A typology of the perceived risks in the context of consumer brand resistance
Journal of Product & Brand Management
ISSN: 1061-0421
Article publication date: 7 March 2019
Issue publication date: 6 September 2019
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a typology of perceived risk in the context of consumer brand resistance and thus answers the following question: how do consumers perceive the risk they take when resisting brands?
Design/methodology/approach
Two qualitative methods were used. In-depth interviews were carried out with 15 consumers who resist brands. An ethnography was carried out for ten months in an international pro-environmental NGO.
Findings
This multiple qualitative method design led to the identification of four types of risks taken by consumers. The four categories of perceived risks identified are performance (lack of suitable alternatives for the brand), social issues (stigma and exclusion), legal reasons (legal proceedings) or physical considerations (violation of physical integrity). These risks are located along a continuum of resistance intensity. Resistance intensity levels are avoidance, offline word-of-mouth, online word-of-mouth, boycott, activism and finally extreme acts.
Originality/value
This study provides a framework that integrates perceived risks within the context of brand resistance. The paper highlights extreme acts of resistance and questions the limits of such behaviors.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This article is dedicated to Elyette Roux, supervisor for the dissertation this research is derived from. The authors are grateful to Dominique Roux, who kindly reviewed a former version of the paper.
Citation
Cambefort, M. and Roux, E. (2019), "A typology of the perceived risks in the context of consumer brand resistance", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 28 No. 5, pp. 575-585. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-03-2018-1792
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited