Fostering consumer engagement and the sense of virtual community through branded content experience: the role of information privacy concerns

This paper provides an investigation into how branded content on social media can be used to enhance consumer engagement and the sense of virtual community on social media. Based on the consumer experience and engagement literature, this study examines the influence of branded content experience (BCE) on consumer engagement with branded content, the moderating effect of information privacy concerns (IPC), and the influence of consumer engagement on the sense of virtual community (SOVC).
A survey-based questionnaire was distributed to 579 social media users. The research model and hypotheses were assessed using partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS 3.
The evidence shows that a significant association between branded content experience and consumer engagement with branded content. However, this relationship is weakened by high information privacy concerns. Furthermore, consumer engagement with branded content has a significant effect on the sense of virtual community.
Although researchers have paid considerable attention to consumer engagement with branded content on social media, this study makes a unique contribution by examining the effects of branded content experience on consumer engagement. This study further highlights the sense of virtual community as an outcome of consumer engagement with branded content and information privacy concern as a moderator between branded content experience ─ consumer engagement network.