The Effects of Social Media-Based Brand Communities on Brand Loyalty and Brand Equity

Abstract

Nowadays, the concept of brand community is tied with media. So, the new concept of social media based brand community without constraint of geography is built. In this chapter, we investigate the effects of social media based brand community on elements of the customer centric model, brand loyalty and brand equity through its antecedents (i.e., brand loyalty, brand trust, perceived quality, brand awareness/ association). An online survey with 170 users of brand community of Cinere Company on Facebook was conducted and path analysis technique was applied for data analysis. The results show that brand community of Cinere on social media has positive effects on all elements of the customer centric model. customer/ other customer and customer/ brand relationships have positive effects on brand loyalty with mediating role of brand trust; and loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness/association have positive effects on brand equity. Interestingly, brand trust contributes only indirectly to brand equity. Finally, implications for practice and future research opportunities are discussed.