What drives higher active customer engagement in luxury brands’ social media? Measurement and contingencies

Abstract

This study investigates customer engagement behaviors related to luxury brands on social media, focusing on the motives driving active and passive engagement. Applying a sequential mixed methods approach, drawing on netnographic and survey data analyses, the study identifies 10 emergent themes across intrinsic and extrinsic motives that shape overall motivation for social media engagement with luxury brands. Findings from the netnographic analysis provide empirical insights into customer motivations, which inform the development of hypotheses tested through quantitative analysis. The results highlight the roles of intrinsic motivations, such as entertainment, authenticity, gratitude, experience sharing, nostalgia, aesthetics, and lifestyle inspiration. Further, extrinsic motivations such as social support, utilitarian rewards, and social status seeking are revealed to influence customers' attitudes and behaviors toward luxury brands on social media. The findings regarding the necessary condition and importance-performance matrix analyses provide additional nuanced insights into the necessity and importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for active and passive engagement on social media by customers. The study also clarifies the moderating effects of customers’ value for money orientation and brand identification on the relationship between overall motivation and engagement behaviors. The findings provide a granular understanding of luxury customer behavior on social media, offering valuable insights for luxury brand managers aiming to foster stronger customer–brand relationships.