The impact of airline online communities on passengers engagement : antecedents and outcomes

Abstract

Given the huge increase of consumer adoption of the internet and use of online platforms, especially social media networks, companies and researchers need to explore and assess the role this can bring to brands. Today, in the context of the airline industry, many consumers, passengers in our case, are part of and active in online brand communities on social media, mostly on Facebook. This thesis aims to explore the airline online brand communities in social media and further highlight their importance by studying the engagement of passengers in these brand communities and analyzing and testing its relationship with its associated antecedents and outcomes. The multi-dimensionality (cognitive, emotional, behavioral) and duality (brand, community) of consumer engagement, mentioned in the literature, have been elaborated in this thesis, however the behavioral dimension towards brand and community is the focus of this empirical study. Through the results of a survey answered by 1051 followers of the Facebook page of Luxair Luxembourg Airlines, the flag carrier airline of Luxembourg, two motives that affect the engagement of passengers on social media are revealed, namely the hedonic motive and the functional motive. This study also shows that social media passenger engagement contributes to strengthening the relationship between the airline brand and its passengers by improving their brand attitude and brand loyalty. Managerial and theoretical implications are proposed accordingly as well as suggestions for future research.