Loyalty in Online Communities

Loyalty is an essential component of multi-community engagement. When users have the choice to engage with a variety of different communities, they often become loyal to just one, focusing on that community at the expense of others. However, it is unclear how loyalty is manifested in user behavior, or whether loyalty is encouraged by certain community characteristics. In this paper we operationalize loyalty as a user-community relation: users loyal to a community consistently prefer it over all others; loyal communities retain their loyal users over time. By exploring this relation using a large dataset of discussion communities from Reddit, we reveal that loyalty is manifested in remarkably consistent behaviors across a wide spectrum of communities. Loyal users employ language that signals collective identity and engage with more esoteric, less popular content, indicating they may play a curational role in surfacing new material. Loyal communities have denser user-user interaction networks and lower rates of triadic closure, suggesting that community-level loyalty is associated with more cohesive interactions and less fragmentation into subgroups. We exploit these general patterns to predict future rates of loyalty. Our results show that a user's propensity to become loyal is apparent from their first interactions with a community, suggesting that some users are intrinsically loyal from the very beginning.Comment: Extended version of a paper appearing in the Proceedings of ICWSM 2017 (with the same title); please cite the official ICWSM versio

The Impact of Brands on People, Markets and Society:Build Bridge Bond Method for Sustainable Brand Leadership

The Impact of Brands on People, Markets and Society Build Bridge Bond Method for Sustainable Brand Leadership Authorized translation of the chapter ‘Impact of brands on people, markets and society’ (prepublication Build Bridge Bond, method for sustainable leadership and building future-proof trust) published in the Dutch language edition Strategisch merkenmanagement, 4rd Edition by Kevin Lane Keller, Ruud Heijenga and Erik Schoppen, Pearson Benelux BV, Copyright © 2015. The summary in this publication is a prepublication from the book Build Bridge Bond (prepress). The Build Bridge Bond method for sustainable brand leadership is a scientifically substantiated management method for building strong mission-driven brands, brand trust and sustainable brand relationships. It was developed by H.S. (Erik) Schoppen and investigated by him at the University of Groningen (Social and Behavioral Sciences) during his doctoral research into trust in sustainability. The abridged version of the BBB method in this prepublication deals with mental brand policy from a macro-economic, a brand strategic and a neuroscientific perspective – because brands and markets cannot exist without people. The method is applicable to issues involving strategic brand and design management in which brand perception, brand experience, brand interaction and brand trust play an integral role. In addition to knowledge regarding sustainable leadership, trust and behavioral change, it also provides insight into human decision-making behavior, emotions, motives and driving forces. ‘Human-centred’ innovation and brand policy can lead to greater awareness and involvement, stronger brand relationships and a more robust brand trust. This leads to a stronger, independent and more prosocial brand, and a sustainably higher brand equity; organisational capital that in turn can contribute to responsible and future-oriented innovation

The mediated effect of social presence on social commerce WOM behavior

Based on expectation disconfirmation theory, this study analyzes how attitudes (satisfaction and loyalty) influence interaction intention (sWOM) and, consequently, active and passive sWOM behavior. It does so by assessing the mediating role of social presence on sWOM intention and behavior. The empirical results provide several contributions. First, knowing how to increase active sWOM contributes to bridging the gap regarding how to enhance interactions between users. Second, fostering active sWOM on social commerce websites will provide companies with more positive user-generated content, since this active sWOM comes from satisfied and loyal users, and it is assumed that they will rate the product positively and report a good experience. Third, companies can benefit more from users if users interact with other users by sharing their experiences. This study sheds light on how social presence can mediate the relationship between intention and behavior, particularly when it comes to increasing active participation and brand promotion. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Artificial Empathy in Marketing Interactions: Bridging the Human-AI Gap in Affective and Social Customer Experience

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform firm-customer interactions. However, current AI marketing agents are often perceived as cold and uncaring and can be poor substitutes for human-based interactions. Addressing this issue, this article argues that artificial empathy needs to become an important design consideration in the next generation of AI marketing applications. Drawing from research in diverse disciplines, we develop a systematic framework for integrating artificial empathy into AI-enabled marketing interactions. We elaborate on the key components of artificial empathy and how each component can be implemented in AI marketing agents. We further explicate and test how artificial empathy generates value for both customers and firms by bridging the AI-human gap in affective and social customer experience. Recognizing that artificial empathy may not always be desirable or relevant, we identify the requirements for artificial empathy to create value and deduce situations where it is unnecessary and, in some cases, harmful

Towards a co-creation framework in the retail banking services industry: a cross-cultural analysis

An underlying theme in modern marketing is the notion that value is not solely created within the boundaries of the firm, it is created co-jointly with outside parties. This paper aims to study the outcomes of co-creation from a customer perspective. Specifically, it examines the effects of co-creation on customer satisfaction, loyalty and word-of-mouth (WOM) within the banking services industry. Furthermore, we consider potential differences between consumers from Spain and the UK, thus incorporating cross-cultural aspects in our research. The research demonstrates that firms should not only respond to the differences that exist within different cultural contexts and incorporate these in co-creation initiatives; more importantly, firms should undertake co-creation activities themselves as these can result in customers who are more satisfied, loyal to the company and more likely to carry out positive WOM, which can ultimately lead to new customers

Bridging the gap between brand gender and brand loyalty on social media: exploring the mediating effects

Brand gender has been suggested to influence consumer’s responses to the brand. The aim of this research was to deepen the understanding of the relationship between brand gender and brand loyalty by developing a research model to test the relationships among brand gender, active consumer engagement with the brand on social media, perceived quality, brand love and brand loyalty. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. The results support the importance of active consumer brand-engagement, perceived quality and brand love in underpinning the underlying process between brand gender and brand loyalty. Hence, this research complements prior work on brand gender and confirms the important benefits of a clear brand gender positioning by showing that a strong gender identity will enhance loyalty towards the brand.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fan Loyalty Toward International Football Team: The Role of Brand Image

The study of fan loyalty in sports marketing mostly is focused on spectator attachment and brand athlete. However, lack of studies examines the fan loyalty formulation toward the international team using brand image. This study aims to examine the influence of two brand image dimensions (attributes and benefits) in creating fan loyalty toward the international team. This study applies the covariance-based structural equation model for analyzing the data. The sample consists of 335 international team football fans in Indonesia. These results reveal that both attributes and benefits are pivotal factors in influencing attitudinal loyalty as well as behavioral loyalty. Further, the result shows that the effect of attributes on attitudinal loyalty is higher compared to behavioural loyalty. These findings extend the existing knowledge on the relationship between brand image and customer loyalty in a sports context and provide useful implications for practitioners to retain their fan loyalty

The Altruistic Connection: Unraveling How Altruism Drives Eco-Friendly Consumer Behavior in Green Marketing (Literature Review)

Purpose: This article explores research on eco-conscious marketing (2010-2022) via sources like Scopus, ScienceDirect, Emerald, and Taylor & Francis. Altruism, acting selflessly for others, significantly impacts eco-friendly choices.   Theoretical framework:  This research examines altruism's role in eco-friendly marketing through behavioral theories. Limited analysis of psychological links and cultural norms exists. Further investigation is needed for sustainable consumer behavior and ethical exchange.   Methodology: In the effort to comprehend the complex connection between altruism and green marketing, a strong methodology has arisen through the combination of qualitative research techniques and a comprehensive examination of existing literature. This description presents the methodological process utilized to examine the impact of altruism on research related to green marketing from 2010 to 2022. This exploration involves the gathering of data, its analysis, and the development of meaningful insights, all drawn from reliable sources such as Scopus, Emerald, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis, and Google Scholar.   Findings: In the context of green marketing, altruism is pivotal for comprehending and shaping consumer behavior. Beyond economic factors, it embraces emotions, ethics, and communal welfare. Altruism-driven strategies hold promise for positive change, brand loyalty, and sustainability. Research spanning 2010-2020 uncovers gaps in understanding altruism's mechanisms, contexts, sustainability, trade-offs, extensions, and interactions, necessitating their exploration for effective green marketing and a sustainable world.   Research, Practical & Social implications:  The research identifies gaps in comprehending altruism's psychological aspects, context influences, and sustainability. This enhances strategies for sustainable consumer behavior. Additionally, leveraging altruism supports green marketing's effectiveness, bridges the "value-action gap," and fosters brand loyalty, thereby harnessing its potential for positive change, a greener future, and enhanced brand allegiance.   Originality: Employing qualitative research methods and extensive literature review, this study explores the link between altruism and green marketing from 2010 to 2022. The synthesis of findings reveals altruism's role in shaping consumer behavior, with implications for marketing strategies, bridging value-action gap, and fostering brand loyalty. Research gaps underscore the need for investigating psychological mechanisms, contextual influences, and sustainability

Examining the trip experience on competitive advantage creation in tourism

Researchers thanked for the support by Directorate of Research and Community Service. Directorate General of Strengthening Research and Development. Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education of Indonesia for the funding in year 2019.Purpose: This study aims to examine the trip experience on competitive advantage creation in Indonesia tourism. Trip experience includes transportation, accommodation, tour guide, and tourism activities. Design/Methodology/Approach: The research population consists of all international tourists who visited Indonesia through Soekarno Hatta International Airport (Jakarta) and Ngurah Rai International Airport (Bali). The questionnaire was constructed in English and translated into Arabic and Mandarin. Convenience sampling techniques were used to collect data. Out of 500 questionnaires distributed, only 415 were valid and used for analysis. Partial Least Square by SMART-PLS 3.0 software was used for data analysis. Findings: Result shows that transportation, accommodation and tourist activities are positively significant factors on tourist loyalty and mediated by tourist satisfaction. Whereas, tour guides have positively but not significant influence on tourist loyalty and mediated by tourist satisfaction. Practical implications: The study provides a practical implication which requires a close relationship of state governments and tourism companies in order to have good cooperative and coordination to competitive advantage creation. Originality/Value: As this study is based on recent studies on tourism destination in competitive advantage creation it brings a new insight of analyzing the two cities of highest tourists visits in order to understand the condition of overall Indonesian tourism.peer-reviewe