In it together: brands benefit after a transgression when perceived as co-owners of the brand community

Abstract

ABSTRACT Prior research has found that consumers who perceive themselves to be members of a brand community are more likely to help the brand recover from a transgression, particularly when they feel psychological ownership of the community. We examine whether consumers are also more likely to help when they perceive that the brand is a member, and therefore a co-owner, of the brand community. We find that perceptions of brand membership in the community increase the likelihood to help after a transgression via perceptions of the brand as a co-owner of the community and brand forgiveness. This suggests that brands perceived as members and co-owners of their communities benefit from protections derived from both ingroup favouritism and expectations of group reciprocity. These relationships are strengthened when the brand is perceived as an active community member through the visibility, but not necessarily the quality, of its interactions with the community.