Factors influencing customers’ willingness to participate in virtual brand community’s value co-creation. The moderating effect of customer involvement
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-08-2017-0232 |
| Date | 10 June 2019 |
| Published date | 10 June 2019 |
| Pages | 440-461 |
| Author | Yang Zhao,Yawen Chen,Ruoxin Zhou,Yinping Ci |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Collection building & management,Bibliometrics,Databases,Information & knowledge management,Information & communications technology,Internet,Records management & preservation,Document management |
Factors influencing customers’
willingness to participate
in virtual brand community’s
value co-creation
The moderating effect of customer involvement
Yang Zhao and Yawen Chen
Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
Ruoxin Zhou
Peking University, Beijing, China, and
Yinping Ci
Guangdong Innovative Technical College, Dongguan, China
Abstract
Purpose –Thepurpose of this paperis to explore the factorsinfluencingcustomers’willingness to participate in
virtual brand community’s value co-creation and helpcompanies better operatingthe virtual brandcommunity.
Design/methodology/approach –Based on social cognitive theory and the features of the virtual brand
community, this paper constructed a model of factors influencing customers’willingness to participate in
virtual brand community’s value co-creation. Then this paper quantitatively analyzed the mediating effect
and the moderating effect.
Findings –The empirical analysis came to the following conclusions: first, in virtual brand communities,
customers’willingness to participate in value co-creation would be influenced by subject factors, environment
factors, brand factors and perceived value factor. Second, customer involvement is an important moderator.
The more involved the customer is, the more he/she will rely on the virtual brand community. Particularly,
customer involvement has a positive moderating effect on the influence of subject factors, while it has a
negative moderating effect on the influence of community experience and community trust. Third, perceived
value plays a significant mediating role between subject factors and customers’willingness to participate in
value co-creation.
Practical implications –The results of this study can help companies better understand the influence of
external factors like environment and brand so that they can better operate the virtual brand community and
encourage customers to contribute to the development of the community and the brand.
Originality/value –Most of the existing studies focused on the formation of virtual brand communities and
customers’participation behaviors, but there is limited research focusing on what contributes to customers’
participation in value co-creation of virtual brand communities. This study, therefore, attempts to bridge the
research gap.
Keywords Value co-creation, Customer involvement, Moderating effect, Virtual brand community
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
In recentyears, with the rapid developmentof the internet and information technology,leading
companies highly value the virtual brand community because of its unique superiority.
In virtual brandcommunities, companies can not only acquire customers’timelyfeedback on
products and services, but also identify loyal customers according to their behaviors
(e.g. giving advice and participating in exciting programs and creative design activities).
With more and more companies realizing the value of virtual brand community, featured
companies worldwide have been establishing their virtual brand community these years.
Successful examples in China include Weiphone (the Chinese virtual brand community of
Apple Inc.), Huafen Club (the fan club of Huawei) and Xiaomi BBS (the BBS of Xiaomi). As a
Online Information Review
Vol. 43 No. 3, 2019
pp. 440-461
© Emerald PublishingLimited
1468-4527
DOI 10.1108/OIR-08-2017-0232
Received 10 August 2017
Revised 8 June 2018
29 August 2018
Accepted 28 October 2018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/1468-4527.htm
440
OIR
43,3
virtual brand community that has millions of active users, Huafen Club has over 40m
registered users, and the average posting amount is above 200,000 per day. User-generated
content in this club has been a strong and convincing advertisement for Huawei. Moreover,
by participating in activities of the virtual brand community, customers can satisfy their
demand, such as helping improve products/services and getting rewards and trust from
other community members. It allows customers to perceive more value from this brand, and
in turn, further reinforces their willingness to participate in value co-creation.
As mentioned above, customers’participation in value co-creation is beneficial t o companies
as well as to themselves. From the perspective of companies, customers involving in value
co-creation can help develop new products/services by the wisdom of crowds. Besides,
the feedback from customers can help companies improve service quality, and in turn, these
companies will perform better and gain customer loyalty (Casaló et al., 2007). And for
customers, participating in value co-creation can not only help them satisfy their needs and gain
a sense of achievement, but also give them a chance to gain extra rewards (i.e. material and
mental rewards) from the company, and also gain admiration from other community members.
This indicates the importance for companies to understand the factors influencing customers’
willingness to participate in value co-creation of the virtual brand community because it is the
foundation and the guarantee of improving customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
However, most extant literature focused on the construction of virtual brand
communities and customer participation behaviors (Dholakia et al., 2004; Royo-Vela and
Casamassima, 2011; Kaur et al., 2018). As there is limited research that explores the factors
influencing customers participating in value co-creation of virtual brand communities, this
study aims to investigate the following two questions:
RQ1. In virtual brand communities, which factors will influence customers’willingness
to participate in value co-creation?
RQ2. How does customer’s involvement moderates the relationship between influencing
factors and users’willingness to participate in value co-creation?
2. Literature review
2.1 Virtual brand community
Virtual brand community, defined as “a specialized, non-geographically bound community
based on a structured set of social relationships among admirers of a brand,”is an internet
platform for firms to disseminate product information, conduct service support and educate
customers (Muniz and O’guinn, 2001). As a platform for customers to participate in value
co-creation, virtual brand community has long been a research topic worldwide. The extant
research on virtual brand community mainly focused on the following two aspects.
First, the formation of virtual brand community: the formation of a virtual brand
community is based on virtual community and brand community, whose value is embodied
in attracting customers to involve and maintaining customer relationships. In the era of
Web 1.0, many companies have established online brand communities, which are accessible
through the company’s homepage or online portal. Also, some active customers have built
unofficial online brand communities to respond to the needs of community members by
providing information about the pre-purchase, purchase and after-purchase service.
With the development of social network and social media, more companies and customers
are attempting to form their online brand community (Laroche et al., 2012). These years, the
advancement of social media and mobile technology has enabled virtual brand communities
to be the connection between the brand and its customers (Wiertz and de Ruyter, 2007).
Therefore, the step-by-step formation of a virtual brand community relies on technological
progress and can only evolve gradually.
441
Virtual brand
community’s
value
co-creation
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