IDENTIFICATION OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IN ONLINE BRAND COMMUNITIES: A PILOT STUDY


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Özkan Yildirim S., Bayraktar P.

IADIS International Journal on WWW/Internet, vol.17, no.1, pp.14-29, 2019 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 17 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2019
  • Journal Name: IADIS International Journal on WWW/Internet
  • Journal Indexes: Applied Science & Technology Source, Computer & Applied Sciences
  • Page Numbers: pp.14-29
  • Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Social commerce is defined as a new wave of e-commerce in which traditional e-commerce is mediated

by social media and social networking services in order to promote online transactions and

shopping-related information exchanges. One of the main application of social commerce is ‘online brand

communities’. Although utilization of social media in order to advance customer brand engagement has

proliferated significantly in recent years, most of the companies have not met the expected level of

engagement of their customers yet. Overall, the key factors that could explain customer engagement are

not yet thoroughly identified. Therefore, the current study develops a conceptual customer engagement

model that aims to explain customer engagement in online brand communities. Customer engagement in

brand social media is related to interactions and communications with the brand and other customers.

In this study, the antecedents and outcomes of customer engagement dimensions will be investigated. As

different dimensions of engagement can be influenced by factors from different aspects, it is important to

cover as many categories as possible. Therefore, the model includes various factor categories including

social, brand related, self-oriented and contend related factors drawn from relevant literature. The research

instrument was designed, and a pilot study was conducted with 75 participants to assure content validity

and to test reliability. This paper contributes to understanding the factors influencing each dimension of

customer engagement to brand communities.