When brands get real: the role of authenticity and electronic word-of-mouth in shaping consumer response to brands taking a stand

Abstract

Brand activism, defined as a brand’s act of taking a public stand on sociopolitical issues, has emerged as a new marketing tactic in recent years. Many brands use social media to communicate their ideas and values with their consumers. Guided by the theories of cognitive behavioral, congruity, attribution, and social identity, this study provides an integrative framework that incorporates two brand factors (brand-sociopolitical cause fit and self-serving motive) and two social media factors (attitude and trust) to explain the process of how brand activism influences consumers’ responses toward brands. Results show that brand-sociopolitical cause fit, self-serving motive, attitude toward brand activism in social media, and trust in social media are all antecedents that positively relate to the authenticity of brand activism in social media. Furthermore, brand activism authenticity is positively associated with electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention, which consequently enhances brand image, purchase intent, and brand loyalty. Implications and future directions of research are discussed.

Keywords:

• Brand activism
• authenticity
• electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM)
• brand-sociopolitical cause fit
• self-serving motive
• attitude and trust in social media

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shu-Chuan Chu

Shu-Chuan (Kelly) Chu (Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin) is a Professor at the College of Communication, DePaul University, Chicago, USA. Her research interests include social media, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), crosscultural consumer behavior, and corporate social responsibility. Her work has been published in Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Interactive Advertising, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Journal of Business Research, among others. Kelly and her colleagues have also edited a book, Electronic Word of Mouth as a Promotional Technique: New Insights from Social Media.

Hyejin Kim

Hyejin Kim (Ph.D., The University of Minnesota at Twin-Cities) is an Assistant Professor at the College of Communication, DePaul University, Chicago, USA. Her research explores the broad realm of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on social media, especially regarding the positive and negative influences of eWOM on consumer decision making. Her work has appeared in the International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research among others.

Yoojung Kim

Yoojung Kim (Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin) is a Professor at the Department of Media and Communication, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea. Her research interests include social media, electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and corporate social responsibility. Her work has been published in the International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research, Computers in Human Behavior among others.