Friends with benefits : can firms benefit from consumers’ sense of community in brand Facebook pages?

PURPOSE : This two-country comparative study’s purpose is to investigate antecedents to, and the consequences of a sense of belonging to a firm’s Facebook community. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : The model was grounded in the theory of sense of community and tested through structural equation modelling. Consumer panels were used via online surveys. FINDINGS : Of the three antecedents hypothesised to influence an individual’s sense of belonging, enjoyment is a very strong predictor in both countries; while the credibility of posts was also a significant predictor for Australia, but not for South Africa. The findings also show no direct relationship between a sense of belonging and continuing behaviour. However, for both countries, there is a strong relationship between a sense of belonging and the involvement with firm offerings in Facebook; and that involvement is significant for the intention to continue engaging with firms through this social media environment. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS : The findings support the framing of the study, in the sense of community theory and enhance researchers’ understanding of the role of a sense of belonging in moving visitors from simply clicking “like” to a deeper sense of engagement with the firm’s social media community and the flow-on effect to managerial relevant outcomes. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : The model is developed from the theory of sense of belonging, thus providing a fresh perspective to this research context. Additionally, there is limited research into the psycho-social antecedents and the outcomes of consumers’ sense of belonging to a firm’s Facebook community.http://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/ebrhj2020Marketing Managemen

Patients’ experience sharing with online social media communities : a bottom-of-the-pyramid perspective

PURPOSE : Despite having inadequate resources, highly impoverished patients tend to seek and share health information over social media groups to improve each other’s well-being. This study aims to focus on access to health-care information for such patients and aims to provide an understanding of how online health-care communities (OHCs), as transformative service mediators, can be platforms for patients with chronic and nonchronic health conditions to share their experiences in a base-of-the-pyramid (BOP) context. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : A large-scale survey among 658 respondents was conducted in a very low-income country. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. FINDINGS : A model of patients’ experience sharing (PES), motivations and consequences for health-care services are introduced and tested. The result supports the PES model for patients with chronic health conditions, showing that utilitarian, hedonic and social value dimensions directly influence PES and indirectly influence patients’ continuance intention with OHCs and patient efforts. However, a mediating effect of PES was found only between the value dimensions and patients’ efforts. A negative moderation effect of medical mistrust was found in the relationship between utilitarian value and PES for both chronic and nonchronic patient groups. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : This study is a pioneering attempt to develop and test a PES model in a BOP market.https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/0887-6045hj2023Marketing Managemen

The process of value co-creation: The roles of consumer engagement, consumer resources, and consumer roles in extended service context(s)

This thesis is grounded in the Service Dominant Logic (SDL) perspective with a specific focus on value co-creation (VCC) arising from three major dimensions: consumer engagement, consumer resources, and consumer roles in extended services contexts. The program of research involves a theory building qualitative study, followed by a theory testing quantitative study to examine the influence of these three major dimensions on the process of VCC in education and health services. The findings make theoretical contributions to the SDL literature by demonstrating the complex nature of conceptualizing and measuring the three dimensions underpinning the process of VCC in services. From a practitioner perspective, the research provides empirically derived models to understand how consumer engagement, resources and roles contributes to value co-creation, and suggests ways for firms to design and evaluate their service offerings

Determining perceptions, attitudes and behaviour towards social network site advertising in a three-country context

Regardless of the growth in social media and social network advertising (SNA), little theoretical and empirical knowledge exists on the differences between countries, and the perceptions and attitudes towards social network advertising. The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationships between users’ perceptions (personal and societal), their attitudes and their behaviour towards Facebook advertising, across three countries, as well as the moderating role of privacy and general advertising attitudes. Online surveys were administered and a convenience sampling resulted in 1,166 respondents. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed model. The research indicates that the social support theory shows promise for examining the perceptions and attitudes towards SNA. Furthermore, the validity of the conceptual model is confirmed in all three countries; however, the strength of these relationships differs. Additionally, it is evident that consumers’ culture influences the role of privacy and trust in SNA perceptions.The South African National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africahttp://www.tandfonline.comtoc/rjmm202021-10-29hj2020Marketing Managemen

Determinants of education quality: what makes students’ perception different?

In recent decades, the commercialization of education has become more apparent and the need for using marketing tools is greater than before. This study aims to identify the demographic and background information of students that differentiate their perception about quality of higher education. A sample of 432 students was taken from five top private universities of Bangladesh to evaluate their perception toward dimensions of higher education. Multinomial regression analysis was conducted to identify the characteristics of students which make their perception about quality of higher education dissimilar. The findings show that status of students for scholarship, extracurricular activities, parents’ education, age, previous result, and university they study in have a significant influence on perception about quality of higher education. Part-time job status has moderate influence on the students’ perception. This research carries value to education policy-makers and university authorities. They can use these findings to formulate regulations, and target specific groups of students to ensure favorable academic environment and increase the brand image of their institutions

Patients’ experience sharing with online social media communities:a bottom-of-the-pyramid perspective

PURPOSE : Despite having inadequate resources, highly impoverished patients tend to seek and share health information over social media groups to improve each other’s well-being. This study aims to focus on access to health-care information for such patients and aims to provide an understanding of how online health-care communities (OHCs), as transformative service mediators, can be platforms for patients with chronic and nonchronic health conditions to share their experiences in a base-of-the-pyramid (BOP) context. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : A large-scale survey among 658 respondents was conducted in a very low-income country. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. FINDINGS : A model of patients’ experience sharing (PES), motivations and consequences for health-care services are introduced and tested. The result supports the PES model for patients with chronic health conditions, showing that utilitarian, hedonic and social value dimensions directly influence PES and indirectly influence patients’ continuance intention with OHCs and patient efforts. However, a mediating effect of PES was found only between the value dimensions and patients’ efforts. A negative moderation effect of medical mistrust was found in the relationship between utilitarian value and PES for both chronic and nonchronic patient groups. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : This study is a pioneering attempt to develop and test a PES model in a BOP market.https://www.emerald.com/insight/publication/issn/0887-6045hj2023Marketing Managemen

Act your age to engage: field evidence on parent versus brand extension

Brand managers have to allocate limited resources between developing new brand extensions and supporting parent brands. We contribute by demonstrating how social media engagement can be optimised by creating a fit between social media language and extensions versus parent brands. This is important given that literature suggests that (a) extensions and parent brands should use the same social media strategy and (b) establishing fit between extensions and parent brands should be the focus of brand managers. This study contributes by analysing over 40,000 tweets made by 26 Google-branded twitter accounts (i.e. @google, @gmail). Results show for brand extension (vs. parent brand) and use of locomotion (vs. assessment) language produce regulatory fit and increase engagement. A 10% increase in locomotive language increased favouriting by 19% and retweeting by 11%. Alternatively, for parent brands, a 10% increase in assessment language increased favouriting by 9% and retweeting by 4%.</p

Boosting app-based mobile financial services engagement in B2B subsistence marketplaces : the roles of marketing strategy and app design

Subsistence marketplaces generate over US$4 trillion annual spend and host fifty million B2B subsistence micro-enterprises, globally. These enterprises are increasingly adopting technology-driven service innovations, including app-based mobile financial services, to boost retail supply value chain efficiency. However, fostering users' continued engagement post-adoption in these markets remains challenging. Addressing this issue, in Study 1, we gather insights into theories-in-use held by app-based service providers, subsistence micro-suppliers, and -retailers. This led to a conceptual model grounded on the stimuli-organism-response (S-O-R) framework and SD logic. In Study 2 we empirically test this model through a field study with a dyadic sample of 253 micro-suppliers and micro-retailers. The findings reveal that relationship-building marketing strategies increase engagement, while transaction-focused strategies hinder it. App functionality (vs. aesthetics), likewise, represents a key customer engagement driver. Increased app-based services engagement positively impacts on non-coercive power and relationship satisfaction. These findings offer actionable implications for policymakers and marketers, emphasizing technology's role in fostering financial and digital inclusivity and efficiency in traditionally underserved B2B subsistence marketplaces