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The purpose is to investigate how to create a new premium new energy vehicle brand.

This study employed a two-stage design. Firstly, a single-case study of NIO was undertaken to execute a thematic analysis, from which propositions were proposed and a theoretical model was constructed. Subsequently, quantitative data were collected through the questionnaire method to empirically test the model developed in the first stage.

NIO creates great user experience through four aspects: product, service, digital touchpoints and lifestyle. Functional experience is shaped by product and digital touchpoints, while emotional experience is affected by service and lifestyle. NIO wins extremely high user satisfaction through great user experience. User satisfaction is affected by both functional and emotional experience. Taking extremely satisfied users as the core, NIO leverages word-of-mouth recommendations to increase brand awareness and build premium brand image, so as to achieve high performance in the long term.

This study contributes to the literature by proposing and testing a theoretical model of creating a new premium new energy vehicle brand. It highlights the significance of emotional factors in the process of creating a new premium brand. It proposes employing the “ripple model” to translate user satisfaction into financial performance. It provides a three-step guide to creating a new premium brand for managers.

Global brands have become increasingly vulnerable to external disruptions that have negative spillover effects on consumers, business and brands. This research area has recently garnered interest post-pandemic yet remains fragmented. The purpose of this paper is to recognize the most impactful exogenous brand crisis (EBC) and its affective and behavioural impact on consumers.

In Study 1, we applied repertory grid technique (RGT), photo elicitation method and ANOVA comparisons, to identify the most significant EBC, in terms of repercussions on consumer purchases. In Study 2, we performed collage construction and content analysis to ascertain the impact of the identified significant crisis (from Study 1) on consumer behaviour in terms of affective and behavioural changes.

Study 1 results reveal Spread-of-diseases and Natural disaster to be the most impactful EBC based on consumer’s purchase decisions. Study 2 findings uncover three distinct themes, namely, deviant demand, emotional upheaval and community bonding that throws light on the affective and behavioural changes in consumer behaviour during the two significant EBC events.

The collated results of the two studies draw insights towards understanding the largely unexplored conceptualisation of EBC from a multi-level (micro-meso-macro) perspective. The integrated framework drawn, highlight the roles and influences of different players in exogenous brand crisis management and suggests future research agendas based on theoretical underpinnings.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which identifies the most important EBC and explicates its profound impact on consumer purchase behaviour, providing critical insights to brand managers and practitioners to take an inclusive approach towards exogenous crises.