Title: 'They' are or 'we' are? An analysis of Facebook interaction effects on brand loyalty

Authors: Ching-Wei Ho

Addresses: Department of Marketing, Feng Chia University, 100 Wenhwa Road, Seatwen, Taichung, 407, Taiwan

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate how Facebook fans' relationships interact with four elements of the brand community (i.e., brand, product, company, and other fans). The study also explored the mediating effect on loyalty of the fans' relationships with these four elements by considering trust and community identification. A consumer survey via questionnaire was conducted in this research to examine the proposed hypotheses. The results of this study indicated that communities operating on Facebook fan pages can enhance trust and community identification, as well as loyalty, by improving fans' relationship with the brand, the product, the company, and other fans. Also, this study focused on the mediating role of trust and community identification, and found that the mediation effect differs depending on the type of fan relationship.

Keywords: Facebook fan pages; brand communities; brand trust; brand community identification; brand loyalty; Facebook interaction effects; fan relationships.

DOI: 10.1504/GBER.2016.078667

Global Business and Economics Review, 2016 Vol.18 No.5, pp.497 - 516

Received: 06 Feb 2014
Accepted: 29 May 2014
Published online: 01 Sep 2016 *

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