TY - JOUR
T1 - Conceptualising and validating the social capital construct in consumer-initiated online brand communities (COBCs)
AU - Li, Stacey
AU - Modi, Pratik
AU - Wu, Meng-Shan (Sharon)
AU - Chen, Cheng-Hao (Steve)
AU - Nguyen, Bang
N1 - EMBARGO 18 months
PY - 2018/11/28
Y1 - 2018/11/28
N2 - Social capital plays a significant role in understanding online community relationships in the marketing field. However, the construct of social capital has not been studied in the context of consumer-initiated online brand communities (COBCs). This paper develops a model of social capital in COBCs as a higher order reflective latent construct having four first-order dimensions. Responses of 353 members from 35 Volkswagen COBCs in China were obtained and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. The data supports our model of social capital in COBCs, providing a greater understanding of social capital in COBCs that will help Chinese marketers utilise COBCs more effectively.
AB - Social capital plays a significant role in understanding online community relationships in the marketing field. However, the construct of social capital has not been studied in the context of consumer-initiated online brand communities (COBCs). This paper develops a model of social capital in COBCs as a higher order reflective latent construct having four first-order dimensions. Responses of 353 members from 35 Volkswagen COBCs in China were obtained and analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. The data supports our model of social capital in COBCs, providing a greater understanding of social capital in COBCs that will help Chinese marketers utilise COBCs more effectively.
KW - social capital
KW - online brand communities
KW - consumer-initiated online brand communities
KW - social media
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85057274944&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.techfore.2018.11.018
DO - 10.1016/j.techfore.2018.11.018
M3 - Article
SN - 0040-1625
JO - Technological Forecasting and Social Change
JF - Technological Forecasting and Social Change
ER -