Some antecedents and effects of participation in Spanish virtual brand communities

Abstract

Virtual brand communities are increasing their importance day by day due to the fact that many consumers are using several online tools to share ideas and contact fellow consumers. For this reason, this work explores some antecedents and outcomes of consumer participation in virtual brand communities. The data, obtained through a web survey using Spanish-speaking members of several virtual communities, show that propensity to trust, familiarity with the community, satisfaction in previous interactions with other community members and communication in the community are the main precursors of consumers intentions to participate in a virtual community. Additionally, consumer participation in the activities carried out in a virtual brand community may enhance consumer loyalty to the brand around which the community is centred.