Impacts of crisis emotions on negative word-of-mouth and behavioural intention: evidence from a milk crisis

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how emotions felt by the public during a crisis influenced consumer loyalty intention and negative word-of-mouth (WOM). Considering the context-specific nature of emotions, the existing crisis emotions were further validated in a product consumption situation. Drawing on the theories of attribution and social sharing, a conceptual model, positing that crisis-specific emotions [attribution-independent, external-attribution-dependent (EAD) and internal-attribution-dependent (IAD) emotions] influenced negative WOM through behavioural intention, was constructed and empirically tested. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from 240 Vietnamese consumers by using a scenario-based survey related to a fictional milk crisis. Findings The study findings showed that all but one crisis emotion had negative effects on both WOM and loyalty intention. Of these emotions, EAD and IAD were the strongest predictors of negative WOM and behavioural intention, respectively. It was also found that all crisis emotions significantly affected negative WOM through behavioural intention. Originality/value Although some efforts have been made to identify crisis emotions, the validity of the existing scales have not been affirmed in other crises related to product consumption situations. The results of the present study, thus, made contributions by enhancing an understanding of crisis emotions and their impacts on consumer loyalty intention and WOM communications.

Reputational impact of Covid‐19 pandemic management on World Health Organization among Indian public health professionals

“…Emotions and organizational reputation showed a positive relation with behavioral intention (RW = 0.222 and 0.582, p < 0.01 and 0.01; respectively)—as hypothesized in H10 and H11 , respectively. Emotional reactions to crisis and their impact on behavioral intentions have been tested and were found to be significantly related (Nguyen et al, 2021 ). It indicates that the PHPs with higher emotional connect and reputational rating of WHO would result in continued future engagement with WHO.…”

Do products branded with handwritten scripts suffer more amid product-harm crises?

“…Only when consumers believe that the crisis has come as the result of deliberate behavior will the additional negative effect occur. Disappointed consumers are likely to look for information on who is responsible for the failure (Nguyen et al , 2021; Weiner, 1980), attribute the causes to internal factors and blame the company as the source of their disappointment. Therefore, if the crisis is an accident, the brand should fully explain this to the public.…”

“…The consumer response to a product-harm crisis can be influenced (Siu, et al , 2014; Nguyen et al , 2021). According to attribution theory, a consumer’s perception of what caused the crisis significantly impacts their subsequent response (Mattila and Ro, 2008; Powell et al , 2021; Weiner, 2000; Zhu et al , 2013).…”

The subsequent effects of negative emotions: from brand hate to anti-brand consumption behavior under moderating mechanisms

“…The mediating paths from strong emotions resulting in disloyal or switching behavior have been generally discussed in the literature. For example, Nguyen et al (2022) pointed out that nWOM, which is largely driven by strong emotions, may result in retaliatory acts which lead to disloyal or switching behavior. The literature, however, still lacks empirical study with the specific mediators for such paths.…”