Caught in the Crossfire: Consumer Brand Hate During a Geopolitical Crisis

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine triggered consumer activism against multinational companies perceived as failing to oppose Russian aggression. Leroy Merlin, a French home-improvement retailer, faced intense criticism in Poland for continuing operations in Russia. This study examines how Polish consumers constructed and expressed brand hate during this geopolitical crisis. Drawing on a longitudinal qualitative case study, we combine two waves of consumer interviews with Facebook content, press reports and corporate communications. A theory-informed abductive analysis examines how ideological incompatibility, perceived corporate hypocrisy and country-of-origin (COO) interpretations shaped negative brand evaluations and their expression through avoidance, negative word of mouth and boycotts. Findings show that brand hate cannot be inferred from anger or boycott participation alone, but involves sustained moral condemnation, perceived betrayal, brand devaluation and avoidance. COO interpretations sometimes intensified these reactions, while boycott motivations influenced whether negative evaluations translated into participation. The study shows how geopolitical crises can transform corporate conduct in one market into a morally charged brand transgression in another and clarifies the relationships between brand hate, moral outrage, corporate hypocrisy, consumer animosity and boycott behaviour.