Brand misalignment and consumer backlash: retaliation in sociopolitical digital commerce

Purpose This study investigates how consumers respond to perceived brand misalignment in sociopolitical crises, particularly within Muslim-majority digital markets. By integrating self-congruity theory (SCT), psychological reactance theory (PRT), the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory, and political consumerism, the study explains how symbolic, functional, and emotional brand incongruences create psychological conflict, triggering ambivalence, online brand hate (OBH), and retaliation. Design/methodology/approach A mono-method quantitative approach was used, surveying 361 Gen Y and Z Pakistani consumers, digitally active and politically aware segments. Data were collected via purposive sampling and analysed using SmartPLS 4 to evaluate the measurement and structural models. The study tested direct, mediating, and moderating relationships between incongruence, ambivalence, OBH, and retaliation. G*Power and Hair et al.‘s sample estimation guidelines supported the adequacy and rigor of the sample size. Findings Symbolic, functional, and emotional incongruence significantly predicted attitude ambivalence. In turn, ambivalence drove OBH, which fully mediated its effect on consumer retaliation. Online boycott participation strengthened the OBH –retaliation link, while social media susceptibility predicted OBH but did not significantly moderate the ambivalence–hate relationship. These findings reflect a shift from personal dissatisfaction to value-driven, ideologically motivated brand resistance. Originality/value This study advances OBH research by incorporating political consumerism into the brand misalignment discourse. It reconceptualizes ambivalence as a conflict between identity, morality, and consumption under ideological threat. Situated in Pakistan's geopolitical and digital context, the findings offer theoretical and managerial insights for navigating consumer backlash in ideologically sensitive markets.