I am feeling so good! Motivations for interacting in online brand communities

PurposeThis paper focuses on customer engagement in online brand communities (OBCs). Drawing upon self-determination theory (SDT), the research proposes a conceptual model portraying the effect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations on hedonic and utilitarian rewards, which the authors posit will affect subjective well-being (SWB) and brand advocacy.Design/methodology/approachData collected through a questionnaire completed by 367 members of OBC were employed to test the structural theory using partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe empirical results reveal that intrinsic motivations significantly and positively affect hedonic and utilitarian rewards, but the same does not apply to extrinsic motivations. The results also confirm that hedonic and utilitarian rewards are significantly related to brand advocacy and SWB, although with different strengths.Originality/valueThis study provides new insights to the emerging research on customer engagement in OBC, including its motivations and rewards for contributing to these communities, from an SDT perspective. In addition, this paper offers a novel approach, by introducing brand advocacy and SWB as consequences of customer engagement in OBCs.

Understanding the ties between brand gender and brand engagement in online brand communities: the moderating role of consumers’ biological sex

Purpose This study aims to examine how brand gender (masculine/feminine brand personality [FBP] traits) stimulates brand engagement (cognitive processing, affection and activation) inside online brand communities (OBCs). The authors also explore the mediation of this effect through brand identification and brand personality appeal (BPA). The moderating role of consumers’ biological sex is also investigated. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical model has been tested with the data collected from OBC members through the structural equation modelling technique. Bootstrapping is used for mediation analysis and multiple group analysis for testing the moderating effects. Findings Results show that masculine brand personality (MBP) influences brand engagement directly, as well as through brand identification and BPA. However, FBP elicits brand engagement only through the mediation of brand identification and BPA. Consumers’ biological sex moderates the effect of FBP on brand engagement, but no moderation was traced for the effect of MBP on brand engagement. Research limitations/implications The context of the research poses a limitation on the broader replication of study findings. Other limitations include the absence of community-based variables and the focused use of gender centric brands in this study. This research will help researchers to understand the nuances in the underlying relationship between brand gender and brand engagement inside OBCs. Practical implications The managers can emphasize MBP but should not downplay the importance of FBP inside OBCs. To achieve brand engagement, the marketers should curate FBP in a way to affecting consumers’ brand identification and brand appeal. To achieve consumer brand engagement, MBP can be targeted at both male and female consumers, whereas FBP holds more importance among female consumers. Therefore, classifying members as per their biological sex is recommended for better brand engagement from brand gender inside OBCs. Originality/value This study explores finer mechanisms in the relationship between brand gender and brand engagement inside OBCs by charting out the powerful mediating role played by brand identification and BPA. The moderating role of consumers’ biological sex is an important dimension to these relationships, not explored hitherto.

Effect of achievement-related gamification on brand attachment

PurposeThis research draws on self-determination theory and self-construal theory to investigate the effects of achievement-related gamification features on customers' brand attachment in online brand communities.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data (N = 523) were collected from customers of typical gamified online brand communities. The research model was examined with structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 3.2.FindingsAchievement-related gamification features positively affect customers' brand attachment via the intrinsic motives of autonomy, competence and relatedness, but not extrinsic motives. Relatedness motive exerts the strongest mediating effect between achievement-related gamification features and brand attachment, followed by competence and autonomy. Moreover, interdependent self-construal positively moderates the effects of achievement-related gamification features on intrinsic (autonomy, competence and relatedness) and extrinsic motives.Originality/valueTheoretically, this study contributes to the brand marketing literature by identifying gamification as a new antecedent for brand attachment. It also contributes to the gamification literature by demonstrating that achievement-related gamification features strengthen brand attachment via intrinsic motives but not extrinsic motives in the specific context of the online brand community. Meanwhile, the relatedness motive exerts the strongest mediating effect between achievement-related gamification features and brand attachment, followed by competence and autonomy. Moreover, this research provides the first empirical evidence that interdependent self-construal moderates the effects of achievement-related gamification features on intrinsic and extrinsic motives. Practically, managers can learn from the results that achievement-related gamification features should be designed to foster customers' intrinsic motives and brand attachment, especially those high in interdependent self-construal levels.

Consumer Brand Engagement Beyond the “Likes”

In most consumer brand engagement (CBE) scales, indicators of CBE refer to behaviors that are related to social media or online brand communities. CBE also occurs beyond the Internet context in real-life settings. This paper reports the development and validation process of a CBE scale beyond the Internet behavior context. The results of three studies support the content validity, internal consistency, reliability, and nomological validity of the scale. Moreover, the results indicate that brand engagement measured by the CBE scale affects important aspects of brand-related consumer constructs. Consumers with a high level of brand engagement reflected greater brand loyalty, consumer satisfaction with a product, and perceived value of a brand. The author discusses the usefulness of this scale for marketing and psychological research.