A typology of the perceived risks in the context of consumer brand resistance
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-03-2018-1792 |
| Published date | 19 August 2019 |
| Pages | 575-585 |
| Date | 19 August 2019 |
| Author | Marine Cambefort,Elyette Roux |
| Subject Matter | Marketing,Product management,Brand management/equity |
A typology of the perceived risks in the context
of consumer brand resistance
Marine Cambefort
EM Strasbourg Business School, Humanis, University of Strasbourg, France, and
Elyette Roux
Aix-Marseille Graduate School of Management, CERGAM, Aix-Marseille University, France
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to provide a typology of perceived risk in the context of consumer brand resist ance and thus answers the following
question: how do consumers perceive the risk they take when resisting brands?
Design/methodology/approach –Two qualitative methods were used. In-depth interviews were carried out with 15 consumers who resist brands.
An ethnography was carried out for ten months in an international pro-environmental NGO.
Findings –This multiple qualitative method design led to the identification of four types of risks taken by consumers. The four categories of
perceived risks identified are performance (lack of suitable alternatives for the brand), social issues (st igma and exclusion), legal reasons (legal
proceedings) or physical considerations (violation of physical integrity). These risks are located along a cont inuum of resistance intensity. Resistance
intensity levels are avoidance, offline word-of-mouth, online word-of-mouth, boycott, activism and finally extreme acts.
Originality/value –This study provides a framework that integrates perceived risks within the context of brand resistance. The paper highlights
extreme acts of resistance and questions the limits of such behaviors.
Keywords Perceived risk, Qualitative research, Ethnography, Consumer behaviour, Consumer resistance, Cause related marketing, Anti-branding
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
“The day we stop posting our discontent on the Internet and really decide to
act (not demonstrations or silent marches but burning buildings or sinking
whalers, and removing unscrupulous financiers from power), we will have
finally understood how to change things. It’s time to begin a new revolution
and carry out real punitive actions.”[Comment of a web user on a Non-
Governmental Organization blog]
The construction of strong relationships between consumers
and brands is one of the most commonly discussed subjects in
brand-related lit erature (Fournier, 1998a). A great amount of
research has been devoted to the study of “virtuous”
consumer-brand re lationships such as lo yalty (Fournier and
Yao, 1997;Oliver, 1999), attachment (Park et al., 2010),
commitment (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2002;Garbarino
and Johnson, 1999)ortrust(Chaudhuri and Holbrook,
2001;Morgan and Hunt, 1994). However, consume rs can
also behave antagon istically toward br ands (Aaker et al.,
2004;Holt, 2002;Kozinets and Hand elman, 2004;
Thompson and Arsel, 2004), and publication s describing
these consumer behav iors of resistance and anti- consumption
started appearing at the beginning of the 19 90s (Fournier,
1998b;Peñaloza and Price, 1993;Roux, 2007). Recent
examples illustra te this trend include Sta rbucks, who were
boycotted when the y opened a coffee shop that was
prohibited to women in S audi Arabia. Otherw ise, PETA
(People for the Ethical Treatments of Animals) launched a
campaign named McC ruelty, and encouraged consumers to
demonstrate in front of McDonalds restaurants. This
phenomenon is still a hot topic for marketers. As illustrated in
the above comment taken from a French Non-Governmental
Organization (NG O) website, consumers can sp read negative
word-of-mouth (NW OM) through message s posted on the
internet. Howeve r, some consumers wan t to go further and
adopt a very confron tational approach that coul d have serious
legal or physical repercussions.
The literature concerning this trend investigates three
main issues, namely, why consumers struggle, how they
resist brands and whom or what they are fighting. However,
very few publications to date have considered the risks that
these consumers take. VarmanandBelk(2009)mention the
difficulty of finding an alternative to Coca-Cola for Indian
farmers wishing to boycott this global brand. Other
publications describe how resistance may lead to financial
and emotional issues for some of the consumers who avoid
the traditional marketplace by adopting a voluntary
simplicity lifestyle (Cherrier and Murray, 2007;Cherrier,
2008).
Although some authors do identify several types of risksin a
consumption context (Bettman, 1973;Hoover et al.,1978;
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) 575–585
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-03-2018-1792]
This article is dedicated to Elyette Roux, supervisor for the dissertation this
research is derived from. The authors are grateful to Dominique Roux,
who kindly reviewed a former version of the paper.
Received 19 March 2018
Revised 29 July 2018
25 September 2018
Accepted 26 September 2018
575
To continue reading
Request your trial