Reputation Externalities and Responses to Negative Shocks of Regional Specialty Agricultural Product Brands in the Multimedia Era: A Case Study of the “Drug-Soaked Waxberries” Incident in Zhangzhou

Abstract

Regional specialty agricultural product public brands possess typical public-good characteristics, and their shared ownership structure generates significant negative reputation externalities, often resulting in a governance dilemma where “individual misconduct causes damage to the entire region.” The multimedia communication environment, characterized by viral diffusion, emotional amplification, and wide-ranging coverage, further magnifies the impact of negative brand externalities, allowing minor industry misconduct to rapidly escalate into regional brand crises and industrial losses. Based on reputation externality theory and multimedia-driven public opinion amplification theory, this study systematically examines the inherent externality characteristics of regional agricultural product brands, explains the risk amplification mechanisms in the multimedia environment, and uses the 2026 “drug-soaked waxberries” incident in Zhangzhou as a case study to illustrate the practical consequences of negative brand externalities and the limitations of traditional governance approaches. The findings indicate that government regulatory models dominated by ex post accountability and terminal rectification are inherently reactive and subject to regulatory blind spots, making them insufficient for brand risk prevention and control in the new media era. In contrast, peer-based industry supervision rooted in industrial interest communities can achieve proactive risk prevention by leveraging frontline information advantages and endogenous supervisory incentives, providing an effective pathway for addressing negative externalities of regional agricultural product brands. Accordingly, this study proposes a governance framework from five dimensions: legal safeguards, peer incentive mechanisms, platform development, governmental response mechanisms, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. The framework provides practical insights for strengthening the long-term governance of regional specialty agricultural product public brands, mitigating negative reputation shocks, and promoting high-quality agricultural development.