When things fall apart: Exploring brand hate in influencer endorsements

Driven by the growing popularity of live streaming, brands increasingly favor influencers for their extensive reach. However, realizing broader brand value requires a comprehensive understanding of not only the positive but also the negative implications of influencer endorsements. To address this gap, this study introduces and validates the impact of influencer-brand incongruence, symbolic incongruity, negative past experiences, ideological incompatibility, and negative publicity on attitudes towards both influencers and brands. An asymmetric model is employed to uncover the antecedents of consumer brand hate. A multi-method approach is adopted: Study 1 applies the Delphi method to identify key antecedents, while Study 2 analyzes data from 326 Chinese live streaming consumers using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural networks (ANN). Findings indicate that negative past experiences and negative publicity significantly harm attitudes towards influencers and brands, respectively. These negative attitudes contribute to brand hate, which subsequently leads to brand avoidance, complaints, and negative word of mouth. This study advances the theoretical framework of influencer endorsement and offers practical insights for influencer marketing managers and brand managers to address negative consumer behaviors and to develop brand strategies that effectively manage risks associated with influencer partnerships.