When is brand content shared on Facebook? A field study on online Word-of-Mouth

Abstract

When implementing social media strategies on Facebook brand pages, companies focus on factors that prompt electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWoM) about brand contents. This study examines individual and collective factors that lead to brand content sharing behaviors. The research conducts a field study of a real brand on its Facebook fan page to gather actual behavioral data. Both declarative and behavioral data are used to explain brand eWoM, based on 250 participants. Empirical results show that the Facebook activity has a positive influence on brand content sharing for active users (posters) but not for nonactive users (lurkers), while brand engagement positively affects brand content sharing for both active and nonactive users. Furthermore, brand community involvement does not have an influence on brand content sharing. Findings offer companies useful recommendations for using the determinants included in our research design to understand and analyze the sharing behaviors of users.