Author
Conceptualization
Inquiry
Antecedents
Consequences
Sport setting
Oliver (1999)
Yes
Conceptual
Yes
Yes
Yes
(A blend of personal identity with the cultural milieu surrounding the focal brand)
(Product superiority, self-isolation, and village envelopment)
(Co-creation based on the symbiotic relationship between a brand and the consumers)
(Sport fans with high levels of group identification such as Green Bay Packers fans who wear “cheeseheads” in order to support the team)
Muñiz and O’Guinn (2001)
Yes
Qualitative
No
No
No
(Shared consciousness, rituals, traditions, and moral responsibility)
(Ford Bronco, Macintosh, and Saab brand communities in the U.S.)
McAlexander et al. (2002)
Yes
Mixed methods
Yes
No
No
(BC integration model: owner-to-product, −brand, −company, and -owner relationships)
(Pre- and post- event comparisons were conducted)
(Jeep and Harley-Davidson brand communities in the U.S.)
Algesheimer et al. (2005)
Yes
Quantitative
Yes
Yes
No
(Community identification)
(Brand relationship quality)
(Community engagement and normative community pressure)
(Car clubs in Germany)
Bagozzi and Dholakia (2006)
Yes
Quantitative
Yes
Yes
No
(Social identification with BC: cognitive, affective, and evaluative)
(Attitude, positive and negative emotions, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control)
(Desire to participate in the BC, social intention, group behavior, brand identification, brand behavior)
(Harley-Davidson’s Harley Owners Groups (HOGs) in the U.S.)
Woisetschläger et al. (2008)
Yes
Quantitative
No
Yes
Yes
(Community identification)
(Consumer participation)
(A virtual brand community, “virtual football stadium,” provided by a naming rights sponsor of the biggest football stadium in Germany)
Carlson et al. (2008)
Yes
Quantitative
Yes
Yes
No
(Psychological sense of brand community)
(Brand identification and group identification)
(Brand commitment)
(Online brand discussion groups supported by Yahoo.com (Study 1) and U.S.-based theme park (Study 2) in the U.S.)
Füller et al. (2008)
Yes
Quantitative
Yes
Yes
No
(Community identification)
(Brand passion, extraversion, and openness)
(Brand trust)
(Volkswagen Golf GTI meeting in Austria)
Jang et al. (2008)
Yes
Quantitative
Yes
Yes
No
(Community commitment)
(Information quality, system quality, interaction, and reward)
(Brand loyalty)
(Online brand communities organized by firms such as mobile phones, automobiles, and electronics)
Schau et al. (2009)
Yes
Qualitative
No
Yes
No
(Badging: defined as a sense of membership and identity that arises from BC practices)
(Community engagement, brand use, social networking, and impression management)
(Nine brand communities: Internet device, personal digital assistant, car, GPS device, beverage, camera, musical group, cosmeceutical, and television program)
Grant et al. (2011)
Yes
Qualitative
Yes
No
Yes
(The concept of “we”: Consciousness of kind)
(Group experience, history and heritage, ritual/traditions and physical facility)
(Newly established professional sports teams in New Zealand)
Katz and Heere (2013)
Yes
Qualitative
Yes
Yes
Yes
(Group identity with the overall brand community)
(Social interactions between highly committed leaders and other followers at brandfests)
(Social network)
(Tailgating groups of a new college sport team)
7.2.3 Antecedents and Consequences in Brand Community Research
In the study of marketing, researchers have been increasingly interested in the antecedents and consequences of brand community identification (see Table 7.1). In terms of antecedents, researchers to date have reported that brand community identification is significantly impacted by consumer attitudes toward the focal brand (e.g., brand relationship quality, brand identification, and brand passion) (Algesheimer et al. 2005; Carlson et al. 2008; Füller et al. 2008), consumer characteristics (e.g., extraversion, openness, materialism, and social insecurity) (Füller et al. 2008; Rindfleisch et al. 2008), and consumers’ identification with the peer group (Carlson et al. 2008). In the sport management literature, empirical research shows that an individual’s identification with a fan community is significantly impacted by sport fans’ group experiences (Grant et al. 2011), rituals and traditions (Grant et al. 2011), physical facility (Grant et al. 2011), and the social interactions between highly committed leaders and other followers at brandfests (Katz and Heere 2013). Brandfests have been described as brand-centered, corporate-sponsored event where a significant number of brand users and potential users celebrate and engage in brand consumption and social interactions with other consumers (McAlexander et al. 2002).