The effect of consumer regret and brand embarrassment on negative WOM in terms of sensitivity to interpersonal influences

Consumers may experience tension, distress, and sometimes even regret or embarrassment for various reasons related to a product or service they have purchased to meet their needs. Sometimes, these negative feelings stem from negative experiences with the product or service itself, while in other cases they may be caused by the consumer or environmental factors. Consumers may influence other users through negative word-of-mouth communication (negative WOM) in their social circles due to these negative emotions. On the other hand, the consumer's sensitivity to interpersonal influences may affect the relationship between the concepts mentioned. In this study, a field study was conducted using an online survey method with 390 participants to evaluate the extent to which consumer regret and brand embarrassment are effective in consumers expressing negative opinions and thoughts about a brand, i.e., in consumers engaging in negative word-of-mouth communication about a brand, in the context of sensitivity to interpersonal influences. While examining the moderating role of sensitivity to interpersonal effects, hypotheses were formulated by separately considering the normative and informative dimensions, and the data collected as a result of the research were analyzed using the SmartPLS program. The analyses revealed that consumer regret positively influences negative WOM, while brand embarrassment does not influence negative WOM. Additionally, it was determined that neither dimension of sensitivity to interpersonal influences (normative and informative) plays a regulatory role in the negative WOM relationship of consumer regret and brand embarrassment.