Why consumers turn negative about the brand: antecedents and consequences of negative consumer engagement in virtual communities

Although consumer brand engagement has been given much attention in marketing literature, negative consumer engagement has received scarce attention. It is important to understand negative consumer brand engagement as it causes anti-brand actions like brand switches and brand revenge. The present research has emphasized the dark side of virtual communities, which the researchers have explored less. The proposed conceptual model attempts to understand the antecedents and consequences of negative consumer engagement in virtual communities using expectancy-disconfirmation, social exchange, and equity theories. The findings suggest that information, system, and service failure of online services develop negative experiences for the consumers, subsequently shared in virtual communities. The study also reported that negative engagement with the brand’s virtual communities influences consumers to take anti-brand actions such as public complaints, brand switching, and brand revenge. The study provides guidelines for marketers in understanding negative consumer brand engagement and its consequences.