Ethical Dimensions of Reducing Brand Hatred: A DEMATEL Approach in the Iranian Home Appliance Industry

Introduction: Brand hatred, as an intense form of negative consumer emotion, poses serious ethical and managerial challenges for companies. Beyond economic consequences, brand hatred often arises from unmet ethical responsibilities, such as failure in fairness, transparency, social responsibility, and environmental considerations. Addressing these issues is crucial to fostering trust and sustaining long-term consumer-brand relationships. Material and Methods: This research employed a meta-synthesis of ۹۱ relevant studies from the Scopus database and integrated expert insights from ۲۳ industry leaders. Using the DEMATEL technique, the study developed a conceptual model to identify causal and dependent factors influencing the reduction of brand hatred in the Iranian home appliance sector. Results: Ten key factors were identified, clustered into three main dimensions: customer relationship management (e.g., communication quality, complaint handling, after-sales service), extra-organizational ethics (e.g., social responsibility, environmental approach), and internal process management (e.g., timely delivery, fair price-quality proportion, innovation). Among them, ethical considerations such as social responsibility, environmental accountability, and fairness in pricing were found to be highly influential drivers of reducing brand hatred. Conclusion: The study demonstrates that ethical responsibility is not peripheral but central to reducing brand hatred. Managers in the home appliance industry can mitigate negative consumer sentiments by prioritizing ethical principles alongside operational excellence. This ethical orientation fosters positive consumer experiences, strengthens brand trust, and enhances sustainable brand-consumer relationships.

Keywords:

Ethical dimension , Brand Aversion , Home Appliance Industry