The Influence of Behavioral and Emotional Traits on The Spread of Negative Word of Mouth

Firms invest substantial resources in creating a positive image through marketing campaigns, and any negativeword of mouth undermines these efforts. It is thus crucial to comprehend and address the spread of negative wordof mouth (NWOM). NWOM is driven by bad experiences, yet other segments like the consumer’s personality andemotional state lead to NWOM. This study aims to elucidate the relationship between bad experiences andNWOM, with a focus on emotional trait (frustration) as mediator and personality trait (moral identity) asmoderator through Andrew. F. Hayes’s process model. Findings reveal that people who encounter badexperiences are very likely to spread NOWM. This relationship becomes stronger if they are frustrated.Conversely, those people who have high moral identity experience less frustration resulting in a decline inNWOM. The existing literature hardly exhibits the consumer’s personality and behavioral aspects to explainconsumer behavior in an online environment. This research utilizes a moderated mediation model to examine thismultivariant framework. This study utilized a cross-sectional design, future research suggestion is to utilizelongitudinal or experimental methodologies. Furthermore, memory-based surveys may possess limitations thatcould be mitigated through experimental approaches.