Understanding “Baby Boomers” and “Millennials” motivations to interact with brands on Social Media

The emergence and importance of social media and, in particular, social networking sites (SNS), has made it possible for an accessible integration between consumers and brands, by providing unlimited reasons for users to express, share and create content. The aim of this dissertation is to explore what motivates consumers to interact with brands on social media and to understand the relevance of those variables in explaining consumers’ loyalty toward a brand. Members of two distinct generations were studied and compared: Millennials and Baby Boomers. A scale suggested by Enginkaya and Yilmaz (2014) is analysed and comprise five different motivations: Brand Affiliation, Opportunity Seeking, Conversation, Entertainment and Investigation. Concerning brand loyalty, the scale used is proposed by Jacoby and Chestnut (1978). In terms of methodology, the study is exploratory and quantitative. An online, structured and self-administered questionnaire was performed to collect data, resulting in 324 valid responses. The main findings suggest that for Millennials, Brand Affiliation, Opportunity Seeking and Entertainment are the main motivations that drives these consumers to interact with brands. On the other hand, Conversation and Investigation are the principal motivations when concerning Baby Boomers. Additionally, it was concluded that the older generational cohort is more brand loyal when compared to its younger counterpart, where Entertainment, Opportunity Seeking and Brand Affiliation are the motivations that influence their loyalty. Concerning Millennials, Brand Affiliation is the only motivation that influences this behaviour. Lastly, theoretical and managerial contributions are discussed, where some implications for further research are therefore identified.A emergencia e importância do conceito social media e, em particular, das plataformas online, permitiu uma acessível integração entre consumidores e marcas, fornecendo inúmeras razões para os utilizadores se expressarem, partilharem e criarem conteúdo online. O objectivo desta dissertação é explorar o que motiva os consumidores para interagirem com as marcas nas redes sociais e perceber a sua relevância e influência na lealdade dos consumidores para com as marcas. Duas gerações distintas são estudadas e comparadas: Millennials e Baby Boomers. Neste estudo é analisada uma escala sugerida por Enginkaya e Yilmaz (2014) e compreende cinco motivações distintas: Brand Affiliation, Opportunity Seeking, Conversation, Entertainment e Investigation. Relativamente à lealdade, a escala usada para análise é proposta por Jacoby e Chestnut (1978). Metodologicamente, este estudo é exploratório e quantitativo. Assim, é elaborado um questionário online, estruturado e administrado individualmente por cada participante, reunindo 324 respostas válidas. Os resultados deste estudo sugerem que para os Millennials, Brand Affiliation, Opportunity Seeking e Entertainment são as principais motivações que os levam a interagir com as marcas. Por outro lado, Conversation e Investigation são as motivações que mais se aplicam aos Baby Boomers. Adicionalmente, é evidenciado que os Baby Boomers são considerados mais leais comparativamente com os Millennials, em que Entertainment, Opportunity Seeking and Brand Affiliation são as motivações que influenciam a lealdade. Para os Millennials, Brand Affiliation é a única motivação que tem influencia este comportamento. Por fim, os contributos académicos e práticos são explicados, onde são posteriormente fornecidas várias recomendações para investigações futuras