How harmful are online firestorms for brands?An approach to the phenomenon from the participant level

  1. Elena Delgado-Ballester 1
  2. Inés López-López 1
  3. Alicia Bernal-Palazón 1
  1. 1 Departamento de Marketing. Universidad de Murcia
Revista:
Spanish journal of marketing-ESIC

ISSN: 2444-9695,  2444-9709

Any de publicació: 2020

Volum: 24

Número: 1

Pàgines: 133-151

Tipus: Article

DOI: 10.1108/SJME-07-2019-0044 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAccés obert editor

Altres publicacions en: Spanish journal of marketing-ESIC

Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible

Resum

Propósito – Este trabajo exploratorio identifica posibles consecuencias negativas que los ataques colaborativos online contra las marcas podrían tener en las relaciones marca-consumidor. Para ello se adopta la perspectiva del participante en el ataque colaborativo mediante un análisis pormenorizado del contenido que los usuarios generan durante el tiempo que dura el ataque contra la marca. Metodología – Se ha llevado a cabo un análisis del contenido generado durante cuatro ataques colaborativos recientes que protagonizaron distintas marcas en Twitter. Resultados – Del análisis de contenido se desprende que las marcas son las protagonistas de las conversaciones de los usuarios aunque otros actores tales como marcas competidoras también han sido mencionadas. Los comentarios negativos predominan sobre los positivos. También se identifican acciones contra la marca, tanto pasivas (evitar comprarla) como activas (venganza). Limitaciones – El carácter exploratorio del estudio impide la generalización de sus resultados. El número de ataques colaborativos analizados son limitados aunque representan una interesante variedad de errores y malas conductas por parte de las marcas. Implicaciones prácticas – Actualmente las marcas son objeto de escrutinio público en las redes sociales en tanto que facilitan la interacción entre usuarios y el comportamiento informativo de cualquier tipo. Este trabajo confirma que los responsables de marca deben controlar, comprender y tratar de responder a estos ataques colaborativos contra las marcas para minimizar su impacto. Originalidad/valor – Los ataques colaborativos contra las marcas son un fenómeno que está recibiendo una enorme atención últimamente en la medida en la que miles de usuarios participan en ellos en tiempo real generando una enorme cantidad de comentarios online contra una marca. Estos ataques pueden dañarla seriamente, incluso ante la ausencia de evidencias claras de que el contenido que se comparte sea cierto. Este trabajo contribuye a la escasa literatura existente sobre los ataques colaborativos online contra las marcas y analiza sus posibles efectos negativos.

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Funding acknowledgment: This research was supported by the Fundación Ramón Areces under the XVI national contest for the adjudication of aids to research in Social Sciences.

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