The effect of social media on brand attitude and WOM during a brand crisis: the case of Barilla

Brand crises endanger companies. Social media are a key platform where stakeholders elaborate and react to crises. This research explores whether social media audience and traditional mass media audience react differently to a brand crisis in terms of their 1) attitude toward the brand/company and 2) word-of-mouth (WOM). As to the brand/company attitude, we argue that stakeholders exposed to the brand crisis via social media have a more negative reaction towards the brand/company compared to those who are exposed via mass media. As to the behaviour, we posit that social media exposure intensifies WOM. By analysing the Barilla crisis, the findings suggest that the social media act as ‘multipliers’ of the reaction of stakeholders to a brand crisis.