The influence of online brand community on brand equity: from the perspective of service quality and community commitment

10.6520/CICISA.202112_20(1).1

Wei-Tsong Wang；Wei-Ming Ou；Ting-Hui Chu

Online brand community ； Brand equity ； Community commitment ； Service quality

Communications of the ICISA

20卷1期（2021 / 12 / 01）

1 - 31

英文

Prior studies indicate that brand equity is a key to the success of branded enterprises. Brand equity can not only create added values to the physical products of the firms but also contribute to the effectiveness of marketing efforts. In recent years, many companies have committed themselves to enhancing brand equity by implementing online brand communities as one of their important corporate strategies to maintain long-term good relationships with customers. However, studies that investigate brand-equity-related issues by integrating the viewpoints of the service quality and commitment to online brand communities are scarce. Therefore, from the perspectives of service quality and community commitment, this study develops a research model that describe the influences of the key service-quality factors (i.e., usability, information quality, and service interactivity) and overall service quality of online brand community on online consumers' perceived brand equity. Data collected from 312 active users of online brand communities were analysed using the technique of partial least squares to validate the proposed research model. The results indicate that the three key service-quality factors, overall service quality, community satisfaction, and community commitment are all significant influencers of brand equity. Implications for research and practice are discussed accordingly.