Beyond anger: A deeper look at consumer animosity

Grounded in cognitive-affective theories of emotion, an extended conceptual framework of consumer animosity is developed that (1) distinguishes between consumers’ cognitive appraisal of the international dispute and the resulting emotional response, (2) expands from a valence-based approach to consider the differential effects of agonistic (i.e., anger) and retreat emotions (i.e., fear), and (3) examines three distinct consumer coping processes (product avoidance, negative word of mouth (NWOM), product quality judgment). A cross-cultural test of the framework among Chinese (toward Japan) and American (toward Russia) consumers supports the mediational role of emotions, and finds that agonistic emotions are related to NWOM and product avoidance, but not product quality judgment. In contrast, retreat emotions are related to product avoidance and product quality judgment, but not NWOM. The findings provide guidance for international brand managers on recognizing and detecting adverse sentiments toward their country of origin and accordingly modify their international brand strategy.