Managing consumer engagement in online brand communities

Abstract

The aim of the thesis is to enhance knowledge on managing consumer engagement in online brand communities (OBCs). The other areas of interest are clarifying the meaning of consumer engagement in the context of OBCs as well as determining its potential value and benefits for the companies. Consumer engagement has been a dominant research field during the past years but still largely lacks academic as well as managerial understanding how is should be managed, especially in other than service industries. The data was collected by interviewing different level managers responsible for managing consumer engagement in the given OBC. As a result, consumer engagement in OBCs is defined as cognitive, emotional and behavioral connections outside of the purchase situation between consumer and community, brand and / or the company. The findings suggest consumer engagement to be a valuable predictor of future business performance and competitive advantage. Based on the prior literature and the findings, the study suggests a management model with three sub-processes of building, measuring, and utilizing and enhancing consumer engagement in OBCs. Results emphasize the importance of developing means to measure cognitive and emotional dimensions of consumer engagement.