Effects of Knowledge Anxiety and Cognitive Processing Bias on Brand Avoidance during COVID-19: The Mediating Role of Attachment Anxiety and Herd Mentality

Rui Chen () and Haolan Yan
Additional contact information
Rui Chen: School of Literature and Journalism, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
Haolan Yan: Research Institute of International of Economics and Management, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-20

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in users’ knowledge anxiety, which has been further intensified by the diversity of information platforms and the emphasis on digital personal branding. While previous research has examined the relationship between digital personal branding and negative emotions, little is known about the mechanisms behind negative reactions to digital personal branding from non-direct factors or users’ spontaneous negative emotions. To address this gap, this study draws on cognitive appraisal theory (CAT) and social identity theory (SIT) to explore the relationships between users’ knowledge anxiety, cognitive processing biases, and brand avoidance, and the impacts of herding behavior and attachment anxiety on these relationships. A sample of 530 consumers completed an online survey, and the data were analyzed using a partial least squares path model. The results revealed that user knowledge anxiety directly and indirectly influenced brand avoidance behavior through cognitive processing bias, and attachment anxiety moderated the path between cognitive processing bias and user knowledge anxiety. However, herding behavior was not found to be significant in online knowledge sharing communities.

Keywords: knowledge anxiety; brand avoidance; herd mentality; attachment anxiety; cognitive processing bias; COVID-19 pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6978/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6978/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6978-:d:1129015

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().