Brand repulsion: consumers' boundary work with rejected brands

Dessart, Laurence; Cova, Bernard

doi:10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0164

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Brand repulsion: consumers' boundary work with rejected brands

Dessart, Laurence; Cova, Bernard

2021 • In European Journal of Marketing, 55 (4), p. 1758-7123

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/254021

DOI
10.1108/EJM-02-2019-0164

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Keywords :

brand repulsion; Apple; boundary work; identity project; attraction; rejection

Abstract :

[en] This paper aims: 1) to conceptualize brand repulsion as a specific nuance of brand rejection; 2) to highlight the boundary work at play in situations of collective brand repulsion; 3) to extract implications for the brands that are at the centre of such situations and to delineate future directions for scholars.Our study of the “I Hate Apple” group on Facebook is grounded in a six-year long naturalistic enquiry designed to capture the boundary work performed by its members. Our sources include netnographic data, online focus groups, observations and personal online correspondence with members and moderators. Our findings reveal that certain brands serve the identity work of consumers by allowing them in erecting boundaries based on three major sources of repulsion: anti-fandom, anti-hegemony and anti-marketing. They show that for each type of boundary work, corporate and product brand repulsion seems prevalent.Our research limits itself to considering the types of boundary work related to brand repulsion as regards a single brand: Apple.

Disciplines :

Marketing

Author, co-author :

Dessart, Laurence ; Université de Liège - ULiège > HEC Liège : UER > UER Management : Marketing et intelligence stratégique

Cova, Bernard; KEDGE Business School > Marketing

Language :

English

Title :

Brand repulsion: consumers' boundary work with rejected brands

Publication date :

2021

Journal title :

European Journal of Marketing

ISSN :

0309-0566

eISSN :

1758-7123

Publisher :

Emerald, Bingley, United Kingdom

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

1758-7123

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 16 December 2020

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135 (18 by ULiège)

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9 (9 by ULiège)

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