Brand personality as a predictor in the product/firm relationship as it relates to brand loyalty during periods of brand stress, catastrophic events or recalls

Abstract

Social networks are increasingly becoming a dynamic force in firm or brand reputation management. Managing social networks is, however, not without cost and thus it is reasonable to assume that larger companies would have better defined strategies for social network reputation management than smaller ones. The research explores this assumption by presenting the results of the social network activities of 144 companies taken from the two major world stock markets representing North America (NYSE) and the London Exchange (FTSE). Results support that larger companies are slightly more responsive but smaller firms seem to respond more quickly. It was interesting that few firms had social network sites that could be responded to directly and that few firms seemed to monitor their sites in spite of having one. It was suggested that Intimacy-Loyalty influenced and these relationships could hold up better under periods of brand disruptions. While a brand relationship, such as passion, can stimulate sales Intimacy - Loyalty may directly contribute to consumer devotion during difficult times.