Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the brand selfie phenomenon on two different levels. On the level of consumer brand experiences, the focus is on how brand selfie practices add new features to brand experiences and consumer–brand relationships. On the level of marketplace brand image, the authors explore how consumers contribute to marketplace conversations by posting brand selfies in social media and how this practice shapes and changes brand image. Design/methodology/approach The researchers conducted an extensive search on different social media platforms to collect various types of brand selfies. The authors approach brand selfies as rich visual texts and their analysis comprises four key steps: descriptive analysis, response analysis, formal analysis and polytextual thematic analysis. Findings On the level of consumer brand experiences, the findings illuminate how different types of brand selfies extend the brand experience in space and time and transfer it into the hybrid space of the consumer-defined social networks. On the level of marketplace brand image, it is illustrated how brand selfies contribute to the process of co-creating brand meaning in the social media. Originality/value The study proposes a typology of brand selfie assemblages showing how consumers contribute to the visual production and consumption of brand meanings. The brand selfie is a unique material and expressive reality enabling us to theorise new perspectives on how consumers consume brands and how aggregates of brand selfie production and dissemination affect marketplace dynamics.

User-generated content behaviour of the dissatisfied service customer Structured Abstract Purpose This study focuses on the motivation of service customers to create user-generated content (UGC) after a negative service experience. In examining this relationship, the moderating role of "extraversion" personality trait is also taken into consideration. Furthermore, the paper examines how differently motivated service customers react to a firm's service recovery strategies, whilst, insights into the relationship between UGC creation and specific online platform usage are also provided. Design/methodology/approachWe use SEM to test our conceptual model, based on an empirical dataset collected from an online survey research of 239 service customers. The dataset pertains to international travellers and their UGC behaviour after a negative travel experience. FindingsAltruistic, vengeance and economic motivations are strong drivers for UGC creation after a negative service experience. Motivations also correlate to participation in specific online platforms. Furthermore, it is shown that highly extraverted customers create more UGC after a negative service experience when motivated by vengeance. Finally, higher levels of altruistic and self-enhancement motivations correlate with a positive attitude towards a firm's response, whereas customers who are motivated by vengeance have a negative attitude towards a firm's response. Practical implicationsCustomers who share their negative service experience by creating UGC in social media, can be segmented according to their motivation. Service providers should inspect the UGC of their customers to understand the motivation behind it. The motivations to create UGC varies across platforms, and hence, customized service recovery strategies are required. Originality/valueThis paper examines UGC creation in relation to motivation, extraversion, and attitude towards a firm's response. This is the first reported application which collectively examines important issues like these in a unified theoretical framework.Keywords: User-generated content, motivation, extraversion, social media, word-of-mouth, service recovery Article Classification: Research paper 2 User-generated content behaviour of the dissatisfied service customer IntroductionThe web 2.0 interface encourages Internet users to produce user-generated content (UGC), which refers to any material created and uploaded to the Internet by non-media professionals, whether it is a comment posted on Amazon.com, a professional-quality video uploaded to YouTube, or a student's profile on Facebook (Interactive Advertising Bureau, 2008). From a service customer's perspective, much of the UGC is directed at fellow Internet users, which include friends, family, fellow service customers and service providers, through personal communication and information exchange in a variety of online platforms (Sigala, 2008). When the delivered service does not meet customers' expectations, service failure occurs which leads to dissatisfaction (Oliver, 1...

The transparency of social Web paves the way for user-generated content (UGC) to become a trusted form of brand communication. Research offers little guidance on UGC and trust development in social networking sites (SNS) and has yet to debate the effects of ad-skepticism in the context of UGC and SNS. This study builds on theory to develop a conceptual framework that yields insights into the development of consumer trust toward user-generated brand recommendations (UGBR). A set-theoretic approach using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis is applied to data derived from 303 consumers. The study findings suggest that high levels of trust in UGBR are associated with high levels of trust toward Facebook friends and provide support for the moderating role of ad-skepticism. Benevolence and integrity are found to be necessary/core conditions for the development of trust toward Facebook friends. Ability and disposition to trust are of peripheral importance. The significance of the findings and their implications are discussed.

Purpose Limited research has examined the segment of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs). This study aims to explore how this segment self-presents with regard to luxury on Instagram. Design/methodology/approach We use a qualitative research approach to content-analyze 815 publicly available photos on Instagram. The analytical approach involves multiple stages and yields three key themes. Findings Through Instagram images, UHNWIs engage in inconspicuous consumption via subtle displays of luxury possessions and more cues that indicate luxury experiences, power and social connections. The results further identify four dimensions of self-presentation in luxury consumption on social media: ostentatious, humble, revealed and hidden. Research limitations/implications The study adopts an inductive approach to identify themes related to UHNWIs’ self-presentation on Instagram. Other research could adopt a quantitative approach to identify drivers of the various themes. In addition, the unit of analysis was the photo posted by the UHNWI rather than the UHNWI himself or herself. Further research might explicitly consider the overall profile of each UHNWI and their holistic approach to posting with a view to developing a typology of UHNWIs based on the way they self-present and portray their luxury consumption. Practical implications Luxury marketers should focus on inconspicuous products and experiences that allow the UHNWIs to decelerate and spend time with their loved ones, access rare experiences and demonstrate power via their networks. Originality/value We extend prior research on self-presentation on Instagram. The authors focus on UHNWIs, a neglected yet significant segment of the luxury market.

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