PENGARUH TERPAAN ELECTRONIC WORD OF MOUTH (E-WOM) DAN PAPARAN ISU NEGATIF KASUS MOHAN HAZIAN TERHADAP BRAND IMAGE PRODUK THANKSINSOMNIA

Abstract

The rapid growth of Indonesia’s local streetwear industry has been supported by electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) circulating on social media. In early 2026, Thanksinsomnia faced a reputational crisis when allegations of sexual harassment involving its founder, Mohan Hazian, went viral. This study examines the effect of e-WOM exposure and exposure to the negative issue on the brand image of Thanksinsomnia products. A quantitative explanatory design was applied to 110 respondents selected through purposive sampling, all of whom had purchased the products, were active on social media, and knew about the case. Data were collected with an online questionnaire and analyzed using simple and multiple linear regression after validity, reliability, and classical assumption tests. The results show that e-WOM exposure has a positive and significant effect on brand image (R² = 11.6%), whereas exposure to the negative issue has a negative and significant effect (R² = 28.1%). Together, the two variables explain 48.7% of the variance in brand image. These findings indicate that a founder-related scandal can outweigh the positive image built over the years through e-WOM.