When brand activism meets adversity: consumer reactions to performance- and value-related crises of varying severity

Purpose This research aims to investigate the impact of brand activism on consumer perceptions and intentions. It explores whether activist brands are rewarded during performance-related crises and “penalized” during value-related crises, particularly when the latter are highly severe. Design/methodology/approach Three experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses, each examining different types of brand crises or varying levels of crisis severity. Findings Study 1 identifies a distinction between activist and nonactivist brands during performance-related crises in terms of brand attitude and willingness to pay more, favoring activist brands. Studies 2 and 3 reveal that, regardless of whether severity is perceived or objective, a value-related crisis leads to a decline in brand attitude, especially for activist brands, thereby nullifying the protective effect identified in Study 1. The interaction between brand type and severity in value-related crises shows that, under low severity, participants are still willing to pay more for the activist brand’s products. All studies indicate no difference in brand hate between activist and nonactivist brands, suggesting that other factors contribute to its development. Social implications This study highlights societal implications of brand activism, which is an increasingly widespread trend among companies, suggesting that consumers hold activist brands to higher ethical standards and judge them more severely in the case of value-related crises. This dynamic can drive companies willing to engage in activism to act more responsibly in their communication practices and closely align with socioenvironmental values. Originality/value This research enhances the understanding of brand activism in the context of brand crises by empirically investigating how brand activism shapes consumer perceptions and intentions across different types of crises and varying levels of severity.