Do value cocreation and engagement drive brand evangelism?

• Published in: Marketing intelligence & planning 2021-04, Vol.39 (3), p.345-360
• Main Authors: Harrigan, Paul, Roy, Sanjit K, Chen, Tom
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Advocacy; Behavior; Customer services; Defense; Hypotheses; Marketing; Social networks; Tourism; User generated content; Value creation
• ISSN: 0263-4503; 1758-8049
• DOI: 10.1108/MIP-10-2019-0492

PurposeDrawing on service logic, the authors investigate how value cocreation leads to evangelical brand-related behaviors (brand defense and brand advocacy). The authors analyze the interplay between value cocreation and customer brand engagement on social media in driving these outcomes. The authors also consider the role of brand love in eliciting evangelical brand-related behaviors.Design/methodology/approachRespondents recruited through Amazon MTurk were surveyed on social media use in tourism-related decisions. The total useable sample size was 397. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the research model.FindingsValue cocreation and customer brand engagement are drivers of evangelical brand-related behaviors, emphasizing the importance of these two in marketing and how they drive behavioral outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsService logic highlights the significance of value cocreation which, through customer brand engagement and love, leads to brand defense and advocacy. This explains the mediation in our model, where marketers must undertake efforts to support customer brand engagement and brand love.Practical implicationsValue is created by the user for the user through their experiences over time. Brands are owned by customers, and their defense and advocacy of them must be earned. Marketers facilitate customer value creation by providing the resources to cocreate value and love the brand.Originality/valueMost studies investigate value cocreation from an in-role and/or extra-role perspective as to how it benefits firms. Through service logic, the authors illustrate how it leads to evangelical brand-related behaviors.