• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.89-99
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• 2021

A brand community refers to a group of people who have a passion and loyalty for the brand, and is attracting attention as an effective marketing strategy to increase brand equity because it actively tends to support and promote the brand without expecting compensation. The objective of this study is to identify factors that are needed for sustainable brand community management. Existing studies on brand community management have mainly been conducted by quantitative methods measuring consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction towards brand community activities, however, this study applied qualitative methods using means-end chains and laddering approaches in order to deeply identify a consumer's desired value on brand community activities. An in-depth interview of 41 members of BTS ARMY, a representative example of brand community, has been conducted and analyzed. The result of this study is as follows. In order to encourage active brand community activities, it is important to provide brand community members with a variety of high-quality brand-related content for a unique aesthetic experience, and a forum where all members can interact and exchange information and ideas to enhance brand value and experience. Finally, to nurture a strong brand community as a partner to co-create brand equity, rather than just a fan community, it is needed to build an environment that fosters opportunities for brand community members to increase self-respect and fulfillment through their brand community activities.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1-29
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• 2007

The brand-based online community recently plays an important roles for consumers to facilitates searching and sharing information among them. Firms often find such a brand community as a critical channel to gain collective intelligence for developing new ideas and products. As a new web platform such as web 2.0 has been introduced, consumers could more easily participate in the new social networks created by sharing mutual value and belief among themselves. Accordingly firms began to recognize potentials of online brand assets and pay attention to the importance of online brand community loyalty. Previous research related to online community tends to focus on identifying the antecedents of community loyalty and their subsequent impacts on brand. They, however, tend to neglect the importance of individual characteristics of online community users. As integrating the fragmented variables with an individual characteristics, therefore, this study reexamined the impacts of interactivity, information, reward, and personalization services provided by an online brand community on the sense of community, community loyalty, and brand attitude. Also, this study investigated how users' individual characteristics(need for cognition: NFC) can play moderating roles among the variables identified in the previous research. A field survey was administrated and 671 valid samples were collected. In order to test the hypothesis we conducted the multi-sample structural equation modeling(MSEM) between two groups(a group with high vs. a group with low level of NFC). Results show that previously identified variables such as interactivity, information, reward, and personalization services have significant effects on the sense of community as previous research demonstrated. Subsequently, the sense of community positively influences the community loyalty and brand attitude. However, when considering the NFC as a moderating variable, we found that the effect of interactivity and reward service on the sense of community was stronger for a group with a lower level of NFC compared to a group with a higher level, while the effect of information providing service on the sense of community was stronger for a group with a higher level of NFC compared to a group with a lower level. This research revealed that NFC can affect the degree of individual perception on the sense of community which has been considered as an important indicator for the community loyalty and brand attitude. Hence, when firms developing customer relation strategy through building an online brand community, they need to reflect customers' NFC and accordingly provide varying degree of interactivity, information, reward, and personalization services.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.35-49
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• 2022

Purpose - According to the recently changing consumer smart environment and consumer decision-making process, this study investigates the structural relationship between electronic(online) WOM information characteristics and brand community experience value types on specific brand reliability and brand transformation. In particular, the characteristics of word of mouth information and the experience value of brand community users were divided into detailed fac tors and approached. Methodology - In order to proceed with this study, we review previous studies and setting hypotheses. The hypothesis was verified through a survey that was conducted for the consumers with online consumption activities in less than six months. With reference to previous studies, operational definition was made for the questionnaire design. In order to verify the hypothesis, 282 people were statistically analyzed through the survey This data were used for AMOS for confirm hypothesis established. Results - eWOM information characteristics were classified into usefulness, timeliness and un-bias, and online community experience values were classified into interaction, playfulness, and virtuality. In addition, it is to investigate the relationship between the brand reliability and user's experience value in brad community. The main results are as follows. The first result was that usefulness and un-bias, which are the eWOM information characteristics had a positive effect on forming brand reliability. However, the factor of timeliness did not affect brand reliability. Second, in terms of user experience value and brand reliability in the brand community. It was fo und that experience values such as interaction, playfulness, and vituality all had a positive influence on brand reliability. Third, it was found that brand reliability has a positive influence on the on-line conversion activity of users. Conclusions - Through this study, the field of online consumer behavior research is expanding, and this study suggested that careful management is necessary according to the type or characteristics of eWOM information. Additionally, it presents the importance of the user's empirical value in the brand community influencing brand attitude and reliability. In practice, the implementation of the marketing communication mix in digital marketing has recently been underway to enhance the conversion behavior of users. At this level, it also reveals the preceding factors that increase user conversion behavior.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.21
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• pp.209-237
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• 2007

This research intends to check what value and convenience the on-line brand community members pursue and how such value and convenience affects brand affection. Researching on-line brand community members of ipod, it was found that their value and convenience is composed of 3 types, namely, functional value, emotional value and self-expression value and the concept of brand affection is composed of 3 subsidiary factors, namely, 'love', 'interest' and 'immersion.' Checking how the functional, emotional and self-expression convenience of on-line brand community members affected brand affection, the following result was found. First, functional value and convenience has significant influence on the love affection only at the level of brand affection and has no influence on the relational and immersion affection. Second, self-expression value and convenience has significant influence only on the love affection of brand like functional value and convenience. Third, it was found that emotional value has significant influence on the 3 dimensions of brand affection, namely, love affection, interest affection and immersion affection.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.399-409
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of virtual community participation and engagement in the brand decision by building community and brand trust. In this study, two theories (Social Capital Theory and Theory of Collective Action) were tested. Both theories were linked based on existing literature, and empirical evidence was obtained through testing hypotheses. Students from five prestigious Pakistani business schools provided a total of 849 replies. The measurement model and structural model were both analyzed using the partial least square (PLS) method. The findings show that virtual community engagement and participation have a positive and significant impact on virtual community trust. Although virtual community engagement has a positive effect on brand trust, we found no evidence of a link between virtual community participation and brand trust. Later, these trusts positively influence brand choice. This study has several managerial implications. The suggested model of this study helps managers to get customers' insight, choose the right target market, and set integrated marketing communication strategies besides social media marketing strategies. The study represents a new perspective of consumer behavior that helps to understand how a customer behaves in virtual communities to trust and take the final decision to purchase.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.30 no.6 s.154
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• pp.916-927
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to identify psychological and behavioral outcomes of commitment to apparel brand community by test structural equation model. Subjects of 317 members for 9 selected apparel communities responded the questionnaire in the home-page or in the attached file. The results were as follows: 1) The suggested structural equation mode was accepted by data from apparel brand communities with hish brand strength(${\chi}^2=97.42$, d.f.=89, p=0.25, GFI=0.92, AGFI=0.88, RMR=0.05, NFI=0.94). However, this model wasn't accepted by data kom apparel brand communities with low brand strength. 2) Three types of commitment to brand community(emotional, continuous and normative commitments) influenced brand identification positively and brand identification positively influenced three types of behavioral outcomes(favorable word-of-mouth, co-production and repurchase of brand). Therefore, managements need to develop marketing programs to promote each type of commitment to their's own brand community.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.241-249
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• 2009

With the recent growth of the Internet, the on-line brand community has been a major vehicle for building a corporate brand asset. This study aimed to identify the effective relationship between confidence, identification, and a brand attitude according to the on-line brand community type. As a result of an empirical analysis, first, the customer-driven community showed higher confidence and identification than those of the corporate-held community. Also, the customer-driven community was assessed more favorable also in the brand attitude. Second, the interactive effect between the community type and community activities was found to be significant in the confidence of the community confidence, and it was also the same for the identification of the community. Therefore, it would be necessary for companies to prepare strategies for improving the level of confidence and the identification of consumers in consideration of the community type for effective brand management on-line.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.27-52
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• 2010

Research on the user motivation of online brand community, the flow, community identification, brand attachment and the structural relationships between them This study is focused on the utilization motives of online brand community (emotional motivation, social motivation, informational motives), and their influences on each motivation on the flow and structural relationships between the brand identification and attachment. For the research, hierarchical chi-squal analysis, was used among Structural Equation Models, to statistically verify the size between the two paths. First, the research has proven the positive influence of user motivation of online brand community on flow. Especially on this research, user motivation of online brand community on flow was divided and analyzed into three motivations; emotional motivation, social motivation, informational motivation, the social and emotional motivation are proven to have the biggest influence on the flow and informational motivation has comparatively low influence on the flow. Secondly, this research will prove that the type of flow built on user motivation of online brand community can give positive influence on community identification and brand attachment. And third, the influence of community identification on brand attachment is very high on the flow. Result will clearly shows the flow built on user motivation of online brand community can help build brand attachment through community identification.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.10 no.9
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• pp.165-174
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• 2012

In recent years, online brand community has become an important means for firms to make, maintain and improve their relationship with the customer. Customers or would-be customers discuss, learn about the products and share passion together. In this paper, we investigate the effects of the online brand community's characteristics and its perception on customer royalty to the community and purchase intention of consumers for the products. Variables of online brand community's characteristics include community reputation, social presence, pleasure, and interactivity. For those of the community's perception, we consider membership, influence, emotional band, and fulfillment of desire. Findings show that the online brand community has indeed positive effects on the brand equity by enhancing the relation between consumers and brand, ultimately providing firms with strategic resources and competitive advantage. Managerial implications are discussed.

• The Journal of Economics, Marketing and Management
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2023

Purpose: This study identified the effects of the three types of consumer interactions on the utilitarian and hedonic values experienced by community members, their degree of participation, and brand loyalty. In addition, the mediating effect of virtual interactivity between the interactions that occur within the online brand community and the value experienced by community members was also identified. Research design, data and methodology: An online survey was distributed, and the data gathered was analyzed using structural equations modeling. Results: Test results showed that product-information interaction has a positive effect on utilitarian value and interpersonal interaction has a positive effect on hedonic value. Human-computer interaction was found to have a negative effect on hedonic value and no significant effect on utilitarian value. Furthermore, it was revealed that among the three types of interactions, virtual interactivity had a mediating effect only in the relationship between human-computer interaction and hedonic value. Moreover, utilitarian values experienced by community members affected their level of participation which ultimately enhances brand loyalty. Hedonic value did not affect their level of participation within the online brand community. Conclusions: When marketers establish online brand community strategies, they must place elements that can directly help the use of brands and products.