Consumer psychological motivations to customer brand engagement: a case of brand community

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitender Kumar ◽  
Jogendra Kumar Nayak

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the psychological motivations behind customers’ engagement with the brands and further investigate the effect of brand engagement on brand attachment and brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical model is tested with the data collected from 282 brand community members during offline brand community events, and structural equation modeling technique is used for statistical analysis.FindingsThe results indicate that brand psychological ownership and value-congruity act as important psychological motivations for customers to engage with the brands. A sense of brand attachment mediates the relationship between brand engagement and brand loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsCurrent study was conducted on a single brand community. Future research testing and validating the proposed model for multiple brands across different product categories is suggested for the generalization of current study results. The identification and validation of psychological drivers of engagement can have major implications on the ongoing research on customer engagement concept.Practical implicationsAn effectively instilled sense of psychological ownership and value similarity notion in customers can help managers in engaging customers and capitalize on their repurchases and recommendations along with their attachment to the brands.Originality/valueThe study is unique in terms of the brand engagement model depicting the psychological antecedents to engagement with the brands and identifying the mediating role of brand attachment between brand engagement and behavioral loyalty.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitender Kumar

Purpose The purpose of this study is the exploration of customer engagement with the brand and brand community (dual foci) inside online brand communities and to assess the simultaneous impact of dual foci of engagement in creating equity for the brand. The role of sense of community is explored as a moderator in influencing customer engagement. Design/methodology/approach The sample is composed of the members of Facebook-based brand communities. An internet survey of 833 subjects provides data to test the theoretical model with the help of structural equation modelling using AMOS 21. Findings The empirical investigation supports the proposed theory except for a few counterintuitive findings. Psychological ownership with the brand and the brand community has a direct effect on customer engagement with the brand and the brand community, respectively. A brand-based value-congruity has a direct effect on brand engagement; however, community-based value-congruity has an indirect effect on brand community engagement through brand community psychological ownership. The moderating effect of sense of community on engagement is also observed. Engagement with dual foci explained a substantial proportion of the variance in brand equity. Research limitations/implications A student sample, cross-sectional research design and a limited number of constructs in the nomological network to explore engagement in an online brand community constitute few limitations of this study. Customer engagement with dual foci has major implications for both the researchers and practitioners dealing with online brand communities. Practical implications To engage customers in online brand communities, dual foci should be the objective of management. A sense of ownership towards the brand and value-congruity with the brand should be aimed to engage customers with the brands; brand community psychological ownership and value-congruity with the community should be embraced by the firms to achieve brand community engagement. A high sense of community also needs to be promoted for strengthening dual foci engagement that further generates brand equity. Originality/value Customer brand engagement and brand community engagement had been studied separately in literature ignoring the fact that brand is the raison d’etre of the community. Taking a dual object engagement perspective, this study has charted out different routes of how to generate brand equity using online brand communities.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khyati Shetty ◽  
Jason R. Fitzsimmons

PurposeThe purpose of this research study is to empirically investigate a hypothesized theoretical framework that captures the impact of brand personality congruence, brand love and brand attachment on brand loyalty in the luxury branding sector.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data were gathered from 416 millennial shoppers with incomes from US$100,000 and above (High-Earners-Not–Rich-Yet). Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses of the framework developed for the study. Dubai is chosen as the context of the study based on the fact that the luxury brands sector is one of the leading industries in the country, and has a sizeable population of HENRY's.FindingsThe findings of this study revealed that brand personality congruence is a critical determinant of brand love and brand loyalty, suggesting congruence between the consumer's personality and the brand is essential to the luxury branding sector. The study also establishes a relationship between brand attachment and brand loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsThis study offers new empirical support for the proposition that consumers' emotional aspects like brand personality congruence and brand love are critical for enhancing brand loyalty toward luxury. The findings from this study can provide brand managers with a guide to managing their branding strategies and understand the strategic role of these variables on communication strategies for a new emerging segment of the HENRY's customer segment.Originality/valueThis study contributes to luxury branding and a new segment of millennials by examining the relationship between brand personality congruence, brand love, brand attachment and its effect on brand loyalty in the luxury branding context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (9) ◽  
pp. 1854-1881 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Dessart ◽  
Joaquín Aldás-Manzano ◽  
Cleopatra Veloutsou

Purpose Although recent research appreciates that consumers increasingly interact with brands in brand communities and that brand engagement is an important and complex phenomenon in brand communities, little is known about the nature of individuals’ brand engagement in brand communities. This study aims to identify brand community members’ segments in terms of their brand engagement within the community; help us understand if these segments use a different approach in the development of brand loyalty; and develop mechanisms that can be used to identify members of these segments. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a quantitative approach and uses a total of 970 responses from members of Facebook brand pages in three popular languages on Facebook (English, French and Spanish). Data are analysed with structural equation modelling, integrating FIMIX-PLS and POS-PLS. Findings The results reveal that cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement dimensions play a different role in driving brand loyalty. Three different segments of engaged consumers exist (emotional engagers, thinkers and active engagers). Variables related to the perceived value of the brand community provide initial explanations as to the differences of the consumer groups. Research limitations/implications The data were collected from a specific type of brand communities (Facebook-based, company-managed brand communities) and are self-reported. Practical implications This work demonstrates the heterogeneity of brand community members in terms of their brand engagement profile and the effect of this profile on the formation of behavioural brand loyalty. Suggestions on identifying members of these segments based on the value that they get from the community are offered. Originality/value This work extends the brand engagement and brand community literature. It is the first work that provides this nature of actionable suggestions to the teams supporting brands with brand communities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-609
Author(s):  
Munyaradzi W. Nyadzayo ◽  
Lester W. Johnson ◽  
Monica Rossi

PurposeTo understand consumer brand engagement processes in luxury fashion brands. Grounded on the brand engagement in self-concept (BESC), this study examines key drivers (i.e. value co-creation, social media marketing (SMM) activities, brand self-connection and brand image) of BESC that in turn, enhance brand loyalty and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) in the context of luxury fashion brands.Design/methodology/approachA descriptive survey approach was utilized and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe findings reveal that value co-creation, SMM activities and brand self-connection are significantly related to BESC and subsequently, BESC is related to both brand loyalty and positive WOM. However, brand image is not related to BESC and brand loyalty but shows a strong relationship with WOM.Originality/valueThe recognition that consumer experiences add significant value to a brand drives companies to engage with their consumers focusing on the self-concept.


2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhigyan Sarkar ◽  
S. Sreejesh

Purpose – The purpose of the present paper is to develop and validate a scale of romantic brand jealousy and to examine the role played by the brand love-jealousy framework on consumers' active engagement. Design/methodology/approach – In order to develop and validate the romantic brand jealousy scale the present study has employed Churchill's methodology. The study has used common factor analysis and structural equation modeling using LISREL 8.72. Findings – This research provides empirical evidence for a three-item romantic brand jealousy scale. The study results indicate that the romantic jealousy scale developed is valid and reliable. It also shows that in contrast to previous literature, wherein authors found that brand love would create customer engagement, the brand love-jealousy framework would act as a better mediator to create customer engagement and also to motivate the customer to purchase the brand. Research limitations/implications – This research was conducted in a specific country (India). It would be more robust if the scale developed by this study could be examined in the context of other countries. Practical implications – This study is expected to help managers to formulate a better marketing strategy to increase customer engagement using the proposed brand love-jealousy framework. Originality/value – This research adds value to the domain of consumer psychology research by proposing that brand jealousy needs to be created along with brand love in customer's mind to augment the level of active engagement.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitender Kumar ◽  
Jogendra Kumar Nayak

PurposeConsidering brand ownership as a cause of concern, this paper aims to propose a conceptual model portraying brand engagement as a function of members’ brand psychological ownership (BPO) and value-congruity and to investigate the effect of brand engagement on brand attachment and brand purchase intentions.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 275 brand community members who do not own the brand. Six different brand communities were shortlisted and offline events were targeted. For testing the hypothesised relationships, the authors used structural equation modelling.FindingsThe results indicate that BPO and value-congruity positively influence the brand engagement of the members, which further influences the brand attachment and brand purchase intentions. It is also observed that brand attachment mediates the effect of brand engagement on brand purchase intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThe primary limitation of this paper is the research context, which needs to be further replicated. The specific customer-segment approach of the study adds a new direction to the scope of brand engagement in the brand management domain.Practical implicationsThe study shows that brand managers need to expand their focus from existing brand customers to non-customers as brand engagement subjects because the non-brand owners can also experience brand attachment and develop intentions to purchase the brand, if engaged.Originality/valueThe study endorses the role of psychological ownership theory in brand engagement research; explores the feasibility of brand engagement among “non-owner community members”; highlights the role of their engagement in enhancing attachment towards the brands and purchase intentions; and sheds light on the blurred boundaries between brand engagement and brand attachment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 3227-3248
Author(s):  
Yusi Cheng ◽  
Wei Wei ◽  
Lu Zhang

Purpose This study aims to understand customers’ watching experience with travel vlogs and its impacts on one of the most prominent manifestations of customer engagement behaviors (CEBs) – word-of-mouth (WOM) – and their travel intention. Drawing upon the theory of resonance, this study incorporated both cognitive and emotional aspects of travel vlog watching experience. Design/methodology/approach Online survey data were collected from 352 participants who have watched travel vlogs over the past 12 months. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was performed for hypotheses testing. Findings The study results reveal positive impacts of source credibility, inspiration, escapism and self-congruence on WOM, which further leads to travel intention. While source credibility is the strongest predictor of WOM, more factors representing the emotional resonance turn out to be the driving factors of WOM. Research limitations/implications This study pinpoints the value of investigating audiences’ vlogs watching experience from a CEB perspective within the tourism setting. Future research is encouraged to explore more types of CEBs in the intersection of social media consumption and travel behaviors. Practical implications Travel vloggers need to convey their intrinsic passion and enthusiasm to create an emotional connection with the audiences. Hospitality and tourism marketers are recommended to promote products and services by incentivizing audiences to engage with the travel vlogs. Originality/value No prior research integrated vlogs watching experiences, engagement behavior and future travel intention in a tourism setting. This study fills this gap and contributes to the literature on customer engagement, media consumption and marketing.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wimmala Pongpaew ◽  
Mark Speece ◽  
Leela Tiangsoongnern

Purpose Business use of social media is increasing rapidly as marketers aim to increase customer brand engagement (CBE) in brand communities to enhance the brand experience. However, use of social media for marketing communications is not well understood. This study aims to examine manager and user views of CBE and effects of perceived social presence (PSP) on CBE in a corporate Facebook environment. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative in-depth interviews are conducted with 18 users of corporate Facebook – i.e. those who visit corporate Facebook regularly – and four marketing managers whose companies operate Facebook pages. The industry is smart-information technology devices, and the cultural context is Thailand. Findings Corporate Facebook sites with high SP functions foster customer engagement on cognitive, emotional and behavioral levels. PSP enhances product knowledge and encourages return page visits. Thus, CBE and PSP build brand trust and loyalty. However, managers may need to focus more on the nature of the brand community beyond the corporate Facebook page. Practical implications Companies that enrich their corporate Facebook with SP features can encourage CBE. Consumers feel more informed about the brand and therefore feel more positively about it, which enhances the brand experience and brand trust. This holds even for lurkers who do not behaviorally engage on the Facebook page much, but who are active in the broader brand community. Originality/value This paper studies the relationship between PSP and CBE in a corporate Facebook environment, providing insights into how PSP influences CBE, which can enhance the customer’s brand experience and contribute to brand perceptions.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anitha Acharya

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to check for the effects of brand familiarity, customer brand engagement and self-identification on word-of-mouth (WOM) communication.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the literature regarding brand familiarity and customer brand engagement CBE) was conducted and data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results revealed that brand familiarity had a positive impact on CBE; self-identification also had a positive impact on WOM communication.Research limitations/implicationsThe model was tested in the context of service sector; future research may investigate in different context.Practical implicationsThe framework advances insight into customer engagement and service dominant logic, which, despite having been recognized for their significant theoretical fit, have remained largely disparate in the literature.Originality/valueThis study is among the first few attempts to examine the impact of brand familiarity on different dimensions, namely, cognitive, affective and activation dimensions of CBE. This study contributes to a more detailed description of the brand familiarity construct and improves understanding of WOM communication. The study provides implications for practitioners and marketers.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Azim Zarei ◽  
Davood Feiz ◽  
Hadi Moradi

Purpose The strategic importance of brand identity management has been emphasized in the brand management literature, but studies that examine brand identity sub-components effects on customer resilience to negative information are very few. In this regard, this study aims to examine the effect of brand distinctiveness and prestige as sub-components of identity on young customers’ loyalty and resilience to negative information through the mediating variable of brand attractiveness in the luxury electronics market. Design/methodology/approach Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected. Based on a five-point Likert scale were asked of consumers and owners of electronic products (mobile phone, tablet and laptop) to indicate their level of disagreement and agreement with series of statements. After an analytic process, 422 valid questionnaires were obtained. The hypotheses were tested by using structural equation modeling. Findings The results showed that brand prestige and distinctiveness have direct effect on brand attractiveness, which prestige had more influence than distinctiveness. The results indicated that brand loyalty was strongly affected by direct brand attractiveness, and that the effect of brand attractiveness on the resilience to negative information was not significant. Finally, the study results showed that resilience to negative information is affected by brand loyalty. Originality/value This study is significant because it is one of the few studies that examines the effect of brand identity on brand attractiveness and consumers’ extra-role behavior, which results in the development of branding literature in the field of luxury products.


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