Beyond positive brand identity: Conceptualizing the Negative Brand Identity System

Brand identity theory has traditionally conceptualized identity as a system of meanings structured around desirable and aspirational values. Foundational frameworks implicitly assume a positive axiological orientation, leaving the valence of identity values under-theorized as a structural dimension. However, the growing visibility of brands organized around transgression, antagonism, disruption, or selective exclusion challenges this assumption. This paper introduces axiological valence as a missing structural dimension of brand identity and conceptualizes the Negative Brand Identity System (NBIS) as a coherent, purposive, and enduring identity configuration in which negatively oriented values are intentionally embedded across core and extended identity elements. We propose a multidimensional framework where a negative axiological essence (disvalue-based core) is systematically articulated through four extended dimensions: negative brand personality, cultural traits contrary to social and moral norms, controversial expressive signs, and controversial product offering attributes. Adopting an exploratory and interpretive research design, we provide a cross-sectoral mapping of illustrative brand cases across five industries characterized by high symbolic consumption and identity salience: fashion, audiovisual narratives, gaming, music, and combat sports. The findings reveal that in these contexts, negativity functions not as an episodic provocation but as a systemic organizing principle that generates identity distinctiveness and coherence. By reconceptualizing brand identity through an axiological lens, this study extends identity-based branding theory and offers strategic insights into the structural viability of negative value orientations in the contemporary marketplace.