Double-Edged Sword Effect and Mechanism of Brand Misfortunes Affecting Consumers'Product Purchase Intention
It is common to see unfortunate events happening to brands in real life,such as Huawei being suppressed or businesses clos-ing down due to the pandemic.How do brand misfortunes affect consumers'willingness to purchase products?There is little in-depth exploration of this question in existing research.This article examines whether different types of brand misfortunes affect,how they af-fect,and when they affect consumers'purchase intention.We found that different types of brand misfortunes can have a double-edged sword effect on consumer product purchases through three studies.Specifically,compared to neutral conditions,brand non-natural misfortune will increase consumer willingness to buy,as it arouses consumer sympathy.However,brand natural misfortune can reduce consumer willingness to buy,as this makes consumers perceive that the brand's competence is weak.Further,we also found that the double-edged sword effect is moderated by the consumer group to which the brand belongs(in-group Vs.out-group).