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Online customer engagement: Creating social environments through brand community constellations

Wafa Hammedi (Faculty of Economics, Social Sciences and Business Administration, CeRCLe, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium)
Jay Kandampully (Department of Consumer Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
Ting Ting (Christina) Zhang (Department of Consumer Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA)
Lucille Bouquiaux (Faculty of Economics, Social Sciences and Business Administration, CeRCLe, University of Namur, Namur, Belgium)

Journal of Service Management

ISSN: 1757-5818

Article publication date: 19 October 2015

8349

Abstract

Purpose

The emergence and success of online brand communities in the marketplace have attracted considerable interest; this study seeks to determine the conditions in which people create social environments by investigating the drivers of connections to a focal online brand community and other brand communities. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the composition of multi-community networks, focussing on the density and centrality of brand communities.

Design/methodology/approach

On the basis of insights from prior literature, the proposed model examines customers’ social relationships with multiple brand communities. A survey of 290 participants spans eight brand communities. The modeling process used structural equation modeling; the analysis of the social relationship among brand communities relied on an ego network approach.

Findings

Two drivers prompt connections to other online brand communities. First, personal identification with a core brand community enhances connections to other communities. Second, some core brand members choose a functionality-driven approach in creating social environments.

Practical implications

For marketers, this study highlights the importance of positioning the brand community as part of a social environment. To strengthen customer-brand relationships, marketers should focus on community members’ multiple memberships.

Originality/value

This paper extends understanding of online brand community members’ motivations to participate in a focal brand community. It also explains the creation of a social environment, through a careful consideration of participation in different brand communities and their relationships.

Keywords

Citation

Hammedi, W., Kandampully, J., Zhang, T.T.(C). and Bouquiaux, L. (2015), "Online customer engagement: Creating social environments through brand community constellations", Journal of Service Management, Vol. 26 No. 5, pp. 777-806. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOSM-11-2014-0295

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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