Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification Open access Peer reviewed

Active and passive brand hate: consumer-based brand equity

Amelia Brandao, Paolo Popoli, Beatriz Reis Silva

Management Decision | May 27, 2026

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to analyse the impact of different types of brand hate on consumer-based brand equity (CBBE), with particular reference to the Millennial generation. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative study was conducted to answer the research questions. The conceptual model and the research hypotheses were developed to test the impact of different types of brand hate on consumer-based brand equity. Specifically, brand hate was studied, dividing it into active and passive forms. CBBE was observed to comprise three sequential phases: Brand Building Block, Brand Understanding Block and Brand Relationship Block. To test this model, an online survey was conducted among 821 respondents and a structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses. Findings The results show that active brand hate negatively affects CBBE, while passive brand hate positively affects CBBE. Specifically, active brand hate has a substantial negative impact on the relationship block and a weaker negative effect on the building block. In contrast, passive brand hate, unlike active brand hate, has a higher positive impact on the relationship block. Originality/value This study is the first to investigate the impact of active and passive brand hate on CBBE, providing advanced insights into brand hate and starting a new line of research based on the separate analysis of different types of hate, on the one hand and the three sequential blocks of CBBE, on the other. This research extends the brand hate framework by introducing intensity and behavioural activation as critical differentiators.

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Authors

Researchers on this paper

Amelia Brandao

first | Universidade do Porto

Paolo Popoli

middle | Parthenope University of Naples

Beatriz Reis Silva

last | Universidade do Porto | ORCID 0000-0002-2945-2110

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Latest Digital Marketing and Social Media research Latest Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification research Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment

Citation

BibTeX

@article{Brandao2026Active,
  title = {Active and passive brand hate: consumer-based brand equity},
  author = {Amelia Brandao and Paolo Popoli and Beatriz Reis Silva},
  journal = {Management Decision},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1108/md-05-2025-1492},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1108/md-05-2025-1492}
}

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