Exploring the Antecedents of Brand Loyalty and Electronic Word of Mouth in Social-Media-Based Brand Communities: Do Gender Differences Matter?. Issue 3 (27th May 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rialti, Riccardo; Zollo, Lamberto; Pellegrini, Massimiliano M.; Ciappei, Cristiano
• Is Part Of: Journal of global marketing. Volume 30:Issue 3(2017)
• Page Start: 147
• Page End: 160
• Publication Date: 2017-05-27
• Subjects: Social media marketing -- brand communities -- social-media-based brand communities -- gender -- gender differences -- brand loyalty; Export marketing -- Periodicals; Marketing -- Periodicals; 658.84
• DOI: 10.1080/08911762.2017.1306899
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0891-1762

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Recently, social media have emerged as key marketing communication channels. In this context, consumers are increasingly gathering in online communities which have been identified as social-media-based brand communities (SMBBCs). However, notwithstanding scholars' attention towards SMBBCs, the role of consumers' gender in developing brand loyalty intention (BLI) has been scarcely explored by literature. Moreover, scant attention has been given to the analysis of whether gender is related to different propensities towards brand recommendation—identified as a proactive behavior towards a positive electronic word of-mouth diffusion (E-WOM)—in the social media context. Hence, this research aims to explore the antecedents of BLI and E-WOM by focusing on consumers' gender differences. A structural equation model has been created based on 250 surveys collected among SMBBCs of an American sportswear brand. The results showed that male consumers' BLI is influenced by engagement in SMBBCs. Instead, brand trust was the main antecedent of females' BLI.