To read this content please select one of the options below:

Do brand rumors matter? The role of brand equity and response strategy to brand rumor

Jihee Choi (Department of Family, Nutrition, and Exercise Sciences, Queens College, The City University of New York (CUNY), Flushing, New York, USA)
Soobin Seo (School of Hospitality Business Management, Carson College of Business, Washington State University, Everett, WA, USA)

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

ISSN: 0959-6119

Article publication date: 26 July 2021

Issue publication date: 9 August 2021

1214

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate consumer responses to brand rumors and corporate rumor response strategies in the restaurant industry.

Design/methodology/approach

A scenario-based experimental design was used to examine changes in consumers’ brand evaluation depending on level of brand equity and corporate choice of response strategy.

Findings

It was found that the impact of brand rumors on consumer responses is more negative when the restaurant’s brand equity is low compared to when it is high. It was also found that a company's use of active response strategies is more effective in combating brand rumor than a strategy of simple denial.

Practical implications

The findings have significant implications for both academics and practitioners in terms of developing effective response strategies for counteracting brand rumors.

Originality/value

Given the frequency of brand rumors in the restaurant industry and their serious negative impacts, this study extends the existing brand crisis communication literature by demonstrating how consumers respond to a rumor and the effectiveness of different corporate rumor response strategies.

Keywords

Citation

Choi, J. and Seo, S. (2021), "Do brand rumors matter? The role of brand equity and response strategy to brand rumor", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 33 No. 8, pp. 2862-2879. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-01-2021-0054

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles