Service Brand Avoidance : A qualitative study of the drivers in the service industry

Sammanfattning: Abstract Background  Branding is a significant asset for a company, and can provide a firm with sole association and a special meaning for the consumer. Consumer research generally stresses the idea of positive consumption of brands and a gap in the consumer behaviour studies regarding brand avoidance can be exemplified. Subsequently, brand avoidance has recently received more attention, as the importance to identify what brands consumers deliberately avoid is as valuable to recognize. In order to get a more comprehensive image of the market, the relevance to examine the drivers of service brand avoidance has been identified. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the drivers of why people deliberately avoid certain service brands. Based upon the purpose, three questions have been framed: What are the drivers of brand avoidance in the service industry? How can the drivers identified connect to previous research, primarily made by Lee et al. (2009b) and later revised by Knittel et al. (2016)? Is it possible to draw conclusions regarding all services? Method The thesis is mainly exploratory in its nature due to the insights that is required in order to investigate people’s behaviour. The data has been collected through 16 semi- structured interviews where participants have shared their stories connected to service brand avoidance. The data has then been interpreted and in most cases been connected to previous literature. Conclusion Most consumers avoid several types of service brands, both deliberately and unconsciously. The findings from interviews have been connected to previous literature, but also some new conclusions have been made regarding the service industry. Five categories with sub-themes have been identified and linked to earlier studies by Lee et al. (2009b) and Knittel et al. (2016); experiential, identity, moral, deficit-value, and marketing avoidance. The findings show a deeper knowledge of brand avoidance but solely in the service industry.