry of education of Humanities and Social Science project (22YJC630077); Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning Program of Guangzhou (2021GZYB05 and 2022JDGJ06); Research Institute on Brand Innovation and Development of Guangzhou (2021CS05); Jinan University Management School Funding Program (GY21013); and Institute for Enterprise Development, Jinan University, Guangdong Province (2021MYZD04 and 2020CP03).
Citation
Liao, J., Guo, R., Chen, J. and Du, P. (2023), "Avoidance or trash talk: the differential impact of brand identification and brand disidentification on oppositional brand loyalty", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 32 No. 7, pp. 1005-1017. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-07-2021-3576
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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