Community Members' Perception of Brand Community Character: Construction and Validation of a New Scale

Relling, Marleen; Schnittka, Oliver; Ringle, Christian M.; Sattler, Henrik; Johnen, Marius

doi:10.1016/j.intmar.2016.07.002

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 53 publications

(93 reference statements)

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“…“Companies primarily initiate brand communities to achieve favorable brand outcomes” (Relling et al , 2016, p. 107). A community is a place of comfort and coziness, where all elements reach a mutual understanding amongst themselves (Bauman, 2003).…”

Section: Conceptual Development and Research Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brand communities’ relational outcomes, through brand love

Coelho

Bairrada

Peres

2019

JPBM

115

101

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Purpose This paper aims to identify the impacts of brand communities on relational outcomes such as word-of-mouth, advocacy and loyalty through the mediating effects of brand love. Design/methodology/approach In total, 510 valid questionnaires were collected from Portuguese consumers. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings This investigation shows how brand communities may contribute to reinforce the bonds between brands and customers by introducing love in these relationships. The results of this study show that the identification dimension of brand communities has an important effect on brand love, word-of-mouth, advocacy and brand loyalty. Building on the foundations of previous studies, this research also highlights the role of brand love on word-of-mouth, brand advocacy and brand loyalty and the impact of brand loyalty on word-of-mouth, brand advocacy and brand loyalty. Originality/value This investigation makes two major contributions: first, investigating the impacts of brand communities, and second, using the mediating effects of brand love on relational outcomes.

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Section: Conceptual Development and Research Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brand communities’ relational outcomes, through brand love

Coelho

Bairrada

Peres

2019

JPBM

115

101

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is conceptually putative that the bond between consumers and their beloved brand(s) comprises three facets: the consumer, the brand and the relationship (Black and Veloutsou, 2017; Fetscherin, 2014; Swenson, 2016). This triadic formation organically facilitates the development and growth of brand communities; without geographic boundaries, these brand-focused communal bodies (Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001; O’Sullivan, 2016), possess character, social hierarchy, common understanding, accountability and shared rituals among their community members (Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001; Relling et al , 2016; Schouten and McAlexander, 1995). Relatedly, brand community/tribe growth occurs through a shared and interconnected process among members involving engagement (i.e.…”

Section: Background Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Inferred social approval and brand tribalism: a tale of two communities

Badrinarayanan

Sierra

2018

JPBM

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Purpose Understanding consumer engagement in brand-centric collectives remains a critical area of interest in the branding literature. Although various antecedents have been examined in prior research, members’ perceptions regarding how society evaluates such collectives remain under-explored. Focusing on brand tribes as the focal brand-centric consumer collective, the aim of this research is to examine and replicate the effects of inferences regarding societal approval (i.e. reputation, stigma and legitimacy) on members’ commitment to the tribe and brand tribalism. Design/methodology/approach Two distinct video game communities – one typically described in research and media as mainstream (Study 1; N = 242) and the other as deviant (Study 2; N = 926) – are used for data collection. Structural equation modeling is used to test hypotheses. Findings Interestingly, the significance and the direction of the paths differ meaningfully for these samples. For the mainstream community, reputation relates positively to legitimacy, while stigma relates inversely to both legitimacy and commitment. For the deviant community, reputation relates positively to legitimacy, while stigma relates positively to both legitimacy and commitment. For the mainstream community, reputation relates positively to commitment; for the deviant community, this relationship is non-significant. In turn, positive effects are found for legitimacy and commitment on brand tribalism (mainstream community) and for commitment on brand tribalism (deviant community). Research limitations/implications Using data from video gamers within mainstream and deviant communities may constrain external validity. As effect sizes in this setting are cognized, researchers have additional benchmarks for future brand tribalism research. Practical implications Perceived societal approval influences engagement in brand communities, albeit in different ways depending on the type of community. Therefore, perceptions of societal approval among current and potential brand community members must be acknowledged and understood by marketers. Within mainstream and deviant video game communities, such tribal-laden following exists. By further understanding determinants of brand tribalism, marketers and brand managers are in a better position to devise adroit strategies that appeal to targeted consumers, thereby boosting brand value. Originality/value Conceptualizing brand tribalism anthropologically, this study adds to the branding literature by examining cardinal, brand community/tribe-linked antecedents of brand tribalism, whereas previous study explores brand tribalism from the perspective of members’ evaluation of focal brands and existing community members. This investigation is fixated on members’ perceptions of societal impressions of the brand tribe, offering novel insight to brand tribe formation. Further, although pure replication is pursued, the results of the path analysis between the mainstream and deviant community samples vary, suggesting not all tribes are formed equally even within the same industry/context.

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“…Where brands were seen as initiating and maintaining one-way communications directed at target audiences, now, the brandconsumer relationship is recognized as having three components: the brand, the consumer and the relationship (Black and Veloutsou, 2017;Fetscherin, 2014;Fournier, 1998;Swenson, 2016). Brand communities are described as unique, non-geographically oriented social structures centered around a brand (Muniz and O'Guinn, 2001), as seen for example in the World Series of Beer Pong (O'Sullivan, 2016); these are mutually identifiable communities, possessing character (Relling et al, 2016), with common understandings, shared language, symbols and rituals and a social hierarchy (Schouten and McAlexander, 1995).…”

Section: Forming Brand Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A sequential process of brand tribalism, brand pride and brand attitude to explain purchase intention: a cross-continent replication study

Taute

Sierra

Carter

et al. 2017

JPBM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and replicate the indirect effect of smartphone brand tribalism on purchase intent via brand pride and brand attitude. Design/methodology/approach Using survey data from 190 US (Study 1) and 432 Qatari (Study 2) smartphone consumers, path analysis is used to evaluate the hypotheses. Findings For these disparate samples, only the defense of the tribal brand dimension of brand tribalism influences brand pride, which in turn leads to a sequential process of brand attitude and purchase intention. Research limitations/implications Using only smartphone data from the USA and Qatar may hinder external validity. As effect sizes in this context are understood, researchers have additional benchmarks for future brand tribalism and brand pride research. Practical implications The psychological underpinning and presence of brand tribes in society cannot be overlooked by strategists. Such tribal-laden following is too evident within smartphone communities. By further understanding the effect of brand tribalism on brand pride and subsequent attitudinal response and behavioral intent, marketers and brand leaders are in an improved position to develop strategies that appeal to targeted customers, ultimately growing and strengthening their brand value. Originality/value Supported by the anthropological view of brand tribalism, this paper contributes to the branding literature by examining the indirect effect of brand tribalism on purchase intention via brand pride and brand attitude. The posited model, previously untested and replicated here across two ethnically diverse samples, shows more explanatory power for defense of the tribal brand on brand pride as compared to the other brand tribalism dimensions. A novel and valid, multi-item brand pride measure is also developed.

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Community Members' Perception of Brand Community Character: Construction and Validation of a New Scale

Cited by 14 publications

References 53 publications

Brand communities’ relational outcomes, through brand love

Brand communities’ relational outcomes, through brand love

Inferred social approval and brand tribalism: a tale of two communities

A sequential process of brand tribalism, brand pride and brand attitude to explain purchase intention: a cross-continent replication study

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