When Stuff Happens: A Narrative Theory Perspective on Moderator Intervention in Brand Communities

Abstract

Grievance redress is central to organizations' duty to act in an ethical and socially responsible manner. In this era of Web 2.0, customer grievances are often posted to the online brand community forums. Addressing grievances posted in brand communities falls to moderators, who must respond carefully in order to enhance positive emotion within the community, decrease negative emotion, and encourage community continuance. This is particularly challenging given the neutrality and negativity effects of computer-mediated communication. In this paper, we adopt a narrative theoretic perspective to explain qualities of moderator's communication that may be effective in addressing community grievances. We analyze data gathered from the Kraft Food Cooking Community (KFCC). Our findings provide modest support for narrative theory, but suggest that managing community emotion and managing community continuance may not be complementary goals.