NEGATIVE WORD-OF-MOUTH: EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF ADVERSE MESSAGES ON CONSUMERS’ REACTIONS ON FACEBOOK
NEGATIVE WORD-OF-MOUTH: EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF ADVERSE MESSAGES ON CONSUMERS’ REACTIONS ON FACEBOOK

Summary/Abstract: Nowadays, with the major role that social media is playing in our life, people have found an easy way to utter negative word-of-mouth (NWOM). A self-administrated questionnaire with a visual stimulus was used to collect data from 108 Romanian Facebook users, between the ages of 18 and 26 years. This research aimed to determine the impact of adverse messages on brand attitude and a series of others consumer reactions. The results indicate that negative messages may change brand perception and generate negative word-of-mouth, with significant impact on future purchase intentions. They also indicate that identity avoidance is a more relevant electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) antecedent than negative emotions, strongly and positively influencing brand hate. The findings show that negative events or actions can seriously affect consumer behavior, triggering brand rejection that eventually may translate into brand image deterioration and sales decline.

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