You are hot then you are cold: a field study on consumers' response strategies to brand ethical transgressions

This paper presents a field study that investigates consumers’ response strategies to ethical transgressions of brands. Prior research has demonstrated that consumers cope with brand transgressions by either forgiving the brand or ending the relationship. A computer-assisted content analysis on consumers’ comments on the company’s Facebook page reveals new consumers’ responses to brand transgressions. Confronted with an ethical misconduct, consumers believe the brand deserves a punishment. Therefore, consumers actively and purposely engage in negative communication about the brand (hijacking). Furthermore our analysis shows that brand transgressions evoke Schadenfreude: the pleasure derived from brand misfortune and failure.