Investigating antecedents of brand value co-creation behaviors in social media based brand communities

Abstract

Consumers’ participation in brand value co-creation has played an important role in brand building since the rise of social media. There is little research that investigates brand value co-creation behaviors and their antecedents in social media-based brand communities (SMBBCs). This research proposes and tests an integrated model of brand value co-creation behaviors on the basis of the uses and gratifications and attachment theories. This study recruited 932 valid brand community members on Weibo, one of the most well-known social media platforms in China. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research model. The research findings confirm that brand community members’ motivations positively influence common identity-based and bond-based attachments, which in turn affect knowledge sharing behavior and brand advocacy. This research provides theoretical and practical contributions for SMBBC managers.