From Equity to Exit: A Mixed-Path Neuro-Marketing Analysis of Brand Loyalty and Non-Repurchase Intention

The paper analyzes the impact of digital marketing ecosystem on brand loyalty and non-repetition intent in regard to opportunistic behavior of a brand, especially instances of product recalls. Filling an existing research gap, it presents how emotionally driven and ethically conscious consumers react to each other and offers that includes elements of the Expectancy Violation Theory (EVT) and Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) along with Complexity Theory. The study postulates that the negotiating behavior, the negative brand personality affect consumer decision on brand crises. The sample of data collection was quantitative and cross-sectional, where 250 social media marketing users based in Pakistan took part in an online survey. The hypothesized relationships were tested with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and configurational exploration can be accomplished using fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). The Neuro-Marketing habits with the help of social media environments proved somewhat more effective in influencing the brand equity but the opportunistic recollection was a strong indicator of the negative brand personality and the protest action. These emotional consequences, however, had small effects on loyalty or non-purchase intention indicating the existence of discrepancy between the perceptions of the consumers and their action. This study addresses this limitation by establishing the context of examining brand behavior in new markets with the evidence being used as a result of linear causality that introduces both theoretical and practical value of ethical decision making as being problematic, thus the necessity of strategic actions towards ethical digital brand management in neuro-marketing scenario.