Original Research
Exploring the influences of virtual brand community members’ interaction on brand loyalty
Submitted: 18 December 2023 | Published: 14 August 2024
About the author(s)
Lihong Deng, School of Economics and Management, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, ChinaFei Liu, School of Economics and Management, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China
Jing He, School of Economics and Management, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China
Wenwen Yin, School of Economics and Management, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China
Xiangyin Kong, School of Economics and Management, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin, China
Abstract
Background: With the rapid development of Internet technology and social media, a growing number of companies now not only transfer their traditional offline business interactions to online but also engage in online customer relationship management, market share expansion and brand building. Consumer interaction in the virtual brand community has become progressively more important in consumers’ purchase decision.
Objectives: The purpose of establishing virtual brand community is to obtain brand loyalty, but the existing research rarely discusses the impact of member interaction on brand loyalty. To address this research gap, we explore the influence mechanism between virtual brand community member interaction and brand loyalty.
Method: To verify the research hypothesis, we distributed and collected 393 valid questionnaires on wenjuan.com, one of the largest online questionnaire service companies in China.
Results: Our results reveal that virtual brand community members’ interaction has a positive impact on brand loyalty. In addition, community identification also has a partial mediating effect. Moreover, media richness regulates the relationship between member interaction and community identification.
Conclusion: This article mainly investigates the virtual brand community member interaction behaviours. We also explore the influences of different dimensions of virtual brand community interaction on community identification and member brand loyalty.
Contribution: This article deepens our understanding of online platform members’ participance behaviours.
Keywords
JEL Codes
Sustainable Development Goal
Metrics
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