| Resumo: | Nowadays, social media platforms are part of the daily routine of the majority of the Portuguese population. Facebook is currently gathering both consumers and brands under the same platform, which on one hand is positive as it decreases the distance between both players and allows constant interchange of information. However, on the other hand, this proximity might imply some risks as brands are more exposed to negative circumstances. No longer has one’s bad experience with a product or service stayed contained between the affected consumer and the company itself. It is now often turned public, becoming easily available to large amounts of individuals who are exposed to brand-related content posted on brand pages in social media. The present study intends to analyze the effects of readers’ exposure to negative brand related word-of-mouth generated by other consumers on companies’ brand pages in social media. Focusing on the telecommunication industry, the effects of readers’ exposure to negative brand related word-of-mouth were measured in terms of their effects on readers’ brand attitude, perceived brand quality, negative word-of-mouth intentions and re-patronage intentions. Additionally, considering the industry under analysis, the current study also investigates whether these effects are influenced by the type of customer, with contractual and non-contractual customers being considered. An online questionnaire was distributed to 442 respondents revealing that only negative word-ofmouth intentions was significantly influenced by readers’ exposure to brand-related negative wordof-mouth. Additionally, the influence of the type of customer was validated with contractual customers reacting differently from non-contractual in perceived brand quality.
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