Rights statement: This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journl of Business Research. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of Business Research, 145, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.039
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Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Celebrity brand break-up
T2 - Fan experiences of para-loveshock
AU - Jones, Scott
AU - Cronin, James
AU - Piacentini, Maria
N1 - This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Journl of Business Research. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Journal of Business Research, 145, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.039
PY - 2022/6/30
Y1 - 2022/6/30
N2 - When consumers become fans of celebrities, they can form intense emotional attachments that resemble a kind of love. Although the love felt for celebrities is based on one-sided parasocial relationships, fans nevertheless experience a trauma that they consider to be very real when these illusory relationships end. We explore how fans manage and perform their break-up with a beloved celebrity brand following public allegations of wrongdoing. Building on Giddens’ theorization of loveshock – which encapsulates the disorienting after-effects of falling out of love – we propose the new concept of para-loveshock. Para-loveshock is performed socially and discursively through three fan practices: grief enfranchisement; flagellation; and indignation. Recognizing how fans perform and legitimize their trauma through these practices helps to sensitize managers to the importance of consumer identity work following celebrity transgressions. This has implications for how damage control efforts are planned and how managers engage with fans when responding to celebrity transgression.
AB - When consumers become fans of celebrities, they can form intense emotional attachments that resemble a kind of love. Although the love felt for celebrities is based on one-sided parasocial relationships, fans nevertheless experience a trauma that they consider to be very real when these illusory relationships end. We explore how fans manage and perform their break-up with a beloved celebrity brand following public allegations of wrongdoing. Building on Giddens’ theorization of loveshock – which encapsulates the disorienting after-effects of falling out of love – we propose the new concept of para-loveshock. Para-loveshock is performed socially and discursively through three fan practices: grief enfranchisement; flagellation; and indignation. Recognizing how fans perform and legitimize their trauma through these practices helps to sensitize managers to the importance of consumer identity work following celebrity transgressions. This has implications for how damage control efforts are planned and how managers engage with fans when responding to celebrity transgression.
KW - Celebrity brand
KW - Fandom
KW - Giddens
KW - Loveshock
KW - Parasocial relationships
KW - Transgression
U2 - 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.039
DO - 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.039
M3 - Journal article
VL - 145
SP - 720
EP - 731
JO - Journal of Business Research
JF - Journal of Business Research
SN - 0148-2963
ER -