Community Members’ Perception of Brand Community Character: Construction and Validation of a New Scale

Abstract

Brand communities offer effective means to achieve favorable brand outcomes, such as enhanced consumer brand loyalty. But what drives brand community success, and how can managers evaluate their communities’ performance? Based on Muñiz and O'Guinn (2001) the existing literature suggests high levels of consciousness of kind, shared rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility among community members, which imply a notion of “brand community character”. This study accordingly argues that community members’ perceptions of the brand community character (PBCC) should lead to positive outcomes for both the community and the brand. Neither PBCC nor its three characteristics have been measured empirically previously, so this study develops an initial scale. Six consecutive studies to develop the PBCC scale demonstrate its reliability and validity, while a further study affirms that PBCC has a positive relationship with relevant brand outcomes.

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