This study aims to model the conditions that lead to existing customers’ resilience to negative information in the context of the airline industry. In doing so, the study examines the role of electronic word-of-mouth, considering the commitment-consistency principle. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis is employed along with structural equation modeling. Interaction effects are also studied. The structural equation modeling results show that electronic word-of-mouth influences resilience to negative information directly and indirectly (through the mediation of customer-brand identification). The results of the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis show that customer-brand identification must be combined with electronic word-of-mouth to achieve high resilience to negative information. The combination of self-brand congruity with electronic word-of-mouth can also be sufficient to obtain this outcome. The interaction analysis provides additional support for the amplifying effect of electronic word-of-mouth.

Introduction

Previous research has noted that airlines should place a stronger focus on the brand value proposition to remain viable entities in a highly competitive industry (e.g., So et al., 2017). In fact, building and managing the brand identity has become a strategic imperative for airline companies (Balmer et al., 2009; So et al., 2018). However, creating and developing strong service brands is challenging, given the intangible nature of services (Becker et al., 1992). In this context, relationship-building is an important issue (Javalgi et al., 2006). Customer-brand identification has been considered an indicator of the customer-brand relationship (So et al., 2018), which can be enhanced by social media (Wang et al., 2012). With the emergence of online social media, social networking sites (e.g., Facebook) and microblogging sites (e.g., Twitter) in particular, customer daily routines have changed. Customers often post travel experiences on social media platforms (Xiang and Gretzel, 2010), and it has been suggested that travelers have a strong desire to share their experiences with others (Kim and Fesenmaier, 2017). Airline companies often see these online platforms as effective means to communicate and reinforce their brand identity and to build customer rapport (So et al., 2018). Thus, electronic word-of-mouth has been promoted by airlines. Nevertheless, social media also presents challenges to airlines because customers no longer have to accept service dissatisfaction quietly. Therefore, building resilience to negative information, which is closely related to the customer-brand relationship, has become increasingly important for airlines. In fact, negative information has a greater impact on brand evaluation than does positive information (Skowronski et al., 1998). Moreover, travel incidents that have gone wrong tend to be strongly recalled by travelers (Lee and Park, 2010), and service failures often occur in air travel (Park and Park, 2016).