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Generating brand culture in online brand communities
Dr. Sharon Schembri
The University of Texas – Pan American, USA
Lorien Latimer
Griffith University, Queensland Australia
Collective e-brand cultures…?
● Consumers are increasingly performing the role of producers
● Social media
● Online brand communities → e-tribes!
● What does that mean for brand culture?
How do consumers collectively generate
online brand culture?Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Postmodern consumers
● Postmodernism:
● Fragmentation
● Loss of commitment
● Decentering of subject/object
● Reversal of consumption and production(Firat and Venkatesh, 1995; Firat, Dholokia, and Venkatesh, 1995)
● Postmodern consumers
● Multiple selves
● Collage of fragmented representations of selves and preferences
● Consumption is the vehicle that enables consumer to be producers of self
Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Symbols for sale (Levy 1959)
● Consumption is the vehicle that enables consumer to be producers of self…
…and symbolic meaning!
● Goods as an extension of self (Belk 1988)
● Consumption objects are polysemic symbolic resources (Holt 1995)
● Consumers form relationships with brands and brands are active relationship partners (Fournier 1998)
Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Brand relationships● Brands serve as viable relationship partners
(Fournier 1998)
● Dimensions of brand love (Albert, Merunka, and Valette-Florence 2008; Carroll and Ahuvia 2006)
● Consumers share symbolic stories (Muniz and Shau 2006 )
● Storytelling links to social cohesion (Woodside, Sood, and Miller 2008)
Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Brand community and tribalism
● Brand community Muniz and O’Guinn (2001)
McAlexander, Schouten, and Koening (2002)
Cova, Pace, and Park (2007)
Wippenfurth (2005)
Schembri (2009)
● Brand cult (Belk and Tumbat 2005)
● e-tribes (Kozinets 1999)
How do consumers collectively generate
online brand culture?
Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Methodological assumptions
● Consumption is a social and cultural phenomenon (Arnould and Thompson 2005)
● Research focus is consumer experience (Thompson, Locander, and Polio 1989)
● Interpretivist approach → netnography (Kozinets 1998, 2002, 2006)
Research context : www.behance.net
Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Entering the virtual space
www.behance.net
● An online community for creative industry professionals to interact and share their creative work with fellow professionals, potential employers, top creative companies, and editors Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Netnographic method
● Kozinets (2002)
1. Cultural entrée● 3 weeks of covert observation
● Enables identification of voice, style, structure
2. Clearance as overt researcher● Participant observation began
3. Analysis and interpretation● Sorting and resorting of text
4. Member checks● Hermeneutic nod
Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Emergent themes
● Construction of self
● Emotional relationships
o Member-brand relationships
oMember-member relationships
● Storytelling
● Rituals
Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Construction of self
“I'm a freelance illustrator and designer from
Malaysia where I was born and raised with
love (for almost 26years). My artworks are
mostly inspired by nature and each of them
are like my journal: they carry some of my
emotions from time to time and have their
own stories to tell :D”
[Malaysian picture book illustrator]
Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Emotional relationshipsMember-brand relationships
“I am privileged to be in
Behance. The level of
quality and talent is the best
in the world, there is simply
no better network for
professionals. I view my
own work differently and
aim higher as a result of
being in the network. It's
simply amazing!”
[New York cinematographer]
Member-member relationships
“[Artist’s name] your stuff
is amazing... I’ve been
studying your work for
years. Enjoy it to the
fullest.”
[Californian web designer]Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Storytelling
Schembri and Latimer (2013)
“Big pat on the back...I thought for a minute
'yawn' yet more artistic photography...How
wrong...yet so B******** cool...loving the use
of foodstuffs etc etc!!!!!..Great work!”[Japanese graphic artist]
Ritualistic practices
● Liking and commenting
● Scoring
stars, plus signs, numbers, emoticons
“Respect! Your score: 1000000 points”
“Niceeeee... ++++”
● Daily visits
“[Behance is]…a place we like to wander around
whenever we have a spare second.”
(Romanian web designer)Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Contribution to theory
How do consumers collectively generate
online brand culture?
1. Construction of self● Belk (1988); Schau and Gilly (2003)
2. Emotional relationships● Fournier (1998)
● Cova (1997)
3. Storytelling● Woodside et al. (2008)
4. Ritualistic practices● Cova (1997); Cova et al. (2007); Cova and Dalli (2009)
Schembri and Latimer (2013)
Practical implications
● consumers construct brand culture through member-brand interaction …
…and co-construct brand culture through member-member interaction
● Understanding experiential generation of brand culture is an avenue to authentically strengthen brand experience
Schembri and Latimer (2013)