Drivers of customer engagement in online brand communities

Abstract

Companies are increasingly using online communities as powerful tools to reach their customers and communicate with them. However, engaging the community members and getting them to interact with the brand is an ongoing challenge for most. This thesis aims to understand the drivers of customer engagement within the context of online communities of beauty brands. It also investigates the impact of OBC engagement on purchase intention. A theoretical model is developed in which brand image, customer experience, social affiliation, and enhancement serve as potential drivers, while purchase intention is a possible outcome and customer’s online interaction propensity is a mediator. This model is tested using survey data collected from online communities of beauty brands on Facebook. The convenience sampling method was used to select a sample and Structural equation modeling was the main statistical method for this study. The results indicate partial support for the hypotheses. More importantly, they confirm that delivering a good customer experience and creating a positive brand image results in increased engagement in OBCs, which in turn leads to high purchase intention. Managerial implications of this study are highlighted with an indication of some of the key factors that practitioners should leverage to enhance engagement in online communities.