Social Media and Consumers’ Reactions to 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 mass media audience react differently to a brand crisis. We argue that salient stakeholders (i.e. stakeholders who are interested in the issue affected by the crisis) exposed to the brand crisis via social media have a more negative reaction towards the brand compared to those who are exposed via mass media. By analysing the Barilla crisis, the findings suggest that the social media exposure exerts a stronger negative effect on the brand attitude and loyalty.