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Understanding the Drivers and Outcomes of Ideologically Charged Social Media Firestorms: The Sociotechnical and Social Learning Perspectives

Tommy K. H. Chan¹; Zach W. Y. Lee²; Meizhi Pan³; Ke Sun⁴

¹ University of Manchester · ² University of Leicester · ³ Durham University · ⁴ Ningbo University of Technology

Social media firestorms, characterized by the rapid spread of negative electronic word of mouth (eWOM), can ignite widespread criticism of a firm’s brand transgressions, service failures, product-harm crises, or ideological conflicts. This study, grounded in the sociotechnical and social learning perspectives, examines the drivers and outcomes of social learning in ideologically charged firestorms, which represent an emerging form. We investigate the effects of social consensus and message persuasiveness, platform content centricity, and individual–firm relationship closeness on the social learning of negative eWOM behavior and purchase behavior. Two studies, comprising longitudinal quantitative and qualitative surveys, were conducted. The results indicate that message persuasiveness is strongly associated with the social learning of negative eWOM behavior. Negative eWOM behavior subsequently influences post-firestorm purchasing behavior. The moderating effects of platform content centricity and individual–firm relationship closeness are discussed. These findings advance the literature and offer practitioners actionable insights into managing digital crises.

DOI

10.1080/07421222.2025.2520170

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