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Paper Number
1904
Paper Type
short
Description
Social media groups help foster discussions, but it can be challenging for brands to maintain user engagement and collaborate in value co-creation. Despite a pressing need to comprehend the dynamics of virtual communities, there is a lack of a concerted view of how users engage with brands in virtual communities. To explore this, we use a sport-based virtual community as context since fan engagement levels are substantially higher in sports communities than in other virtual communities. Leveraging the sense of community theory and netnography as a method, we study community formation in a Facebook group comprising fans of a European football club. Preliminary findings reveal a strong presence of membership, influence, and shared emotional connection, while integration and fulfillment of needs are relatively less dominant. As next steps, we plan to examine how a sense of community evolves in virtual communities through a longitudinal approach. Potential implications are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Vasist, Pramukh Nanjundaswamy, "Brand Engagement in Virtual Communities – A Netnographic Study" (2023). ICIS 2023 Proceedings. 15.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2023/user_behav/user_behav/15
Brand Engagement in Virtual Communities – A Netnographic Study
Social media groups help foster discussions, but it can be challenging for brands to maintain user engagement and collaborate in value co-creation. Despite a pressing need to comprehend the dynamics of virtual communities, there is a lack of a concerted view of how users engage with brands in virtual communities. To explore this, we use a sport-based virtual community as context since fan engagement levels are substantially higher in sports communities than in other virtual communities. Leveraging the sense of community theory and netnography as a method, we study community formation in a Facebook group comprising fans of a European football club. Preliminary findings reveal a strong presence of membership, influence, and shared emotional connection, while integration and fulfillment of needs are relatively less dominant. As next steps, we plan to examine how a sense of community evolves in virtual communities through a longitudinal approach. Potential implications are discussed.
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Comments
21-UserBehavior