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IJPHM
13,2 Rebuilding a global brand
under crisis – case of a
global brand Maggi
118 Rajesh Kumar Srivastava
Department of Marketing and Research,
Received 6 February 2018 Sydenham Institute of Management Studies,
Revised 2 May 2018
6 July 2018 Research and Entrepreneurship Education, University of Mumbai, Mumbai, India
17 March 2019
Accepted 10 April 2019

International Journal of
Pharmaceutical and Healthcare
Marketing
Vol. 13 No. 2, 2019
pp. 118-139
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1750-6123
DOI 10.1108/IJPHM-02-2018-0008
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study whether the controversy because of brand crisis based on
quality had any impact on consumer brand equity, brand image, brand reliability, brand perception of
quality, perceived value, brand sentiments and purchase behavior.
Design/methodology/approach – The research methodology consisted of two types of data: primary
and secondary data. The secondary research consisted of social media brand sentiments and financial
analysis. The primary research focused on perception study of brand quality, consumer brand equity, brand
reliability, brand image, purchase and brand switch behavior.
Findings – Maggi used social media extensively to address the issue and re-build the brand reliability
and confidence among its users. Communication strategy adopted by focusing on the past experience
of consumers and using them as a spokesperson generated a positive sentiment towards the brand
under crisis.
Research limitations/implications – While Maggi suffered the backlash because of the
controversy across the length and breadth of India and was banned in a number of states, the author
could conduct the primary research only in one city of the state of Maharashtra, Mumbai. The
effectiveness of the survey was impacted because of the geographic limitations the author faced while
collecting the responses. The survey would have definitely been more effective, with responses
collected from different states and with more number of respondents. Fishbein is very old, from the
1980s, even though this theory has met the test of time. Application of the effect of experiences on
experiential perceptions and how this influences value through networking could have been used to
explain the same.
Practical implications – An important implication of this paper’s findings for practice, therefore, is
that brands should incessantly strive to maintain the consumers’ level of trust, as it is essential for the
preservation of the brand equity after a crisis. Crisis-stricken brands should safeguard their reputations
from the negative effects of crises. It is even more important for any brand to act appropriately when the
cause of the crisis is attributed to its actions and processes. Managers have to address the quality of
products in case of brand crisis for restoring trust, image and reliability in the brand. Right type of
communication to right targeted consumers will help in the restoration of the image, trust on the brand
and bring back loyal customers. Managers have to build brand equity on a regular basis, as a strong
brand can recover faster as seen from this paper.
Originality/value – This paper helps to upgrade the knowledge and understanding of the impact of the
controversy on brand equity and image and how the crisis management strategy can be adopted to regain the
mind share and equity. This paper will help the brands in the future to know how a crisis can be managed
efficiently by drawing a cue from the strategies implemented by Maggi.
Keywords Brand image, Brand equity, Communication, Word-of-mouth, Brand perception,
Brand crisis, brand loyalty
Paper type Case study
1. Introduction Global brand
Reputational troubles can come in many forms, from a wide variety of causes and area under crisis
(Greyser, 2009; Srivastava, 2018). Unforeseen circumstances can lead to problems like low
quality of Coke and Pepsi, Cadbury chocolate with worms, people dying in a single day from
tainted Tylenol capsules or when an explosion at a Union Carbide facility in India killed
many hundreds of people. The brand has to sustain itself through crisis management by
taking steps that help develop emotions in the customers that they can associate with the
product or service. It needs to create a strong brand that stands out in the marketplace and 119
positions the company as an irreplaceable life-long partner to its consumers. They trust the
inherent superiority of the experience so much that even in a negative economy 60 per cent
are always willing to pay more for it (Srivastava, 2015). Brand building is a long-term
process (Srivastava, 2017). However, a brand crisis can lead to lowering of reputation,
perception and consumer brand equity. The risk of lowering of the reputation of a brand
depends on a company’s understanding of certain risks and their proactive action to prevent
it well before time. The present research aims to analyze recent brand crisis of a global
brand Maggi and how brand image was restored. It also studied the role of social media in
restoring the image, consumer brand equity of the brand and tries to explain the outcome
through application of different theories which involve Benoit (1995) theory of image
restoration, Theory of change thinking (Vogel, 2012; Coombs, 2007) theories of
communication and attribution theory (Weiner, 2000) in emerging markets like India. There
is a corresponding need for corporate crisis managers to develop a set of communication
tools that will ensure consumers that the company is taking appropriate actions in response
to crises with the consumers’ best interest in mind. The present study has taken global
brand Maggi Noodle –a fast food brand – and studied the reasons for brand crisis for a
global brand and what went wrong during the brand building process.

1.1 What went wrong and its effect on Maggi as a brand? – The Maggi controversy
The Maggi controversy because of the presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and lead
higher amount than the permissible levels in the noodle. According to Food Safety and
Standards regulations (FSSAI), 2011, the permissible level of lead in instant noodles is 2.5
parts per million (ppm), while the samples that were tested in some parts of India were found
to have higher MSG and lead level which led to the ban of Maggi sales in some parts of the
country, leading to a 9.1 per cent drop in Nestle India’s share (Narayan, 2015). Maggi is
manufactured as per Indian standards FASSI and is safe for children as per study.
It was explained that the lead is present everywhere and therefore post proper scientific evaluation,
a limit of 2.5 PPM is fixed as permissible limit. It was clarified that Nestle does not add any lead to
the product and miniscule quantities can come from purely external sources like air, water, grains
etc. It was again pointed out that the CFTRI results clearly show that in some of the samples the
presence of lead has been found as traces and far below the permissible limit (Mahapatra, 2019).
Maggi is approved for consumption by children even after the crisis, as after analysis, it was
found to be safe. Study covers the action taken by Maggi as a global brand.
Before controversy, Maggi had a market share of 70 per cent in the instant noodles
category and the extent to which a bad reputation can affect a brand can be seen in the case
of Maggi. The impact of the controversy on the corporate brand is severe when the brand
itself has a tagline of “Good Food, Good Life” (Bhushan and Bailay, 2015). The crisis spread
through media like print, TV, social media and also word-of-mouth. The company was slow
to respond, as they felt that the consumers would not believe such stories. Keeping these
factors, the next chapter discusses the problems and the purpose for this study.
IJPHM 2. Statement of problems and the purpose for this study
13,2 The research paper attempts to understand the effect of a controversy on a brand and the
subsequent steps taken by the same brand to tackle the crisis and rebuild the brand. In this
case, the problem is that the severe backlash faced by Maggi resulted in a loss of trust. This
study is more relevant, as the brand with a strong customer brand equity should not be
affected by such brand crisis because of high degree of trust and positive consumer
120 experience over many years. Previous research has provided limited insight into how
consumers react to communication strategies in response to brand crisis, usage of different
types of media and its impact on brand image (Srivastava, 2016).
Therefore, there is a need to study the brand rebuilding activities of those brands that got
affected by brand crisis along with delayed response. The study undertakes and attempts to
answer what influences a consumer’s perception and measures the impact of social media on
brand image and consumer perception. Crisis managers need a clear picture of how
consumers react to image restoration strategies if they are to reduce crisis cycle times (Reed,
2014), better understand how to increase consumer trust and protect corporate brands
during a crisis (Coombs and Schmidt, 2000). Managing brand crisis in emerging markets
like India is explained for the first time through the application of Benoit (1995) theory of
image restoration, and Coombs (2007) theories of communication and attribution theory
(Weiner, 2000). Multiple theories are taken to understand the brand crisis, as it involves
multiple variables. A single global brand is taken for study. Similar incidence did not
happen in emerging markets like India recently. Therefore, there is a paucity of similar
research in eastern culture. This research bridges the research gap on brand crisis.

3. Literature review
It is divided in four chapters based on literature reviews.

3.1 Brand equity and brand crisis

Brand equity is built through efforts carried out over many years (Srivastava, 2016).
However, it is also vulnerable to brand crisis, which could eventually threaten the
relationship between the brand and its customers (Park and Lee, 2013; Srivastava, 2018).
Brand crisis may lead to a decrease of brand confidence with a lowering brand relationship
and choice (Dutta and Pullig, 2011). The actual relationship a consumer has with a brand is
reflected in consumer-based brand equity (Srivastava, 2015). From a consumer-based
behavioral view, brand equity is considered as the contribution of the brand name to the
value of the branded product (Farquhar, 1989; Yoo and Donthu, 2001; Srivastava, 2016).
Although not so many studies have examined the impact of crises and response strategies
on consumer-based brand equity (Dawar and Pillutla, 2000; Cleeren et al., 2008; Srivastava,
2018), previous researchers have reported that communication at right time plays a
significant role in protecting brand equity. The right type of communication will restore
consumer confidence and help in the recovery of consumer-based brand equity (Pearson and
Clair, 1998; Dutta and Pullig, 2011; Bhushan and Bailay, 2015). Interestingly, however,
researchers are yet to understand the role of pre-crisis brand trust, brand image, brand
quality, brand perception and brand experience on brand equity after a crisis. The
magnitude of consumer reactions to a crisis is influenced by expectations of the brand,
which may be signified by customer-based brand equity (Aaker, 1991; Keller, 1993).
However, factors such as brand expectations, corporate reputation, brand familiarity,
loyalty and commitment to brand have been found to influence the magnitude of consumer
reactions to corporate crisis (Mowen, 1980; Siomkos and Kurzbard, 1994; Stockmyer, 1996;
Dawar and Pillutla, 2000; Ahluwalia et al., 2000; Zhao et al., 2011; Reed, 2014). However,
sentiment analysis, brand perception, brand repurchase and trust in post-brand crisis are not Global brand
studied. under crisis
3.2 Effect of brand crisis of the perception of brand
Brand crisis may manifest because of many reasons and will affect the perception of a
brand. According to Coombs (2007) theory, how a brand responds to a particular crisis
shapes the consumers’ view of that brand. Consumers possess a number of brand-related
beliefs like brand attitudes, brand desirability, perceptions of quality, purchase intentions
121
and brand trust (Dawar and Pillutla, 2000). Consumer reactions to brand crisis are critical
because they may determine changes in brand-related beliefs which may alter the
consumer–brand relationship (Dawar and Lei, 2009; Carroll, 2009; Grunwald and
Hempelmann, 2011; Lei et al., 2012). Perception toward the brand can be considered the
primary determinant of volitional behavior as per the theory of reasoned action (Fishbein
and Ajzen, 1975; Ajzen and Fishbein, 1980). After a brand crisis, consumers’ attitude toward
the brand may influence their purchase intention (Zurawicki and Braidot, 2005; Reed, 2014).
However, the role of right communication at the right time in restoring the brand image,
brand perception, brand reliability and brand trust is not studied by many researchers.

3.3 Communications under brand crisis

A crisis is an abrupt and unexpected event that could threaten both a brand’s reputation and
financial assets (Benoit, 1997; Huang, 2006; Coombs, 2007). A crisis would generate negative
publicity (Dean, 2004), which is deleterious to brand reputation and image (Dean, 2004;
Claeys et al., 2010; Reed, 2014) and could eventually jeopardize the survival of the brand
(Pearson and Mitroff, 1993).
Therefore, a critical component of crisis management is crisis communication (Pearson
and Clair, 1998; Coombs and Holladay, 2012). Timely communication is critical, as various
stakeholders like consumers, employees, private organizations, government organizations
and the media demand immediate and thorough response from an organization embroiled in
a crisis (Seeger et al., 2001, 2003; Seeger, 2006; Coombs, 2007). Such communication shapes
stakeholders’ attribution of crisis responsibility and their attitude and behavior towards the
organization as per theory of communication under crisis (Coombs and Holladay, 2012).
Brands facing any crisis must keep on communicating with customers to ensure that
its brand value does not corrode. A common message reduces uncertainty and manages a
brand during a crisis (Tew et al., 2008). A post-crisis effect on brand perception, repurchase
intentions and guilt feeling because of crisis are not studied by many researchers (Coombs
and Holladay, 2012; Srivastava, 2015, 2018). New medium like social media is an interesting
area of research for brand crisis.

3.4 Social media and its role in brand crisis

The advent of new media technology and prevalent usage of social media platforms have
transformed how organizations communicate with stakeholders (Christ, 2007). The growth and
importance of social media have generated intense interest surrounding online communication
and crisis communication (Coombs and Holladay, 2014). Indeed, social media platforms are
increasingly becoming breeding grounds for brand crisis. In the past ten years, incidents of
brand crisis have seen a ten-fold increase (Owyang et al., 2011). More specifically, practitioners
and researchers have realized the importance of social media’s role in crisis communication
(Schultz et al., 2011; Schwarz, 2012; Srivastava, 2016). People react differently to a brand crisis
response strategy because it is delivered via social media as opposed to more traditional media
or even the company’s website (Sweeter and Metzgar, 2007; Schultz et al., 2011; Coombs and
IJPHM Holladay, 2014). Social media comments are important to shaping organizational reputation
13,2 (Conway et al., 2007). Crises can damage brand image by generating negative public messages
about the organization. Public messages are influential in shaping brand equity and image
(Deep house, 2000; Carroll and McCombs, 2003). Social media messages because of the public
nature can damage or enhance reputation (McCorkindale and DiStaso, 2013).
Past research has measured brand trust (Delgado-Ballester et al., 2003) but has not
122 examined the degree to which post-crisis responses affect brand image, brand equity, brand
reliability, brand perception and sentiment analysis through social media with the right
communication at the right time. Identification of the variables and how they can be used to
develop theoretical construct are discussed in the next section.

4. Identification of variables for study and developing theoretical constructs

The variables used in this research are communication through social media and
advertisement (Independent), brand perception of quality, price, brand image, guilt feeling,
brand reliability (Moderating), brand sentiment (Dependent), switch over intentions
(Dependent), purchase intentions (Dependent) and demographics (Moderating) based on
literature review. A right type of communication at the right time will help to restore the
brand sentiment, perception of trust or brand reliability, brand experience and loyalty, and
helps to create positive word-of-mouth. As per Benoit (1995) theory of image restoration,
right communication at targeted consumers will help to restore the brand image, consumer
brand equity and brand perception. This helps to bring back the lost customers. The study
of communication approaches by Maggi through Benoit’s theory of image restoration will
help to understand the linkage of variables better. Brand switch over under brand crisis is
another variable under study. According to the theory of change thinking (Vogel, 2012),
consumer will change if there are rationales to change or helps to explore new possibilities
through critical thinking, discussion and challenging dominant narratives. Switch over to
other brands will be minimal if brand consumer equity is high because of positive
perception, no guilt feeling because of brand crisis, brand experience, brand quality and
price and brand trust or reliability. However, right communication early will minimize the
change as per Benoit (1995) theory of image restoration.
Therefore, the first question to research is how the rebuilding activity of Maggi has
impacted the customer sentiments through secondary research and perception towards
brand image, brand quality, price and guilt feeling of purchasing the brand? The other
question is can we measure the reach, availability and impact of social media technology in
tarnishing the brand image as well as rebuilding it? How the right type of communication at
the right time helps in restoring trust? Keeping these variables following theoretical
constructs (Figure 1) is used for research.
Brand under crisis (bc) can restore the purchase intentions (pi), minimize brand switch
(bs) and positive brand sentiments (bs) quicker if brand image (Bi), brand loyalty (bl), brand
quality (Bq) and brand reliability or trust (Br), customer experience(Ce) and brand equity (be)
is high. However, response may vary depending upon the demographic variables (dv) which is
summarized below:
P
bc1rc þ rt þ sm þ a be þ bi þ bl þ br þ bq þ ce þ bp1rc þ rt = pi þ bs þ bs 6 dv
Based on variables identified after literature review, hypotheses are developed.

5. Developing hypotheses
Consumers possess a variety of brand-related beliefs, such as trust, brand image, brand
loyalty, brand quality and brand reliability, purchase likelihood and brand trust
(Dawar and Pillutla, 2000; Srivastava, 2017). Consumer reactions and perception of brand Global brand
crisis are critical because they may determine the likelihood of changes in these brand- under crisis
related beliefs that can alter the consumer–brand relationship (Dawar and Lei, 2009;
Carroll, 2009; Grunwald and Hempelmann, 2011; Lei et al., 2012; He and Ran, 2015).
Perception and brand equity are equally important in regaining brand image. As per
Benoit (1995) theory, the right type of communication at the right time will help in
regaining the brand image and perception.
Social media has played an important role in connecting brands to its consumers quickly
123
and effectively. Positive interaction of a brand on social media with its customers improves
a customer’s perception, whereas negative or no interaction leads to dis-satisfied customers.
Keeping these factors, the following hypotheses are formulated:

H1a. Right type of communication through usage of social media and advertising will
help in restoration of perception of brand image and loyalty and minimizes guilt
because of brand crisis.
H1b. Right type of communication through usage of social media and advertising will
restore brand sentiments towards brand under crisis.
Regaining brand customer equity and perception during a brand crisis will depend on the
right type of communication which will remind the consumers about the past experience
and quality so that it meets the expectations of the consumers. Pre-crisis brand trust among
consumers also impacts the relationship between the crisis response (Cronin et al., 2000) and
post-crisis brand equity and its dimensions – brand awareness, perception of brand quality
and brand loyalty (Cronin et al., 2000; Hegner et al., 2014). It is argued that high brand
customer equity could serve as an anchor for the brand under crisis (Coombs and Holladay,
2006; Srivastava, 2016).
The behavioral propensity to purchase a product has been regarded as the ultimate
determinant of consumer reactions by previous marketing research (Zeithaml et al., 1996;
Dabholkar et al., 2000). It has been argued that purchase intention reflects the consumers’
inclination to engage in purchasing (Cronin et al., 2000) after positive and/or negative stimuli
are received (Zeithaml et al., 1996; Dabholkar et al., 2000). The right type of communication
will change the sentiments and purchase intentions. Creating an emotional approach based
on past consumer experience added with high brand equity will help the brand regain its
market share and mind share.
Over the past decade, emotional branding has emerged as a highly influential brand
management paradigm (Gobe, 2001; Zaltman, 2003; Craig et al., 2006). Emotional branding is

Consumer brand equity

Demographic
variables
Brand image(Bi),
Brand loyalty(bl)
Right Brand quality (Bq)
communication Purchase
and Brand
and Use of
reliability or trust Intentions
social media
under brand (Br) Customer Brand Switch Figure 1.
crisis Proposed conceptual
experience(Ce)
Brand Sentiment framework
Brand price
IJPHM a consumer-centric, relational and story-driven approach to forging deep and enduring
13,2 affective bonds between consumers and brands (Roberts, 2004). However, a seldom-
discussed risk of emotional branding strategies is their potential to expose firms to a
particular type of cultural backlash, which we characterize as the “doppelgänger brand
image” – that is, a family of disparaging images and stories about a brand that are
circulated in popular culture by a loosely organized network of consumers, anti-brand
124 activists, bloggers and opinion leaders in the news and entertainment media (Craig et al.,
2006). Maggi noodle did the same through emotional communications. Therefore, our next
hypotheses are as follows:

H2a. Strong customer brand equity will help to regain consumers who switched over
because of emotional connect and brand reliability.
H2b. Perceived value, purchase behavior and quality perception under brand crisis will
restore faster because of strong customer brand equity.
Brand trust may also shield the brand from the negative consequences of its actions that
violate consumer expectations. Consumers may be less inclined to attribute the cause of the
transgression to a brand when it is trusted (Johar et al., 2010; Srivastava, 2017).0

6. Methodology
6.1 Research design
The research methodology consisted of primary research and secondary research that
consisted of financial analysis, social media sentiment analysis using Tag board analytics
and primary research in the second phase to study perception, purchase behavior and
switch over of brands before and after brand crisis. This was done after Maggi adopted
social media and advertisement focusing on past brand experience. For brand crisis study, a
single case was used as per earlier study of Yin (1994), Darling (1994), Ang et al. (2000),
Eagle et al. (2005), Kahuni et al. (2009) and Carroll (2009). The study’s focus on the effects of
different crisis response strategies on customer purchase behavior and perceptions as
identified by Coombs (2007) and Hegner et al. (2014).
Primary research is carried in Mumbai, the financial capital of India, with heterogeneous
population. Eight MBA students participated in the study to collect the data. It was through
intercept techniques after informing the respondents the objectives. People participated in the
study willingly as intention of carrying out research was disclosed by MBA students as a
part of their project. Each respondent is shown the advertisement released by the Maggi
brand through mobile after the brand crisis and their response on brand perception, purchase
intentions, switch over intentions and feeling guilt over the purchase of a brand under crisis
is noted in a structured questionnaire. The study was conducted during March-April, 2016.

6.2 Sample design

Respondents are selected through intercept technique. Intercept techniques are the best for
carrying out research for primary research in emerging markets (Srivastava, 2016).
Respondents are users of noodles and are selected on a random basis. Non-users of noodles
are not taken for the study.
The sample representation consisted of 66.5 per cent females and 33.5 per cent males.
Total 298 respondents participated in the study. Table I shows demographic items with
individual profile.
More females participated in the study, as females are more frequent buyers for groceries
(Srivastava, 2016). Our sample size is justified as Umasakharan (2006) for such study.
Serial no. Demographic item Frequency (%)
Global brand
under crisis
1. Gender
Male 100 33.5
Female 198 66.5
2. Age group
Less than 20 years 6 2.1
Between 20 and 30 years 246 82.5
125
Between 30 and 40 years 26 6.7
Above 40 years 20 8.7
3. Educational qualification
Undergraduate 26 8.7 Table I.
Graduate 242 81.3 Sample profile

Mumbai city represents a heterogeneous India and has a good market base of noodles. This
was the main reason for the selection of Mumbai city for this study.

6.3 Questionnaire design

Questionnaire as a tool is used for primary research. The questions covered variables like
consumer perceptions, purchase intentions, guilt feeling because of brand crisis and switch
over intentions and quality, perceived value of the product, trust and customer equity. The
brand perception study adapted a scale based on studies of Srivastava (2015) and Wansink
et al. (2005). Data on gender, age, education and occupation are collected on category scales.
Perceptions and purchase intentions are measured on a five-point Likert scale before and
after showing advertisement. Switch over intentions are measured using nominal scale.
To test the validity of the instrument, Cronbach alpha, spilt half and Spearman brown’s
tests were calculated. The Cronbach alpha was calculated as 0.729, which is adequate in
magnitude; thus, the instrument was considered as reliable for this study. Split half
reliability was calculated as 0.845; hence, the questionnaire is considered as internally
consistent and reliable. The Cronbach value of variables like social media and advertisement
is 0.875, brand perception of quality is 0.886, price is 0.832 and brand image is 0.865. This is
consistent with earlier study of Srivastava (2018). The value for guilt feeling is 0.833, brand
reliability is 0.865, brand sentiment is 0.856, switch over intentions is 0.789 and purchase
intentions is 0.845. This is consistent with earlier study of Srivastava (2018). There is a high
consistency among each other. A high value of Cronbach alpha shows that all the constructs
have high reliability. No confirmatory test is done because of the high value of Cronbach
alpha. There is no factor analysis, so confirmatory analysis is not done.

7. Results
The result is divided into analysis of secondary data and primary research. It is a two-phase
analysis. The first phase analysis consists of social media sentiment analysis and financial
analysis through secondary research. The analysis is related to H1.

7.1 Phase 1: Secondary research

It is divided into segments for better understanding of testing the first hypothesis – H1a and
H1b.
IJPHM 7.2 Social media sentiment analysis
13,2 Consumer-generated reviews and product ratings are the most preferred sources of product
information among social media users (Nielsen, 2011). Before the controversy broke out on
May 19, 2015, Maggi had started a campaign for mother’s day with positive response
(genymedium.com, June 2015). During the one month from May to June, 2016, consumer
sentiments took a drastic turn on social media as can be seen through the graph given below
126 in Figure 2.
This happened as the brand failed to react proactively to the controversy. The response
by Maggi was standard and the inability to respond to customer concerns led to a surge in
negative sentiments. The graph shows that even though there was a spike in negative
response, there were also some positive sentiments of Maggi loyalists that could be observed
on social media. These fans belong to the segment that has a strong sense of brand loyalty.
The first step Maggi took to prelaunch through Snap deal and selected retail stores in 100
towns through 300-odd distributors where it has a strong presence. They used past
experience of consumers based on quality and “self experience” of consumers. Maggi sold
more than 30 million of packets within 10 days of re-launch (PTI: The Hindu, Nov 12, 2015).
The number of tweets by Maggi India is 2,407 as of June 3, 2015. On Jan 3, 2016, the number
of tweets by Maggi India is 6,302. This shows that Maggi has been active on Twitter and
has 18 tweets per day in these seven months. Numbers of followers of Maggi have also
increased from 35.9 K to 42.5 K in the seven months from June 3, 2015 to Jan 3, 2016
(TagBoard.com, 2015-2016). The social media for the hash tag #maggi analyzed for 8 days
from December 27, 2015 till January 3, 2016 using Key Hole analytics tool. It showed that the
hashtag had a reach of 10,913,581 and 10,967,244 impressions because of 613 posts by 564
users of all social media sites (Key Hole Analytics, 2016). Social media has younger
population users (Srivastava, 2015).Company too used this media extensively to build a
brand as majority users of Maggi are young population. We used the Tag Board sentiment
analytic tracker and tool to analyses the sentiment for Maggi between December 27, 2015
and January 3, 2016. This is given in Table II.
Communication strategy adopted by focusing on the past experience of consumers and
using them as a spokesperson generated a positive sentiment towards the brands. From the
social media sentiment analysis, we found that the overall sentiment about Maggi is positive

Figure 2.
Sentiment analysis
before and after
controversy
as shown above. Edelman Trust Barometer shows that people believe the role of business Global brand
leaders lies in making ethical decisions and telling the truth, while the role of government is under crisis
to protect consumers from irresponsible business (Edelman Trust Barometer, 2014). The
key attributes of building trust as determined by the Edelman Trust Barometer mirror the
qualities of a brand that nurtures its customers into becoming brand advocates by fulfilling
their rational needs, emotional needs and societal needs (Shannon, 2014, December). Thus, it
confirms H1a and H1b.
127
7.3 Inference and theoretical implications
The right type of communication at the right time helped in regaining trust and image. The
regaining of sentiment can be explained through Benoit (1995) theory of image restoration.
Maggi after sluggish start directed communication with the specific goal-directed action and
created a positive series of advertisement through using reliability and quality as the base
for communication.
Trust (TR) regaining is important for image restoration. The right type of
communication (RC) at the right time (RT) is important. Customer experience (Ce) added
with brand equity (Be) create a brand image (Bi), brand loyalty (bl) brand quality (Bq) and
brand reliability (Br). All these variables are important besides specific communication as
per Benoit’s theory of image restoration. Thus, regaining the sentiments of consumers by
Maggi is explained by the following:
X
Tr Be þ Bi þ Bl þ Br þ Bq þ Ce1Rc þ Rt ¼ regaining Brand image

Compared to Benoit (1995), Coombs and Schmidt (2000) theory, the present study also has
added brand image (Bi), brand loyalty (bl), brand quality (Bq) and brand reliability (Br),
customer experience (Ce) and brand equity (Be) as factors in the restoration of brand image
under crisis. This is a valuable addition to these theories.
Past research has measured brand trust (Delgado-Ballester et al., 2003) but has not
examined post-crisis responses (Benoit, 1995; Coombs and Schmidt, 2000). This research
bridges that research gap. Keller and Lehmann (2006) did not find brand management
during crisis as an area of research in their recommended areas of future brand research.
Additionally, there are no brand management models for application during a crisis. Thus,
this study will help the manager to focus on these variables, as more brand crisis is
happening compared to earlier years.

7.4 Financial analysis

The financial analysis of data from the released reports and presentations of Nestle India is for
the time period till September 2015. It does not consider the revenue generated from the re-
launch of Maggi Noodles. The sales of Maggi Noodles have picked quickly since its re-launch
in November 2015. According to the Live Mint report dated November 24, 2015, Maggi has sold
45 million packs of the noodles within 2 weeks after re-launch. It has achieved this feat despite
two of its five production facilities being shut because of the ban and the firm was selling the

Sentiment analysis (%)

Table II.
Positive 63 Sentiment analysis
Neutral 37 after re-launch of
Negative 0 Maggi 2016
IJPHM noodles only in 200,000 retail outlets across 600 cities and towns. It has a reach of 3.9 million
13,2 retail outlets (ET, 2016). The stock prices have seen a rise from the pre-controversy period and
but is yet to reach the same level (Money control, 2016). Brand equity is usually measured
through easy to get proxies such as awareness and market share. In the Millward Brown, most
valuable brand study released in September 2015, Nestle is ranked 15 and Maggi is ranked 30
(Financial Analyst Report, 2015, Nov). A change in brand awareness was reported to be 81 per
128 cent added with the changes in market share (79 per cent). This again confirms H1a and H1b.
Strong customer brand equity helps to recover faster after brand crisis because of right
communication and strong emotional connect with consumers (H2a).

7.5 Second phase: Primary research

The primary question is about whether consumers have the guilt of purchasing Maggi because
of brand crisis. This is the first part of the question. The test is to confirm H2a and H2b.
The analysis is given in Table III.
As per our study, the less people feel guilty about having eaten Maggi all these days (Z
cal> Z tab) after brand crisis. Similarly, purchase behavior studies using Z test indicates
that the majority of people have bought Maggi after its re-launch (Z = 7.2986.). Positive
media information, more than negative media, has a greater impact, influencing customer’s
general impressions and their future buying intentions (Vassilikopoulou et al., 2009; Vilma
and Ingrida Gabryte, 2014; Srivastava, 2016).
As 22 per cent of the respondents did not buy Maggi, “brand switch over” study is
conducted to find out their preference for other brands. This is given in Table IV.
P1 is the percentage of customers shifted to Yippee and P2 is the proportion of customers
shifted to Patanjali brand of noodles. The customers shifting to Yippee is significantly more
than those shifting to Patanjali (Z-2.086). Yippee is the major competitor to Maggi followed
by Patanjali and then other brands.

7.6 Inference and theoretical explanation

Low switch is explained through theory of change thinking. The consumer will change if
there are rationales to change or if they help to explore new possibilities through critical

Did you feel guilty about having eaten Maggi all these days?
Answer: Yes 54 18.12%
Did you feel guilty about having eaten Maggi all these days?
Table III. Answer: No 244 81.88%
Did you buy Maggi after the re-launch?
Analysis of guilt and
Answer: Yes 212 71.14%
purchase behavior Did you buy Maggi after the re-launch?
after re-launch Answer: No 86 28.85%

Table IV. Brand No. (%)

Switch over to other Patanjali 6 13.63
brand – the brand Yippee 14 31.81
with significant Other 12 27.27
change (vN = 22) Give-up noodles 12 27.27
thinking, discussion and challenging of dominant narratives (Vogel, 2012) for the benefit of Global brand
consumers. This has not happened with Maggi noodles consumers because of strong under crisis
customer brand equity built by image, quality, good past customer experience and the right
message. Good perception of Maggi created over the years has added to this position. Maggi
has a good perception (Z = 7.53). This confirms H2a. Results show that the crisis response
strategy a brand uses can influence its brand perception and minimize switch over by
consumers. The way a consumer perceives a brand depends is influenced by
advertisements, promotions, feedback, reviews, etc. This study shows that staying silent 129
during a crisis might even hurt the brand, as consumers could easily interpret this as a lack
of concern (Hegner et al., 2014) on the part of the brand to conceal something from its
consumers (Saffir and Tarrant, 1993; Heath, 1998; Hegner et al., 2014).
Perception study was further analyzed using age groups and gender as variables for
study. Age and gender influence the perception as observed in our study. It is given in
Table V.
The brand perception is very positive among the age group of 21 to 30 years, followed by
the age group of 31-40 years. The age group of more than 40 years has mostly a neutral
perception and respondents under 20 years have an above average perception of the brand.
From the Television Commercials and promotions of Maggi, it is clear that the target
customer of Maggi is the youth, that is, the 21 to 30 years old age group. From our survey, it
is clear too that the 21 to 30 years old have a strong positive perception about Maggi, which
means Maggi is able to strike a chord with its target customer. One-way Anova test on age
groups is given in Table VI.
As the p value <0.05, we conclude that there is a significant difference between the four
age groups with respect to their perception of Maggi. People of 21-30 years age have given
the best response to Maggi and people over 40 years have given the worst response.

Very good Good Neutral Bad Very bad

Less than 20 years old 0 (0%) 4 (66.67%) 2 (33.33%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

21 to 30 years old 96 (39.02%) 88 (35.77%) 32 (13%) 20 (8.13%) 10 (4.06%)
31 to 40 years old 6 (23.07%) 12 (46.15%) 6 (23.07%) 2 (7.69%) 0 (0%) Table V.
More than 40 years old 4 (20%) 4 (20%) 6 (30%) 2 (10%) 4 (20%) Age and gender
Male 70 (34.65%) 70 (34.65%) 38 (18.81%) 14 (6.93%) 10 (4.95%) analysis: Maggi
Female 36 (37.5%) 38 (39.58%) 8 (8.33%) 10 (10.41%) 4 (4.167) perception

Groups Count Sum Average Variance

<20 years 2 4 2 8
21-30 years 2 184 92 32
31-40 years 2 18 9 18
More than 40 years 2 8 4 0
ANOVA
Source of variation SS df MS F P-value F crit Table VI.
Between groups 11,405.5 3 3,801.83 262.195 4.79E-05 6.591 One way ANOVA to
Within groups 58 4 14.5 compare between the
Total 11,463.5 7 four age groups
IJPHM Maggi is targeting both the genders through television advertisements. As per our survey,
13,2 Maggi is correctly reaching out to both the genders and both the genders hold a positive
perception about the brand. As the p value >0.05, there is no significant difference in men
and women showing a good response to Maggi.

7.7 Inference and theoretical explanation

130 Communication at targeted customers is well received as per our study. This is as per Benoit
(1995) theory which says that if communication is goal directed, then success rate is high
during a crisis. The perception of indifference is often the largest contributor to the
aftermath of a crisis and can cause the public to become unforgiving (Garcia, 2006;
Balakrishnan, 2011). Authenticity through communication plays a key role in building,
sustaining and defending reputation through credible responses in the form of behavior and
by restoring trust, authenticity rescues a brand in crisis (Greyser, 2009; Balakrishnan, 2011).
These actions can build a “reputation reservoir” through reinforcement from experts and by
acknowledging customers as key stakeholders (Elliott et al., 2005; Balakrishnan, 2011).
Reputation reservoirs because of brand equity added to brand image come from the process
of healing. Thus, better brand perception (Bp) helped the communication (Rc) to be
perceived better which is aided with brand image (Bi) and brand equity. This helped to
restore the trust (Tr) in the brand. Right communication created positive word-of-mouth
(wom). This confirms H2b. Emotional components are symbolic and easier to translate
through word-of-mouth (wom), as they have more relevance and have a greater appeal in
times of crisis (Hosany et al., 2007; Balakrishnan, 2011). Emotional connections, an ignored
research area, are more effective for communication, as it synergizes all five senses
(Lindstrom, 2005; Balakrishnan, 2011). This is summarized as given below:
X
Tr Be þ Bi þ Bp1Rc þ wom:

Targeting the right type of customers helped the Maggi brand to regain the confidence. This
study also did studies on perception and price among age groups and gender. This is given
in Table VII.
There is a significant difference between people of different age groups regarding quality
and price (p = 0.036576). People of age 40 years and more feel that quality is poor as
compared to the price. Majority respondents believe Maggi’s quality is on par with the price
(H2b). Also, the target group, that is 21 to 30 years old, consider quality on par with the price
which is helping Nestle global brand Maggi build a positive perception in the minds of the
target group.
There is no significant difference between men and women about the perception of
quality and price (p value > 0.05). Both feel that overall, quality is on par with the price. This
has helped Maggi to build a positive perception in the minds of both males and females (H2a
and H2b).
Brand equity based on consumer-based brand equity scales for Maggi is 4.1 compared to
Yeppie brand 2.62. They are measured on seven parameters based on Aaker (1991), Keller
(1993), Yoo and Donthu (2001) and Srivastava (2016). The right type of communication
helped the brand to regain the equity after brand crisis. Thus, it confirms H2: Strong brand
equity will help to regain consumers because of emotional connect and positive word-of-
mouth and will minimize dent in the image of the brand on price, loyalty and quality under
brand crisis. The implications of the results are covered subsequently.
 Quality is better Quality is at Quality is poor
Global brand
than price par with price compared to price under crisis
Less than 20 years old 2 4 0
21 to 30 years old 94 120 30
31 to 40 years old 0 62 0
More than 40 years old 0 12 8
Male 68 98 30 131
Female 28 64 8

Anova: Single factor

SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
<20 years 3 6 2 4
21-30 years 3 244 81.333 2,145.333
31-40 years 3 62 20.667 1,281.333
More than 40 years 3 20 6.667 37.333
ANOVA
Source of variation SS df MS F P-value F crit Table VII.
Between groups 12,086.667 3 4,028.889 4.6469 0.037 4.066 Maggi’s quality with
Within groups 6,936 8 867 respect to price: age
Total 19,022.667 11 and gender variation

8. Discussion and theoretical implications

Brands are susceptible to various forms of crises, regardless of whether these crises are
prompted by a brand’s conscious deviation (Hegner et al., 2014) from socially acceptable
practices or triggered by forces and activities beyond the brand’s control. Attempts to
salvage brand equity after a crisis, therefore, require that the brand addresses the crisis that
conforms to the expectations of its consumers. Unarguably, crises can have negative
ramifications for the brand’s reputation and financial assets (Coombs, 2007). Hence, the
negative consequences of crises for the brand’s legitimacy increase the importance of the
crisis response strategies. According to Coombs (2007) on theories of communication, how a
brand responds to a particular crisis shapes the consumers’ view of that brand. This study
addressed two questions on the relationship between crisis response strategies and
customers’ attitude towards a brand in crisis situations.
Brand quality (Bq) aided by the right price perception (Pp) increased the perceived value
of Maggi brand. A good consumer brand equity (Be) with users of Maggi helped to restore
the brand image (Bi) damaged because of brand crisis. Brand reliability (Br) because of past
good experience and brand loyalty (bl) because of higher satisfaction led to a better
perception of the brand (Bp). Word-of-mouth (wom) developed because of the right type of
communication (Rc) at the right time (Rt) helped to bring back those customers who had a
good experience (Ce). All these variables are important besides specific communication as
per Benoit (1995) theory of image restoration. The two main assumptions that are the
foundation of Benoit’s theory are used during the Maggi brand crisis. The Maggi
communication campaign is a goal-directed action at the right target and created a positive
word-of-mouth and perception.
According to Coombs and Holladay (2006) theory, brand crisis through the symbolic
approach will help to protect the organization’s reputation and affect stakeholders’ future
interactions with the organization (Balakrishnan, 2011). The symbolic approach is part of
IJPHM the reframing technique popularized by Bolman and Deal (2003) which get legitimacy,
13,2 external confidence and faith, as it works in non-linear situations of uncertainty by creating
and giving an interpretation of experiences, weaving a cultural tapestry of myths, stories,
heroes and heroines, ritual and ceremonies to give a purpose (Balakrishnan, 2011) and
passion. Maggi used the right type of messages at the right time through right targeted
customers to build brand under a crisis situation. Thus, regaining the consumers by Maggi
132 is explained by the following:
X
Tr Be þ Bi þ Bl þ Br þ Bq þ Ce þ Bp 1 Rc þ Rt 1 wom ¼ regaining Brand image

(Tr = trust in brand, Be = brand equity; Bi = brand image; Bl = brand loyalty; Br = brand
reliability; Bq = brand quality; Ce = customer brand experience; Bp = brand perception;
Rc = right type of communication; Rt = right time message be communicated to right
customers; and wom = word-of-mouth).
If we take Attribution theory (Weiner, 2000; Laczniak et al., 2001; Martinko et al., 2011) to
explain the brand crisis of Maggi, then consumers will rethink about the brand if the failure
of a firm is because of internal causes (i.e. fault of the firm) or external causes (i.e. not the
fault of the firm). If the failure has low consistency, then there is a greater likelihood one will
attribute the failure to external causes because it is not the norm (Bicchieri, 1990). If external
causes are the cause of a failure, then there is a greater tendency to blame the situation for
the failure. In Maggi case, the crisis came from external causes. Delayed reaction created
brand problems. In our study, brand equity represented a proxy for consumers’ baseline of
consistency. In general, high brand equity companies provide products with higher quality
indicators, such as reliability (Aaker, 1991; Srivastava, 2016). Thus, when a company with
high brand equity experiences a product crisis, (Chieng and Goi, 2011), consumers are likely
to perceive the crisis as inconsistent with the norms of the company.
Right communication at the right time to target customers helped the Maggi brand
regain the brand image, as brand crisis is perceived to be inconsistent as felt by consumers.
Thus, this confirms the research model as proposed earlier and also H1a, H1b and H2.
Strong consumer brand equity reinforced by timely communication can restore the brand
image, positive perceptions, feeling towards brand, brand trust or reliability, quality and
minimize brand switch and increases repurchase.

9. Conclusions
Results as per our study indicate that the crisis response strategy a brand uses can influence
its perception of quality, perceived value, consumer brand equity, purchase behavior and
brand switch. An important implication of this result is that when a brand responds to the
crisis situations, its post-crisis brand equity would hardly depreciate. Brand equity,
nonetheless, is bound to suffer after a crisis when a brand opts to deny its role in the crisis
and when it decides not to respond to that crisis. Denial on the part of the brand may prove
effective only when consumers view the crisis as something precipitated by forces or actions
outside the influence of the brand (Hegner et al., 2014). Attempts to salvage brand equity
after a crisis, therefore, require that the brand addresses the crisis that conforms to the
expectations of its consumers. Consumers who attribute crisis responsibility of the brand
are more likely to expect that the brand assumes full or partial responsibility for the crisis. A
good brand equity of Maggi helped to restore the brand image damaged because of brand
crisis. Right communication at the right time for a right targeted consumer helped the Maggi
brand to regain the brand image. Moreover, customers’ trust, brand reliability, brand
quality, perceived value and positive perceptions of the brand before the crisis might help Global brand
mitigate the negative impact of a crisis on brand equity, as the pre-crisis belief and image under crisis
could lessen consumers’ antipathy towards the brand. Consumer reactions at the onset of the
crisis in our study is consistent with Grunwald and Hempelmann’s (2011) finding that a
prior reputation of high quality creates a better starting point for a company when
implementing crisis management strategies. Social media communication, as per present
research, helped the brand to restore the image among the younger generation faster.
133
9.1 Limitations
While Maggi suffered the backlash because of the controversy across the length and breadth
of India and was banned in a number of states, we could conduct the primary research only
in one city of the state of Maharashtra, Mumbai. The effectiveness of the survey was
impacted because of the geographic limitations we faced while collecting the responses. The
survey would have definitely been more effective, with responses collected from different
states and with more number of respondents. Fishbein is very old, from the 80s, even though
this theory has met the test of time. Application of the effect of experiences on experiential
perceptions and how this influences value through networking could have been used to
explain the same.

9.2 Managerial implications

An important implication of this study’s findings for practice, therefore, is that brands
should incessantly strive to maintain the consumers’ level of trust, as it is essential for the
preservation of the brand equity after a crisis. Crisis-stricken brands should safeguard their
reputations from the negative effects of crises. It is even more important for any brand to act
appropriately when the cause of the crisis is attributed to its actions and processes.
Managers have to address the quality of products in case of brand crisis for restoring trust,
image and reliability in the brand. Right of type communication to a right targeted
consumers will help in the restoration of the image, trust on the brand and bring back loyal
customers. Mangers have to build brand equity on a regular basis, as a strong brand can
recover faster as seen from this study.

9.3 Contribution of the paper

Research paper helps to upgrade the knowledge and understanding of the impact of the
controversy on brand equity and image and how the crisis management strategy adopted to
regain the mind share and equity. This research paper will help the brands in the future to
know how a crisis can be managed efficiently by drawing a cue from the strategies
implemented by Maggi.
Although the research results have crucial implications for brand managers, the
theoretical contributions of the article are also important. First, the current study is the first
to investigate the impact of various crisis response strategies on brand equity after the onset
of a crisis triggered by the brand’s action. Managing brand crisis in emerging markets is
explained for the first time through the application of Benoit (1995) theory of image
restoration, theory of change thinking (2012) and Coombs (2007) theories of communication
and attribution theory (Weiner, 2000). Our paper bridges the gap between theory and
practice by suggesting steps taken during the crisis.
While the negative impact of crises on brand evaluations (Dawar and Lei, 2009) and
brand trust (Yannopoulou et al., 2011) is already known, the effect of a brand’s crisis
response to brand equity is not yet totally understood before this research. Past research has
not examined to what degree post-crisis responses (Benoit, 1995; Coombs and Schmidt, 2000)
IJPHM can help to rebuild consumer trust that has been damaged as a result of a product crisis. The
13,2 main takeaway of the paper is how social media helps to manage the crisis and helps in
understanding of managing the crisis.

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About the author

Dr Rajesh Kumar Srivastava has over 30 years of managerial experience in the Pharma industry. He
has organized over ten national and international conferences. He was rated by DNA Newspaper and
Star as Innovative Professor of Year 2013. He has won marketing innovation award for 2014 by
ABPNews and best professor in Marketing in 2017. He has published over 195 papers and is member
of editorial board of many international journals. He is a visiting professor – the USA, Denmark,
Thailand, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Rajesh Kumar Srivastava can be contacted at: srivastava@
vsnl.net

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