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Consumer-Brand Relationships in the Era of Social Media and Big Data

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Tourism, Culture, and Heritage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2021) | Viewed by 32946

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Blanca Hernandez Ortega

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Guest Editor

Department of Marketing, University of Zaragoza, Faculty of Business and Economics, c/ María de Luna s/n, 500009, Zaragoza, Spain
Interests: digital marketing; social media; consumer experience; technology acceptance

Prof. Dr. Carla Ruiz Mafe

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Marketing, University of Valencia, Faculty of Economics, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: social media; neuromarketing; online consumer behavior; corporate social responsibility

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent technological advancements related to social media and big data are changing how consumers communicate, interact, and co-create with brands and other consumers (Blasco, Hernandez and Jimenez, 2016; Kumar et al., 2016; Ruiz-Mafe and Veloutsou, 2017). Social media play an essential role during the customer journey, improving the information obtained about products and services, reducing the perceived risk in brand choice, and increasing the value of the overall consumer experience (Bigne, Ruiz and Curras, 2019; Ketter, 2016). In this context, recent studies have argued that the major challenge in developing exceptional experiences lies in creating connections among different touchpoints within the customer journey to achieve positive outcomes (Lemon and Verhoef, 2016). Moreover, automated forms of interaction, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, are generating new dynamics in consumer experiences with brands. As a result, brands face several challenges in applying, leveraging, and optimizing the benefits of using social media in combination with other technologies to engage consumers and establish long-term relationships.

Due to the novelty of these technologies, several gaps remain to be addressed. For example, the multidimensional nature of consumer experiences has led researchers to focus primarily on cognitive and affective dimensions (Mody, Suess and Lehto, 2018; Servidio and Ruffolo, 2016), with few studies examining social and sensorial dimensions. This special issue welcomes conceptual, methodological and empirical contributions in the areas of consumer experiences with brands and the customer journey in social media. Possible topics might cover (but are not limited to) the following:

- Consumer experiences with brands in social media: chatbots, eWOM, online reviews

- Conceptualizations of the customer journey in social media

- Social commerce

- Key drivers and outcomes of consumer-brand experiences in social media

- Cognitive, affective, sensorial and social dimensions of consumer experiences with brands on social media

- Brand engagement in social media

- Artificial intelligence (AI) and consumer-brand relationships

- Authentic consumer experiences with brands in social media

- Big data and consumer-brand relationships

- CSR and social media

- Co-creation in social platforms

Prof. Dr. Blanca Hernandez Ortega
Prof. Dr. Carla Ruiz Mafe
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Social media
Online relationships
Big data
Artificial intelligence
Customer journey
Consumer experience
Brand engagement
Brand relationships
Co-creation
Internet of things
Service robots
Authentic experiences
Online reviews

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 906 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Power Brand Defense Up, My Friend! Stimulating Brand Defense through Digital Content Marketing

by Dima Sawaftah, Ahmad Aljarah and Eva Lahuerta-Otero

Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10266; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su131810266 - 14 Sep 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5650

Abstract

Digital content marketing that increases consumers’ favorable behavior is of increasing interest to marketers. However, there is a lack of studies that examine the relative effect of digital content marketing on brand defense. Building on the theoretical lens of elaboration likelihood model, attachment theory, and source credibility theory, this experimental study examines the relative effect of two types of digital content marketing on brand defense, taking into consideration the mediation effect of behavioral engagement and the moderation effect of age generation. Based on 237 participants collected from a United States sample, the findings of this study revealed that user-generated content is a stronger predictor of brand defense and behavioral engagement compared to firm-generated content. Further, behavioral engagement served as a mediator variable between the digital content marketing types and brand defense. Significant evidence has additionally been found between behavioral engagement and brand defense. Moreover, the findings of the moderation analysis illustrated that Generation Z is the most influenced by user-generated content, followed by Generations X and Y. Generation Y is the most influenced by firm-generated content, followed by Generations Z and X. This study adds empirical relevance to the growing literature of the importance of digital content marketing, behavioral engagement, and generation as well validates the effects of those constructs on brand defense. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer-Brand Relationships in the Era of Social Media and Big Data)

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16 pages, 495 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Using Social Media as a Medium for CSR Communication, to Induce Consumer–Brand Relationship in the Banking Sector of a Developing Economy

by Shuchi Gupta, Nishad Nawaz, Abhishek Tripathi, Saqib Muneer and Naveed Ahmad

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3700; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13073700 - 26 Mar 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5157

Abstract

Social media has emerged as a flexible and interactive communication medium in the present digital era. Contemporary businesses use social media to achieve different communication objectives. However, using social media as a communication medium for corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication with stakeholders like, consumers is not well-explored in the existing literature. Furthermore, prior studies have also failed to consider the blend of CSR communication and social media to achieve consumer-related outcomes, for example, their loyalty and purchase likelihood. To this end, the objective of this study is to examine the relationship of the CSR communication of a bank through social media with consumer loyalty and purchase intention. The current study also proposes brand admiration as a potential mediator between this relationship. The data were collected from the banking consumers through a self-administered questionnaire in a developing economy. The data were analyzed through the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique using AMOS software. The results of the current survey confirmed that CSR communication of a bank on social media has direct and indirect, via brand admiration, relations with consumer loyalty, and purchase intentions. The outcomes of this survey will be helpful for the policymakers to understand the importance of CSR communication on social media to enhance the loyalty, and purchase intention of banking consumers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer-Brand Relationships in the Era of Social Media and Big Data)

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17 pages, 770 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Online Brand Community Engagement on the Consumer–Brand Relationship

by Francisco J. Martínez-López, Rocío Aguilar-Illescas, Sebastián Molinillo, Rafael Anaya-Sánchez, J. Andres Coca-Stefaniak and Irene Esteban-Millat

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3679; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13073679 - 26 Mar 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 7501

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of online brand community (OBC) engagement on strategic aspects for the brand supporting the community. A total of 628 valid responses were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The authors tested the proposed model using structural equation modeling. The results show that OBC engagement directly favors participation in the community, willingness to co-create with the brand, and positive sord-of-mouth (WOM); it also has an indirect positive influence on brand loyalty. At the same time, OBC engagement is directly influenced by OBC identification and, through this, indirectly influenced by brand identification. Likewise, brand trust directly influences brand co-creation, loyalty, and positive WOM. However, OBC participation has been shown to have no significant effect on brand co-creation and positive WOM. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer-Brand Relationships in the Era of Social Media and Big Data)

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19 pages, 882 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Online Tourist Behavior of the Net Generation: An Empirical Analysis in Taiwan Based on the AISAS Model

by Lin-Lin Xue, Ching-Cheng Shen, Alastair M. Morrison and Li-Wen Kuo

Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2781; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13052781 - 04 Mar 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5487

Abstract

This study was intended to investigate the online behavior of Taiwan’s Net Generation (born between 1977 and 1997) based on Dentsu’s AISAS (Attention-Interest-Search-Action-Share) model. A conceptual framework and several hypotheses were developed and tested. A questionnaire survey was conducted in Taiwan in 2018 with 338 valid responses being received. The data were analyzed through linear regression analysis with learning and growth set as the dependent variable. Information search was the key action variable and especially during travel. Attention and interest had significant indirect influences on actions, which impacted sharing, learning, and growth. Learning and growth and action increased sharing. Post-travel sharing stimulated attention and was a catalyst for another cycle of AISAS. This research intended to fill a gap in the literature by examining the relationships among stages in the online purchase and consumption of travel products and services. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer-Brand Relationships in the Era of Social Media and Big Data)

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23 pages, 1731 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Role of Travel Motivations and Social Media Use in Consumer Interactive Behaviour: A Uses and Gratifications Perspective

by Luciana Chavez, Carla Ruiz, Rafael Curras and Blanca Hernandez

Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8789; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12218789 - 22 Oct 2020

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 7763

Abstract

This paper explores the influence of travel motivations and the gratification provided by social media in consumer stickiness to social media, intention to create user-generated content, and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) review adoption. The study follows a mixed-methods approach. First, a concept mapping study was undertaken to identify the main travel motivations and the gratifications provided by social media when consumers search for information on tourism destinations. A second study using structural equation modelling and SmartPLS 3.2.7 with a sample of 401 heavy users of social media showed the relationships between individual travel motivations and gratifications provided by social media and consumer stickiness, intention to share user-generated content (UGC), and eWOM review adoption. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Consumer-Brand Relationships in the Era of Social Media and Big Data)

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