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Collateral damage or effortless win? Spillover effects of competent and warm leader brands on copycats following product-harm crises

Author

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  • Chen, Man
  • Ouyang, Jiaojie
  • Wang, Feng

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of brand imitation in the marketplace, little is known about how product-harm crises faced by different types of leader brands affect evaluations of their copycats. We conducted five experiments, revealing that a product-harm crisis involving a competent (or warm) leader brand decreases evaluations of feature (or theme) copycats while increasing evaluations of theme (or feature) copycats. Further analysis revealed a significant interaction: following a crisis of competent leader brand, theme copycats are evaluated more favourably than feature copycats; conversely, in the case of a warm leader brand’s crisis, feature copycats are evaluated more favourably than theme copycats. Moreover, this interaction is mediated by perceived risk and attenuated among consumers with independent (vs. interdependent) self-construal. These findings extend the literature on brand imitation and product-harm crises, offering important implications for branding strategy and crisis management.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Man & Ouyang, Jiaojie & Wang, Feng, 2026. "Collateral damage or effortless win? Spillover effects of competent and warm leader brands on copycats following product-harm crises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:202:y:2026:i:c:s0148296325006149
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115791
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