Consumer engagement in online brand communities: A social media perspective

Dessart, Laurence; Veloutsou, Cleopatra; Morgan-Thomas, Anna

doi:10.1108/JPBM-06-2014-0635

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Consumer engagement in online brand communities: A social media perspective

Dessart, Laurence; Veloutsou, Cleopatra; Morgan-Thomas, Anna

2015 • In Journal of Product and Brand Management, 24 (1), p. 28-42

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/227829

DOI
10.1108/JPBM-06-2014-0635

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Keywords :

Consumer engagement; social media; brand community

Abstract :

[en] Purpose – This paper aims to delineate the meaning, conceptual boundaries and dimensions of consumer engagement within the context of online brand communities both in term of the engagement with the brand and the other members of the online brand communities. It also explores the relationships of consumer engagement with other concepts, suggesting antecedents of engagement. Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected through semi-structured interviews with 21 international online brand community members, covering a variety of brand categories and social media platforms. Findings – This paper suggests that individuals are engaging in online communities in social network platforms both with other individuals and with brands. The study also identifies three key engagement dimensions (cognition, affect and behaviours). Their meaning and sub-dimensions are investigated. The paper further suggests key drivers, one outcome and objects of consumer engagement in online brand communities. These findings are integrated in a conceptual framework. Research limitations/implications – Further research should aim at comparing consumer engagement on different social media and across brand categories, as this study takes a holistic approach and does not focus on any particular category of brands or social media. Consumers’ views should also be evaluated against and compared with marketing managers’ understanding of consumer engagement. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the fast-growing and fragmented consumer engagement literature by refining the understanding of its dimensions and situating it in a network of conceptual relationships. It focusses on online brand communities in rich social media contexts to tap into the core social and interactive characteristics of engagement.

Disciplines :

Marketing

Author, co-author :

Dessart, Laurence ; Université de Liège - ULiège > HEC Liège : UER > Marketing et intelligence stratégique

Veloutsou, Cleopatra

Morgan-Thomas, Anna

Language :

English

Title :

Consumer engagement in online brand communities: A social media perspective

Publication date :

2015

Journal title :

Journal of Product and Brand Management

ISSN :

1061-0421

eISSN :

2054-1643

Publisher :

Emerald Group
Emerald

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

28-42

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 17 September 2018

Statistics

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428 (45 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

16 (12 by ULiège)

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Scopus citations^®

818

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

790

OpenCitations

527

OpenAlex citations

1011

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