Purpose

This paper aims to investigate consumer responses to brand rumors and corporate rumor response strategies in the restaurant industry.

Design/methodology/approach

A scenario-based experimental design was used to examine changes in consumers’ brand evaluation depending on level of brand equity and corporate choice of response strategy.

Findings

It was found that the impact of brand rumors on consumer responses is more negative when the restaurant’s brand equity is low compared to when it is high. It was also found that a company's use of active response strategies is more effective in combating brand rumor than a strategy of simple denial.

Practical implications

The findings have significant implications for both academics and practitioners in terms of developing effective response strategies for counteracting brand rumors.

Originality/value

Given the frequency of brand rumors in the restaurant industry and their serious negative impacts, this study extends the existing brand crisis communication literature by demonstrating how consumers respond to a rumor and the effectiveness of different corporate rumor response strategies.

中文翻译：

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品牌传闻重要吗？品牌资产的作用及应对品牌谣言的策略

目的

本文旨在调查消费者对餐饮业品牌谣言和企业谣言应对策略的反应。

设计/方法/方法

基于情景的实验设计被用来检查消费者品牌评价的变化，这取决于品牌资产的水平和企业选择的响应策略。

发现

结果发现，与品牌资产高时相比，当餐厅的品牌资产低时，品牌谣言对消费者反应的影响更负面。还发现，与简单的否认策略相比，公司使用积极响应策略在打击品牌谣言方面更有效。

实际影响

在制定有效的应对策略以抵制品牌谣言方面，这些发现对学术界和从业者都具有重要意义。

原创性/价值

鉴于餐饮业品牌谣言的频率及其严重的负面影响，本研究通过展示消费者如何回应谣言以及不同企业谣言应对策略的有效性，扩展了现有的品牌危机传播文献。