Building engagement in online brand communities: The effects of socially beneficial initiatives on collective social capital

Using social capital theory, this study investigates members' perceptions of socially beneficial initiatives on collective social capital. A total of 359 valid surveys were collected from two types of online brand communities (OBCs). The results demonstrate that high levels of empathy can lead to increased prosocial behavior. In both product and social OBCs, social trust affects affective and cognitive engagement, while reciprocity impacts affective and behavioral engagement. Moreover, our findings show that the link between prosocial behavior and reciprocity is partially mediated by social trust. This study provides several implications for the management of OBCs.     

From Fatwallet to eBay: An investigation of online deal-forums and sales promotions

Sales promotions are an important part of retail advertising strategy. Traditionally, research on sales promotions has generally assumed that the buyers are end consumers who do not engage in reselling, in large part due to high transaction costs. However, the recent Internet related technologies have dramatically lowered the cost of transferring goods between consumers, leading to relative ease of reselling activity amongst individual consumers. Little is known about the impact of this phenomenon on retailer's sales promotion strategy. In this research we investigate the reselling activity in online auctions for products that active deal seekers can obtain at deeply discounted prices from retailers. We further investigate the role of deal-forums in the resale process. Data is collected from an online deal-forum (http://www.fatwallet.com/) and eBay to test various reselling-related hypotheses. The results show that there is a significant abnormal increase in the number of newly posted auctions of a product after the deal information of this product is posted on deal-forum website. We also find that there is a significant price incentive for individuals to resell. The implications for sales promotion research and practice are discussed.     

The Effect of Social Cues on Sniping Behavior in Internet Auctions: Field Evidence and a Lab Experiment

This research explores how social cues presented in an online auction affect sniping behavior. Sniping is a strategy of placing a bid on an item in the very ending stages of an auction with a pre-determined ending time in an attempt to win the auction. Such a strategy conceals the intentions of the bidder until the last moments of the auction and minimizes the possibility of other opposing bidders submitting higher bids due to the short period of time left to respond. The research includes two field studies and a lab experiment indicating that sniping appears to be influenced by social factors, that is, when there are a greater number of bidders in the auction or the auction site provides social information about the bidders, the relative use of sniping increases. This research supports the perspective that bidders rely on others' bidding behavior and characteristics as an indication of the true value of the item on sale, and is one of the first studies in the literature which takes this perspective.     

The double-edged impact of social media on online trading: Opportunities,threats, and recommendations for organizations

While we understand well how social media channels sway consumers, there is little understanding of their influence on online trading behavior. We argue that social media are creating a new class of self-directed online traders by simultaneously encouraging and biasing trading decisions. Through an empirical study, we show that heavy social media users are more likely to engage in online trading but are largely affected by online herding behavior, and are four times more likely to blindly follow other traders. Bloggers, influencers, social network contacts, and social media news shape these users’ online trading behaviors. As online traders influenced by social media are unlikely to receive adequate returns, companies face an ethical dilemma: They could leverage social media to efficiently access funds but they risk inappropriately exploiting the inexperience of online traders biased by social media. We offer a set of nine practical recommendations for organizations to respond to these new challenges.     

Immediate and enduring effects of digital badges on online content consumption and generation

Awarding users digital badges for their contributions such as generating valuable content and participating in community activities has become an increasingly popular practice on user-generated content (UGC) platforms to incentivize user engagement. Beyond their immediate effects, digital badges can have enduring effects on UGC consumption and generation by affecting users’ underlying engagement states. To account for both effects, the authors develop a bivariate negative binomial hidden Markov model of content consumption and generation and estimate the model using a panel data set obtained from a large UGC platform. They find that users increase their content generation but decrease their content consumption immediately after being awarded a digital badge. Furthermore, being awarded a digital badge has a positive enduring effect on both content consumption and content generation behaviors of a user. This positive enduring effect mainly applies to users in relatively engaged states but not to users in the least engaged state. Finally, the authors demonstrate the value of the proposed model with respect to assessing consumer responses to the design of digital badges.     

Mentoring in supervisor-subordinate dyads: Antecedents, consequences, and test of a mediation model of mentorship

We develop a framework to look at mentoring as a consequence of employees' values and beliefs, as well as to explore its role in determining the employees' attitudes towards their organizations. Based on social exchange theory, we hypothesize that employees' levels of individualism, collectivism, and trust in supervisor influence the level of supervisory mentoring received. Moreover, mentoring influences employees' affective commitment and intention to quit, as well as mediates the relationships between the proposed antecedents and outcomes. Using structural equation modeling to examine these relationships, we find that within supervisor-subordinate dyads, subordinates report more mentoring when they have collectivist personal values and trust their supervisor. Additionally, more mentoring is positively related to subordinates' affective commitment towards the organizations and negatively related to their intention to quit. We also find that mentoring mediate the relationship between both collectivism values and trust in supervisors and both organizational commitment and intention to quit.     

From active participation to engagement in online communities: Analysing the mediating role of trust and commitment

The advent of new media and the internet has brought social media to the fore of all brand communications. Marketers are looking at leveraging social media and all its capabilities to their advantage so as to build and manage customer relationships while also co-creating brand experiences. Online communities are one of the most preferred choices of marketers, from among all the tools and features that social media offers. The present study aims to understand how user’s active participation in online communities is instrumental in influencing their engagement with the community. The above relationship is tested on a sample of 203 respondents, using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), where trust and commitment are explored as mediators. While trust is found to partially mediate the relationship between active participation and engagement, commitment acts as a full mediator. The influence of personal characteristics (membership duration, gender) is also explored as an ancillary outcome to the study.     

How social distance affects the intention and behavior of collaborative consumption: A study based on online car-hailing service

In recent years, advances in mobile communications technology have enabled collaborative consumption or product sharing between consumers on a large scale. Unlike traditional consumption, collaborative consumption is based on collaboration among individuals, so that the decision-making mechanisms of individual consumers may be different from those in traditional consumption scenarios. The current study focuses on how the social distance between consumers and drivers affects collaborative consumption intention in the case of online car-hailing services. In this study, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) is used as the foundational framework, and we innovatively add the concept of social distance to the TPB to form a new, and integrated model. We test the model based on data collected from 315 online car-hailing users. The results shows that behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, positively influence collaborative consumption intention and behavior. More interestingly, we find that social distance has both direct and indirect impacts on collaborative consumption intention: The greater the social distance, the lower the collaborative consumption intention. Moreover, social distance also moderates the influence of subjective norms and perceived behavioral control on collaborative consumption intention. To be specific, the influence of subjective norms and perceived behavioral control on collaborative consumption intention is weakened when consumers perceive less social distance. The results suggest that the integrated model has a stronger explanatory power on collaborative consumption behavior. This study enhances the traditional TPB model and offers insight into promoting collaborative consumption in the context of the sharing economy.     

Using online opinion leaders to promote the hedonic and utilitarian value of products and services

Research and applied evidence suggest that online opinion leaders are important promoters of products and services. However, managers and firms need to choose which opinion leaders to work with and better understand how to collaborate with those leaders to promote different types of products and services. Online opinion leaders should be used to promote the experiential (hedonic) and functional (utilitarian) value of products and services over different online forums. In this article, we describe how online opinion leaders can serve appeal leadership functions, serve knowledge leadership functions, and take multiple roles (e.g., experts, celebrities, micro-celebrities, micro-influencers, early adopters, market mavens, enthusiasts). We then present a five-stage planning process designed to guide partnerships with online opinion leaders. Specific steps in the process include: planning (setting the objectives of the campaign and the role of online opinion leaders), recognition (identifying influential and relevant online opinion leaders), alignment (matching online opinion leaders and online forums with the products or services promoted), motivation (rewarding online opinion leaders in a way that aligns with their social role), and coordination (negotiating, monitoring, and supporting the influence of the online opinion leaders).     

Comparing the impacts of Internet technology and national culture on online usage and purchase from a four-country perspective

The Internet has successfully generated an ever-expanding cohort of users for all its major concomitant activities, including information gathering, communications and transactions. So far no attempt has been made to validate whether such a success is so deep as to transcend national cultures. Nor any work has been conducted to compare the internationalisation¹ performances between online usage activities. The current study addresses these two research gaps from the perspective of four countries, i.e. Britain, Germany, Japan and Taiwan. Results show that although the technological forces have been quite successful in internationalising overall online usage activities, they succumb to the cultural forces as far as only the transactions activity, or more colloquially online purchase, is concerned. This indicates the relative difficulty in internationalising online purchase vis-à-vis other online usage activities. Further research on locating a series of step functions or kick-off time points regarding the development of online purchase is suggested.     

The role of cognitive and affective responses in the relationship between internal and external stimuli on online impulse buying behavior

Based on the impulse purchase decision-making process, the stimulus-organism-response framework, and technology acceptance model, this study investigated the role of cognitive and affective responses in the relationship between internal and external stimuli and social-media-based impulse buying behavior. We conducted an online survey and applied partial least squares structural equation modeling for data analysis and found that navigability, price attribute, trust propensity, and self-confidence are direct predictors of online impulse buying. Variety of selection and quality of information had indirect effects on the same through utilitarian browsing, while quality of information, navigability, and price attribute affected it through hedonic browsing. Trust propensity and self-confidence moderated the relation between utilitarian browsing and online impulse buying, while self-confidence moderated the hedonic browsing effect. Furthermore, utilitarian browsing affected hedonic browsing and online impulse buying. Thus, online merchants should control both external and internal stimuli to boost impulse buying through social media platforms.     

Social media engagement: a model of antecedents and relational outcomes

This article investigates individual-level antecedents and relational outcomes of social media engagement. Social media engagement approached in this study is a three-dimensional construct composed of affective, cognitive and behavioural dimensions. Surveying more than 48 Facebook pages, spanning nine product categories and 448 consumers, the results show that product involvement, attitude towards the community and online interaction propensity all impact social media engagement. The study also reveals that high social media engagement increases brand relationships significantly, particularly affecting brand trust, commitment and loyalty. Additionally, community engagement appears as a precursor of brand engagement. These findings provide insight into antecedents and outcomes of engagement for academic research and bring value to online brand and community management.     

Effect of social support on customer satisfaction and citizenship behavior in online brand communities: The moderating role of support source

Customers often join online brand communities to seek support from others when they encounter product problems. Some customers who receive good social support exhibit customer citizenship behavior. This study develops a theoretical model to investigate how social support influences customer citizenship behavior through customer satisfaction with firms in online brand communities. Moreover, the moderating role of support source (i.e., firms vs. other customers) is measured. The research model is tested by using the Partial Least Squares technique. The results show that informational and emotional support significantly affects the customer citizenship behavior of providing feedback to the firm, recommendations, and helping other customers through customer satisfaction in online brand communities. Moreover, informational and emotional support from firms and other customers exert different effects on customer satisfaction.     

Being hybrid: a conceptual update of consumer self and consumption due to online/offline hybridity

ABSTRACT

Emergent mobile technologies are dramatically and rapidly changing not only the way we consume but also the way we live. In theory, it is becoming harder and harder to keep pace with the changes already embodied in practice. First, this paper aims to reduce the gap between theory and practice by introducing online/offline hybridity both as a new kind of hybridity and a universal contemporary human condition. Second, it presents the concept of hybrid space as a new frame of reference, as an overarching conception of our everyday. Third, it proposes the necessary micro-level updates regarding consumer self and consumption due to these changes in perspective. Fourth, it concludes by introducing privatescapes as a new global flow of shared private content with a significant impact on consumer behaviour.     

Say yes to Facebook and get your customers involved! Relationships in a world of social networks

This article investigates the role of Facebook in the establishment of relationships between brands and their fans, extending the link between relationship marketing and online consumer behavior. We explore what drives a user to connect with a brand profile on Facebook, to participate and interact with the community, and to share content published by brands on their own personal walls. To understand this relationship, we employed both qualitative and quantitative research techniques. The qualitative study was based on in-depth interviews of online marketing specialists and on a focus group comprised of Facebook users who were brand followers. The quantitative study was based on a structured questionnaire, which gathered responses from 650 Facebook brand followers. Results show that while Facebook users are willing to connect to brands on Facebook, they do not seem to interact or to frequently share brand content themselves. As a consequence, brands must strategize to establish a relationship with their brand profile fans.     

How advertising in offline media drives reach of and engagement with brands on Facebook

ABSTRACT

Research investigating the drivers of consumers’ engagement with brands on social media is proliferating. However, little is known about how advertising outside social media drives engagement with brands on social media. This study aims to explore the relation between advertising spend in different offline media (TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, out of home), and reach of and engagement with brand pages on Facebook. The study uses a unique real-life data-set containing information about the Facebook pages of 45 brands for approximately three years combined with Nielsen Advertising Spend data. Results showed that while advertising in offline media influenced organic and viral reach, the number of page likes was directly influenced by advertising on Facebook only. It can be concluded that offline advertising is relevant in driving consumers’ online brand engagement; however, there is a unique set of drivers for organic reach, viral reach and likes.     

A comparison of online and offline consumer behaviour: An empirical study on a cinema shopping context

The main objective of this study is to analyse online vs. offline differences in consumer behaviour. To this end, through a proposal applied to cinemas in shopping centres, this study considers values and lifestyles as major factors that influence behaviours and intentions. The partial least squares (PLS) approach is used to evaluate the model. A multi-group analysis is conducted to compare consumers who buy tickets online with those who do so at a box office. We consider 391 valid cases. The results obtained show a link between the use of technology and its effects on behaviour. The relationships between values and behaviour as well as between behaviour and future intent are stronger among online consumers than the effects of lifestyles on behaviour. We consider relevant theoretical and empirical perspectives and offer critical recommendations of use to shopping centre managers, movie theatres, and intermediaries of this sector.     

The roles of perceived risk,attractiveness of the online store and familiarity with AR in the influence of AR on patronage intention

Augmented reality has raised considerable interest over the last few years. But the questions of its benefits for online retailer is still pending. Research has shown that AR has a positive influence on patronage and purchase behavior intention via hedonic and utilitarian evaluation. The goal of this research is to extend previous works by integrating the mediating roles of perceived risk of buying a product on the online store and of attractiveness of the online store. It is also to study the moderating role of familiarity with AR. Two experiments confirm the crucial role of perceived risk in the influence of AR on patronage intention. Moreover, the more people are familiar with AR, the more AR decreases perceived risk and increases patronage intention.     

Differential effects of atmospheric cues on emotions and loyalty intention with respect to age under online/offline environment

Effects of atmospheric cues are usually not compared across offline and online contexts as well as across age groups. This study proposes a model that examines the effect of the atmospheric cues graphics design and information design on positive emotions and loyalty intentions. The model is compared across offline and online stores and regards the consumers' age as moderator. A field study was conducted, which collected data from 363 customers. Hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling. Results for the offline context reveal that graphics design foster positive emotions and loyalty. Information design predicts loyalty. Results for the online context reveal that information design is salient over graphics design. Information design fosters positive emotions and loyalty, while graphics design does not. Further, we found that in the offline context positive emotions predict loyalty among younger customers but not among older ones. In the online context the effect of graphics design on loyalty is stronger and, thus, significant for younger customers than compared to older ones.