Community Members' Perception of Brand Community Character: Construction and Validation of a New Scale

Brand communities offer effective means to achieve favorable brand outcomes, such as enhanced consumer brand loyalty. But what drives brand community success, and how can managers evaluate their communities' performance? Based on Muñiz and O'Guinn (2001) the existing literature suggests hi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of interactive marketing 2016-11, Vol.36 (1), p.107-120
Main Authors: Relling, Marleen, Schnittka, Oliver, Ringle, Christian M., Sattler, Henrik, Johnen, Marius
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brand community
Brand equity
Brand loyalty
Community
Community loyalty
Marketing management
Perception of brand community character
Perceptions
Quantitative psychology
Relationship marketing
Scale development
Validation studies
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Summary:Brand communities offer effective means to achieve favorable brand outcomes, such as enhanced consumer brand loyalty. But what drives brand community success, and how can managers evaluate their communities' performance? Based on Muñiz and O'Guinn (2001) the existing literature suggests high levels of consciousness of kind, shared rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility among community members, which imply a notion of “brand community character”. This study accordingly argues that community members' perceptions of the brand community character (PBCC) should lead to positive outcomes for both the community and the brand. Neither PBCC nor its three characteristics have been measured empirically previously, so this study develops an initial scale. Six consecutive studies to develop the PBCC scale demonstrate its reliability and validity, while a further study affirms that PBCC has a positive relationship with relevant brand outcomes. •We establish a new measure as an antecedent of a successful brand community: the perceived brand community character (PBCC).•The scale is developed in six consecutive studies, showing satisfying reliability and validity.•Compared to other community constructs such as sense of community, PBCC can better explain positive brand outcomes.•We show that PBCC has a positive relationship with relevant brand outcomes.
ISSN:1094-9968
1520-6653
DOI:10.1016/j.intmar.2016.07.002