Secure or fearful, who will be more resentful? Investigating the interaction between regulatory focus and attachment style
| Date | 19 August 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-03-2018-1830 |
| Published date | 19 August 2019 |
| Pages | 671-683 |
| Author | Melika Kordrostami,Elika Kordrostami |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
Secure or fearful, who will be more resentful?
Investigating the interaction between
regulatory focus and attachment style
Melika Kordrostami
Department of Marketing, California State University, San Bernardino, California, USA, and
Elika Kordrostami
Department of Marketing, Rohrer College of Business, Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey, USA
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to examine the impact of consumers’individual differences on their reactions to brand failure.
Design/methodology/approach –Three studies (one qualitative, one survey and one experiment) were conducted. Study 1 aimed to understand
consumers’thoughts at the time of brand failure. Studies 2 and 3 investigated the impact of regulatory focus and its interaction with consumers’
attachment style on their reactions to brand failure.
Findings –This research establishes that consumers demonstrate different types of behaviors at the time of brand failure. Specifically, those with a
promotion focus display less negative (revenge and brand avoidance) and more positive (trust and loyalty) behavior than those with a prevention
focus. Furthermore, this research shows an interaction between consumers’attachment style and regulatory focus. The impact of regulatory focus
holds only for secure consumers; for fearful consumers, regulatory focus does not change their behavior.
Research limitations/implications –The study reveals the impact of regulatory focus and attachment styles on consumer behavior at the time of
brand failure. Future research might examine the impact of these factors over time, rather than only at the time of the incident.
Practical implications –Marketers should be aware of the impact of attachment style and regulatory focus after a brand failure. This knowledge
will enable them to customize their communication tools to trigger their desired condition. This research also emphasizes the role of customer
service at the time of crisis.
Originality/value –This research is the first to investigate the impact of regulatory focus and attachment style on consumers’reactions to brand
failure.
Keywords Regulatory focus, Attachment styles
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
One of the causes for negativity toward brands is brand failure,
which happens quite often in today’s marketplace. For example,
a controversy about Wells Fargo started in 2016 when an analysis
revealed that employees have been opening millions of fake
accounts over the course of several years (Egan, 2018). It was
later showed that the third largest bank in the nation not only
opened 3.5 million of credit cards and bank accounts that were
not authorized by customers but to charge customers for
mortgage fees, car insurance and other products that customers
did not understand (Egan, 2018). In addition to paying hefty
fines, replacing longtime CEO, firing 5,300 employees and
revising sales practices, the newly appointed CEO at the time
said: “We apologize to everyone who was harmed by
unacceptable sales practices that occurred in our retail bank”
(Egan, 2017). Consumers were deeply unhappy about this
failure; for example, Kennedy told CNNMoney that “Ididn’t
sign up for any bloody checking account, they lost me as a
banking customer, and I have warned family and friends”(Egan,
2016). However, do consumers always develop negativity toward
brands at the time of brand failure? When brands fail, some
consumers might develop negative emotions and attitudes
toward the brand, such as anger, dissatisfaction, dislike, sadness
and even worry, and may even adopt negative behaviors toward
the brand by switching to other brands, engaging in negative
word-of-mouth (WOM) and complaining (Romani et al.,2012).
However, other consumers might decide to maintain their
positive attitudes and behaviors toward the brand by staying loyal
and continue purchasing from the brand (Aaker et al., 2004).
Why do individuals differ in their reactions to brand failure? This
paper offers explanations for why consumers may engage in
negative or positive behaviors toward the brand. The authors
propose that psychological individual differences lead consumers
to respond differently at the time of brand failure. Specifically,
they argue that consumers’attachment style and regulatory
orientation help explain why they behave differently at the time of
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
28/5 (2019) 671–683
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-03-2018-1830]
Received 31 March 2018
Revised 13 September 2018
12 November 2018
Accepted 23 December 2018
671
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