Consumer Behavior

Brand Creativity Under Threat: Focusing on AI-Caused Intellectual Property Conflicts  

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Abstract

This study examines how consumers react when an intellectual property (IP) crisis is caused by artificial intelligence (AI) rather than a human designer. Two online between-subjects experiments tested whether realistic and symbolic threats shape these responses. In Study 1, we examined how realistic and symbolic threats shape brand creativity judgments when participants read an AI-caused or human-caused IP crisis. Results show that an AI-caused crisis leads to lower creativity ratings when people feel low realistic threat, but this difference fades when realistic threat is high. Study 2 adds moral emotion and moral judgment as mediators. Findings show that AI-caused crises trigger stronger moral responses under low realistic threat, which then reduce perceived brand creativity. Across both studies, symbolic threat did not change the outcomes. Overall, the results show that threat perception and moral reactions play an important role in how consumers evaluate brands during AI-related IP crises.

 

 

Keywords: AI, IP Infringement, Brand Crisis, Moral Emotion, Brand Creativity

How to Cite:

Hasan, M. & Youn, S., (2025) “Brand Creativity Under Threat: Focusing on AI-Caused Intellectual Property Conflicts  ”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 82(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.21581