Digital Content Management
Mohsen Sharbatiyan; Shahnam Zandieh; Hoda Baradaran Bagheri
Abstract
Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the phenomenon of digital brand hate in the fashion industry and to develop a comprehensive model explaining its antecedents, mechanisms, and consequences. Despite increasing consumer–brand interactions in digital spaces, limited research has examined how negative ...
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Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the phenomenon of digital brand hate in the fashion industry and to develop a comprehensive model explaining its antecedents, mechanisms, and consequences. Despite increasing consumer–brand interactions in digital spaces, limited research has examined how negative emotions are amplified through online platforms. This study sought to conceptualize digital brand hate as a distinct construct beyond traditional dissatisfaction, focusing on how factors such as low product quality, unethical practices, and unmet expectations contribute to brand hostility in digital contexts.
Method: The research employed a qualitative grounded theory approach, using semi-structured interviews with 22 experts, including marketing professors and fashion industry executives selected through purposive sampling. Data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding in ATLAS.ti software. Reliability was ensured through triangulation, test–retest reliability, and inter-coder agreement, while validity was confirmed via construct, content, and external validation procedures. The quantitative sample was considered as an unlimited sampling of clothing consumers, 384 people.In the qualitative part, a questionnaire was prepared using a qualitative method, using the structural equation technique in AMOS23 software.
Findings: The results revealed six causal conditions (e.g., poor product quality, improper pricing), five contextual and five intervening conditions (e.g., ethical violations, legal misconduct), three strategic responses (cost management, production expansion), and three main consequences (brand boycott, negative word-of-mouth, economic instability). The core category identified was brand hate, arising from unmet expectations and ethical conflicts intensified by digital interactions. Based on the results of the quantitative section, the proposed model is well-fitting.
Conclusion: The proposed Digital Brand Hate Model provides a structured understanding of how digital environments amplify consumer hostility. It offers practical strategies for fashion brands to enhance transparency, improve service quality, and engage ethically to mitigate reputational risks and foster long-term brand resilience in the digital marketplace.
