scholarly journals Millennial cultural consumers: co-creating value through brand communities

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 119-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Vaux Halliday ◽  
Alexandra Astafyeva

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise millennial cultural consumers (MCCs) to bring together strands of consumer theory with branding theory to consider how to attract and retain younger audiences in arts organisations. Within that the authors single out for attention how “brand community” theory might apply to MCCs. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is a conceptual paper that reviews and comments on concepts relevant to helping arts organisations develop strategies to attract and retain younger consumers in their audiences. Findings – Thoughtful conceptual insights and four research propositions for further work by academics and/or practitioners on Millennials and the art and culture world are derived from this review and commentary. Managerial implications are also drawn out. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the knowledge development of such concepts as value and brand communities. It also provides an explanation of these concepts conncecting academic thought on value with pressing management challenges for arts organisations, suggesting ways to apply brand community thinking to innovatiely conceptualised MCCs.

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 596-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per Skålén ◽  
Stefano Pace ◽  
Bernard Cova

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute knowledge regarding the nature of successful and unsuccessful value co-creation processes between firms and brand communities and the strategies used to address the latter. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on a netnographic study of the online collaborative platform known as Alfisti.com, which carmaker Alfa Romeo launched to enhance co-creation with its most devoted consumers, the “Alfisti”. Findings – The findings identify three groups of collaborative practices: interacting, identity and organizing practices. The paper details how firm and brand community members enact the elements – procedures, understandings and engagements – of collaborative practices and how the alignment of these enactments impacts value co-creation. Research limitations/implications – The paper suggests that co-creation of value succeeds when the enactment of collaborative practices aligns, i.e. when firm and brand community members enact practices in a similar way, and that co-creation fails when the enactment of practices misaligns. Firms and brand communities use three realignment strategies – compliance, interpretation and orientation – to address the misalignment and failure of co-creation. The fact that the research draws on a single qualitative case study is a limitation. Practical implications – Managerial implications include using realignment strategies to manage firm-brand community co-creation. Originality/value – Creating an empirical-based framework regarding successful and failing co-creation and how the latter is addressed in the context of brand community makes the paper original.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Chanavat ◽  
Michel Desbordes ◽  
Geoff Dickson

Purpose Sponsorship rarely occurs in a one sponsor-one sponsee dyad (single sponsorship), yet a large portion of sponsorship research takes this perspective. The purpose of this paper is to propose a model that reflects the complexity and rich diversity inherent in the field. The sponsorship network model considers the plurality of stakeholders to a sponsorship and their potential relationships to each other. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper develops a theoretical and conceptual framework to better identify the effect of sponsorship networks on consumer behavior. Findings Based on a review of the multiple sponsorships literature, the authors propose an innovative theoretical framework and a set of research propositions. The model considers simultaneously the potential relations between sponsors, sponsees and ambushers at the cognitive, affective and conative levels. Originality/value This research emphasizes the managerial implications for stakeholders involved in sponsorship and ambush marketing actions in order to maximize their investment. The model provides a comprehensive understanding of the complex nature of sponsorship networks and their ability to influence consumer behaviors. These effects are more complex than is currently recognized.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuğba Özbölük ◽  
Yunus Dursun

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the different types of members based on their roles within an online brand community dedicated to Apple. Design/methodology/approach Design/methodology/approach Data are drawn from an 18-month netnographic study, including participant and non-participant observation. Findings Findings reveal that members of the online brand community share a common goal but they are heterogeneous in many respects. In this research, five different types of brand community members are identified: learner, pragmatist, activist, opinion leader and evangelist. These findings emphasize the heterogeneity of the brand community or the differences of members and subgroups they form in the community. Practical implications This paper offers some insights for brand managers. There are different sub-tribes in online brand communities and these sub-tribes develop their own meanings of the brand. This means that online brand communities do not form one single homogenous target group and can be segmented into subgroups. Findings also offer a deeper understanding of negative characteristics of online brand community members. The role “activist” found in this study may be crucial for marketers, as activists can represent the negative side of online brand communities. Originality/value The literature on brand communities has focused predominantly on the homogeneity of these communities. This paper extends the literature by demonstrating the heterogeneity in an online brand community. The paper contributes to the brand community literature by substantiating that online brand community members can be segmented into subgroups based on their roles within the community. In addition, the paper extends the existing literature on brand communities that has overlooked the destructive consumer roles.


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda D. Hollebeek

Purpose While the consumer engagement (CE) concept is gaining traction in the literature, little remains known regarding the ways in which consumers displaying differing cultural traits engage with brands and their differences. The purpose of this paper is to explore CE with brands for consumers exhibiting differing cultural traits, and develop a set of research propositions for these individuals’ cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social CE in brand interactions. These propositions, collectively, reflect consumers’ individual-level cultural CE styles – consumers’ motivationally driven disposition to think, feel, act, and relate to others in a certain manner characteristic of their specific individual cultural traits in brand interactions. Design/methodology/approach In this conceptual paper, literature is reviewed in the areas of CE and its conceptual relationship with Yoo et al.’s (2011) individual cultural values. Findings Key differences between individual-level cultural traits and consumers’ ensuing cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social CE with brands are addressed in a set of research propositions based on Yoo et al.’s model of individual cultural values, from which the concept of individual-level cultural CE styles is developed. Research limitations/implications This research explores differences across individuals displaying differing cultural traits and their ensuing CE with brands, which remains underexplored to date. It also develops the concept of individual-level cultural CE styles, which reflect consumers’ characteristic cultural trait-based cognitions, emotions, behaviors, and social dynamics in engaging with particular brands. Practical implications The outlined managerial implications reveal that unique marketing approaches are expected to be effective for engaging consumers exhibiting different cultural traits with brands, based on their distinctive CE styles (e.g. focusing on personalized interactions/interactions that stress consumers’ similarity to and fit with salient others for individualist/collectivist consumers, respectively). Originality/value This paper makes two important theoretical contributions. First, by offering a conceptual analysis of consumers displaying differing cultural traits and their ensuing engagement with brands, it provides an early attempt to explore individual-level cultural CE-based differences. Second, it develops the concept of individual-level cultural CE styles, which is expected to hold important theoretical and managerial implications.


2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Ann Flurry ◽  
Krist R. Swimberghe ◽  
Janna M. Parker

Purpose – Online communities designed to appeal to children are on the rise. The success of this marketplace phenomenon indicates that adolescents are likely candidates for brand community membership; however, the literature has yet to examine this trend. This research aims to address this gap and establish the likely existence of brand community involvement among adolescents. It further seeks to explore the characteristics which may differentiate children who are more likely to become involved in brand communities and examine what impact their involvement may have on adolescents' psychological well-being. Design/methodology/approach – A national online panel was employed to collect survey data from respondents aged 7-18 and their parents. Findings – The results support the existence of a high brand community involvement segment among adolescents. Adolescents high in brand community involvement are found to display noteworthy differences in attitudes, values, and marketplace behaviors. Several interesting avenues of future research are proposed. Originality/value – To the authors' knowledge this is the first study attempting to measure differences between adolescents who measure high and low in brand community involvement. Of particular interest are the results indicating that adolescents involved in brand communities may have important distinguishing attitudes and values and exhibit noteworthy differences in their marketplace behavior.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard Cova ◽  
Bernard Paranque

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore brand transformation and the value slippage that can ensue. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper drawing upon a solid bibliographic base; its intended contribution is to create a linkage among constructs. It mobilizes a socio-economic framework which enables the multiple transformations of the brand to be monitored. Two case vignettes of Nutella brand are used to discuss this brand transformation framework. Findings – The framework identifies four key brand transformation practices: brand appropriation by consumers forming a brand community, brand “surfeiting” through brand community actions, brand genericization throughout the society and brand regeneration in the market. The discussion highlights four categories of value slippage effects that enable us to ascertain whether the use value generated by the brand community slips – or does not – to another actor who captures it in the form of use or exchange value. Research limitations/implications – This paper is a conceptual paper. Practical implications – The challenge for the firm is, therefore, to play an active role in these dynamics to gain ownership of new value that emerges beyond its confines and to offer its shareholders and/or external investors with new spaces within which to grow the value of their capital. Originality/value – Value slippage concerns the way any actors involved in these processes, particularly brand community members, exploit brand transformation for their own benefit.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamini Manikam ◽  
Rebekah Russell-Bennett

Purpose – Despite the importance of theory as a driving framework, many social marketers either fail to explicitly use theory as the basis of designing social marketing interventions or default to familiar theories which may not accurately reflect the nature of the behavioural issue. The purpose of this paper is therefore to propose and demonstrate the social marketing theory (SMT)-based approach for designing social marketing interventions, campaigns or tools. Design/methodology/approach – This conceptual paper proposes a four-step process and illustrates this process by applying the SMT-based approach to the digital component of a social marketing intervention for preventing domestic violence. Findings – For effective social marketing interventions, the underpinning theory must reflect consumer insights and key behavioural drivers and be used explicitly in the design process. Practical implications – Social marketing practitioners do not always understand how to use theory in the design of interventions, campaigns or tools, and scholars do not always understand how to translate theories into practice. This paper outlines a process and illustrates how theory can be selected and applied. Originality/value – This paper proposes a process for theory selection and use in a social marketing context.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 750-763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Hietanen ◽  
Pekka Mattila ◽  
Antti Sihvonen ◽  
Henrikki Tikkanen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to continue the emerging stream of literature that has found knockoffs and counterfeits to be unobtrusive or even beneficial to luxury companies by analyzing how they produce paradoxes of meaning and contribute to the renewal of luxury markets. This is done by exploring them as doppelgänger brand images that reappropriate brand imagery for their own purposes. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper that focuses on the role of knockoffs and counterfeits in the renewal of luxury markets. Findings The findings highlight how knockoffs and counterfeits can contribute to the emergence and cyclical diffusion of luxury. As luxury offerings are introduced to the market, knockoffs and counterfeits accelerate the snob effect, aid in anchoring trends and contribute to induced obsolescence. During diffusion, knockoffs and counterfeits can strengthen aspiration, bandwagon and herding effects. In doing so, knockoffs and counterfeits create a paradox as they simultaneously legitimize the idea of the “authenticity” of genuine offerings through their presence in the market and create cyclical demand for novel offerings by undermining the authenticity claims of existing luxury offerings. Thus, knockoffs and counterfeits can be understood as a paradox of luxury markets that contributes to the market cyclicality not despite but because of this paradoxical interplay. Originality/value While research on knockoffs and counterfeiting is plentiful in the field of marketing, this is among the few studies that analyze how these offerings contribute to luxury markets and their renewal.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 713-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gopal Das

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents and consequences of trust in online shopping from an e-tail branding perspective. Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire was used to collect data online from Indian e-tail shoppers (n=309). A structural equation modelling (CB-SEM approach) was used to analyse the data. Findings – The results found e-tailer awareness, e-tailer associations, and e-tailer perceived quality as antecedents of trust in online shopping. The results also showed online trust positively influences the behavioural intentions, namely, purchase intention, repurchase, and recommendation. Originality/value – This study examines the applicability and branding and brand management principles in an e-tail branding context. Theoretical and managerial implications of these results are further discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Flavián ◽  
Alfredo Pérez-Rueda ◽  
Daniel Belanche ◽  
Luis V. Casaló

PurposeThe automation of services is rapidly growing, led by sectors such as banking and financial investment. The growing number of investments managed by artificial intelligence (AI) suggests that this technology-based service will become increasingly popular. This study examines how customers' technology readiness and service awareness affect their intention to use analytical AI investment services.Design/methodology/approachThe automation of services is rapidly growing, led by sectors such as banking and financial investment. The growing number of investments managed by AI suggests that this technology-based service will become increasingly popular. This study examines how customers' technology readiness and service awareness affect their intention to use analytical AI investment services.FindingsThe results indicated that customers' technological optimism increases, and insecurity decreases, their intention to use robo-advisors. Surprisingly, feelings of technological discomfort positively influenced robo-advisor adoption. This interesting finding challenges previous insights into technology adoption and value co-creation as analytical AI puts customers into a very passive role and reduces barriers to technology adoption. The research also analyzes how consumers become aware of robo-advisors, and how this influences their acceptance.Originality/valueThis is the first study to analyze the role of customers' technology readiness in the adoption of analytical AI. The authors link the findings to previous technology adoption and automated services' literature and provide specific managerial implications and avenues for further research.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document