Overseeing Brands and Client Interaction In Virtual Brand Communities
Article Sidebar
Customer engagement,
Brand-related antecedents,
Social and functional involvement,
VBC governance
Main Article Content
Abstract
The creation and significance of virtual brand communities (VBCs) are of great interest to scholars and practitioners alike, given the enormous shifts in the marketplace driven by technology. This essay's goal is to investigate VBCs from the viewpoints of both businesses and consumers. In order to further our understanding of VBCs, the study synthesises the body of existing VBC literature and identifies areas of future focus for VBC research. We are given a conceptual framework that broadens our comprehension of VBCs and customer involvement. There are three hypothesised antecedents of consumer-VBC involvement: brand-related, social, and functional, coupled with the designation of four crucial elements of VBC (finance, governance, internet use, and brand orientation). The primary characteristics of VBCs and the various but connected viewpoints of the organisations and customers involved are examined for the first time in this study.
Article Details
References
Aaker, D.A. (1996), Managing Brand Equity, The Free Press, New York, NY.
Adjei, M.T., Noble, S.M. and Noble, C.H. (2010), “The influence of C2C communications in virtual brand communities on customer purchase behavior”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 38 No. 5, pp. 634-653.
Algesheimer, R., Dholakia, U. and Herrmann, A. (2005), “The social influence of brand community: evidence from European car clubs”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 69 No. 3, pp. 19-34.
Algesheimer, R., Borle, S., Dholakia, U.M. and Singh, S.S. (2010), “The impact of customer community participation on customer behaviors: an empirical investigation”, Marketing Science, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 756-769, 779-781.
Ambler, T. (1992), Need-to-Know-Marketing, Century Business, London. Arnould, E.J., Price, L.L. and Zinkhan, G.M. (2002), Consumers, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill Irwin, Boston, MA.
Ashforth, B.E. and Mael, F. (1989), “Social identity theory and the organization”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 20-39.
Ba, S. and Pavlou, P.A. (2002), “Evidence of the effect of trust building technology in electronic markets: price premiums and buyer behavior”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp. 243-268.
Bagozzi, R.P. and Dholakia, U.M. (2006), “Antecedents and purchase consequences of customer participation in small group brand communities”, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 1, p. 45.
Bender, B. (1978), “Gatherer-Hunter to farmer: a social perspective”, World Archaeology, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 204-222.
Benhoff, J. and Li, C. (2008), “Harnessing the power of the Oh-So-Social Web”, MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 49 No. 3, pp. 35-42.
Blazevic, V., Hammedi, W., Garnefeld, I., Rust, R.T., Keiningham, T., Andreassen, T.W., Donthu, N. and Carl, W. (2013), “Beyond traditional word-of-mouth: an expanded model of customer-driven influence”, Journal of Service Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 294-313.
Bolton, R.N., Parasuraman, A., Hoefnagels, A., Migchels, N., Kabadayi, S., Gruber, T., Loureiro, Y.K. and Solnet, D. (2013), “Understanding Generation Y and their use of social media: a review and research agenda”, Journal of Service Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 245-267.
Brodie, R.J., Hollebeek, L.D., Jurlic, B. and Ilic, A. (2011a), “Customer engagement; conceptual domain, fundamental propositions, and implications for research”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 252-271.
Brodie, R.J., Ilic, A., Biljana, J. and Hollebeek, L. (2011b), “Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: an exploratory analysis”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 66 No. 1, pp. 314-329.
Buchanan, L., Simmons, C.J. and Bickart, B.A. (1999), “Brand equity dilution: retailer display and context brand effects”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 345-366.
Casalo´, L., Flavia´n, C. and Guinalı´u, M. (2007), “The impact of participation in virtual brand communities on consumer trust and loyalty: the case of free software”, Virtual Information Review, Vol. 31 No. 6, pp. 775-792.
De Chernatony, L. and Dall’Olmo Riley, F. (1998), “Defining a ‘brand’: beyond the literature with experts’ interpretations”, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 14 No. 5, pp. 417-443.
Dholakia, U.M., Bagozzi, R.P. and Pearo, L.K. (2004), “A social influence model of consumer participation in network- and small-group-based virtual communities”, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 241-263.
Dholakia, U.M., Blazevic, V., Wiertz, C. and Algesheimer, R. (2009), “Communal service delivery: how customers benefit from participation in firm-hosted virtual P3 communities”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 208-226.
Fournier, S. and Lee, L. (2009), “Getting brand communities right”, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 87 No. 4.
Garnefeld, I., Iseke, A. and Krebs, A. (2012), “Explicit incentives in virtual communities: boon or bane?”, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 11-38.
Gruen, T.W. and Ferguson, J.M. (1994), “Using membership as a marketing tool: issues and applications”, Relationship Marketing: Theory, Methods, and Applications, June, pp. 60-64.
Hatch, M.J. and Schultz, M. (2010), “Toward a theory of brand co-creation with implications for brand governance”, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 17 No. 8, pp. 590-604.
Hollebeek, L.D. (2011), “Demystifying customer brand engagement: exploring the loyalty nexus”, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 27 Nos 7/8, pp. 785-807.
Hughes, D.E. and Ahearne, M. (2010), “Energizing the reseller’s sales force: the power of brand identification”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 74, July, pp. 81-96.
Hung, K., Li, S.Y. and Tse, D.T. (2011), “Interpersonal trust and platform credibility in a Chinese multi brand virtual community effects on brand variety seeking and time spent”, Journal of Advertising, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 99-112.
Jang, H., Olfman, L., Ko, I., Koh, J. and Kim, K. (2008), “The influence of on-line brand community characteristics on community commitment and brand loyalty”, International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 57-80.
Johnson, E.J. and Payne, J.W. (1985), “Effort and accuracy in choice”, Management Science, Vol. 31 No. 3, pp. 395-414.
Keller, K.L. (2008), Strategic Brand Management, 3rd ed., Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Kim, J.H., Bae, Z.T. and Kang, S.H. (2008), “The role of virtual brand community in new product development: case studies on digital product manufacturers in Korea”, International Journal of Innovation Management, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 357-376.
Kim, J.W., Choi, J.H., Qualls, W. and Han, K.S. (2008), “It takes a marketplace community to raise brand commitment: the role of virtual communities”, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 24 Nos 3/4, pp. 409-431.
Kim, K.H. and Jung, Y.M. (2007), “Website evaluation factors and virtual community loyalty in Korea”, Advances in International Marketing, Vol. 18, pp. 231-252.
Kozinets, R.V. (2002), “The field behind the screen: using netnography for marketing research in virtual communities”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 39 No. 1, pp. 61-72.
Kumar, V., Chattaraman, V., Neghina, C., Skiera, B., Aksoy, L., Buoye, A. and Henseler, J. (2013), “Data-driven services marketing in a connected world”, Journal of Service Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 330-352.
Lam, S.K., Ahearne, M., Hu, Y. and Schillewaert, N. (2010), “Resistance to brand switching when a radically new brand is introduced: a social identity theory perspective”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 74 No. 6, pp. 128-146.
Larivie`re, B., Joosten, H., Malthouse, E.C., Van Birgelen, M., Aksoy, P., Kunz, W. and Huang, M.-H. (2013), “Value fusion: the blending of consumer and firm value in the distinct context of mobile technologies and social media”, Journal of Service Management, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 268-293.
Lovelock, C. and Wirtz, J. (2007), Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy, 7th ed., Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
McAlexander, J.H., Schouten, J. and Koening, H.F. (2002), “Building brand community”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 66 No. 1, pp. 38-54.
Maclaren, P. and Catterall, M. (2002), “Researching the social web: marketing information from virtual communities”, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 20 No. 6, pp. 319-326.
Manchanda, P., Packard, G. and Pattabhiramaiah, A. (2012), “Social dollars: the economic impact of customer participation in a firm-sponsored virtual community”, MSI Report No. 11-115.
Mattila, A. and Wirtz, J. (2002), “The impact of knowledge types on the consumer search process– an investigation in the context of credence services”, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 214-230.
Mollen, A. and Wilson, H. (2010), “Engagement, te Triandis lepresence and interactivity in virtual consumer experience: reconciling scholastic and managerial perspectives”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 63, pp. 919-925.
Muniz, A.M. Jr and O’Guinn, T.C. (2001), “Brand community”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 27 No. 4, pp. 412-432.
Ouwersloot, H. and Odekerken-Schro¨der, G. (2008), “Who’s who in brand communities– and why?”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 42 Nos 5/6, pp. 571-585.
Porter, C., Donthu, N., MacElroy, W.H. and Wydra, D. (2011), “How to foster and sustain engagement in virtual communities”, California Management Review, Vol. 53 No. 4, pp. 80-110.
Porter, C.E. and Donthu, N. (2008), “Cultivating trust and harvesting value in virtual communities”, Management Science, Vol. 54 No. 1, pp. 113-128.
Punj, G.N. and Staelin, R. (1983), “A model of consumer information search behavior for new automobiles”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 9, pp. 366-380.
Ramaswamy, V. (2009), “Leading the transformation to co-creation of value”, Strategy &Leadership, Vol. 37 No. 2, pp. 32-37.
Schau, H.J., Mun ˜iz, A.M. Jr and Arnould, E.J. (2009), “How brand community practices create value”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 73 No. 5, pp. 30-51.
Schouten, J.W., McAlexander, J.H. and Koenig, H.F. (2007), “Transcendent customer experience and brand community”, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 357-368.
Shankar, V., Smith, A. and Rangaswamy, A. (2003), “Customer satisfaction and loyalty in virtual and offline environments”, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 153-175.
Thompson, S.A. and Sinha, R.K. (2008), “Brand communities and new product adoption: the influence and limits of oppositional loyalty”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 72 No. 6, pp. 65-80.
van Doorn, J., Lemon, K.N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P. and Verhoef, P.C. (2010), “Customer engagement behavior: theoretical foundations and research directions”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 13 No. 3, pp. 253-266.
Vivek, S.D., Beatty, S.E. and Morgan, R.M. (2012), “Consumer engagement: exploring customer relationships beyond purchase”, Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 122-146.
Weiss, A.M., Lurie, N.H. and MacInnis, D.J. (2008), “Listening to strangers: whose responses are valuable, how valuable are they, and why?”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 45, pp. 425-436.
Wellman, B. and Gulia, M. (1999), “Net-surfers don’t ride alone: virtual communities as communities”, in Wellman, B. (Ed.), Networks in the Global Village: Life in Contemporary Communities, Westview, Boulder, CO.
Wiertz, C. and de Ruyter, K. (2007), “Beyond the call of duty: why customers contribute to f irm-hosted commercial virtual communities”, Organization Studies, Vol. 28, p. 347.
Woisetschla¨ger, D.M., Hartleb, V. and Blut, M. (2008), “How to make brand communities work: antecedents and consequences of consumer participation”, Journal of Relationship Marketing, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 237-256.
Xue, F. and Phelps, J. (2004), “Internet-facilitated consumer-to-consumer communication: the moderating role of receiver characteristics”, International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 121-136.
Zaichkowsky, J.L. (1985), “Measuring the involvement construct”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 12 No. 3, pp. 341-352.