Customer participation in virtual brand communities: The self-construal perspective

By introducing the self-construal theory to the virtual brand community literature, this study examines how self-construal interacts with community rewards and public self-consciousness to influence customer participation. Based on data collected from two communities in China, we found that independ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inInformation & management Vol. 52; no. 5; pp. 577 - 587
Main Authors Wang, Yonggui, Ma, Shuang (Sara), Li, Dahui
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.07.2015
Elsevier Sequoia S.A
Subjects
Community rewards
Consciousness
Consumer behavior
Independence
Interdependence
Participation
Public self-consciousness
Self-construal
Studies
Virtual brand communities
China
Self-construal
Participation
Virtual brand communities
Independence
Interdependence
Public self-consciousness
Community rewards
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:By introducing the self-construal theory to the virtual brand community literature, this study examines how self-construal interacts with community rewards and public self-consciousness to influence customer participation. Based on data collected from two communities in China, we found that independent construal had a stronger positive direct effect on the intention to participate than did interdependent construal. The effect of independent construal on intention was attenuated by community reward and public self-consciousness. In comparison, the effect of interdependent construal on intention was enhanced by public self-consciousness, but this strengthening effect did not exist for community rewards. A significant association between intention and actual participation was also found.
ISSN:0378-7206
1872-7530
DOI:10.1016/j.im.2015.04.003