Title: Modelling drivers and outcomes of fashion and apparel social media brand communities engagement

Authors: Priyanka Munjal; Ravi Shanker; Ashish Gupta; Prateek Maheshwari

Addresses: Marketing Area, Northcap University, Gurugram, Haryana, India ' Department of Marketing, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi, India ' Department of Marketing, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi, India ' Department of Marketing, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi, India

Abstract: In today's highly competitive situation of brands, marketers have acknowledged and embraced the use of brand communities as an effective instrument to attract, engage and retain customers. Regardless of extensive work on customer engagement in the milieu of social media brand communities (SMBC), the nitty-gritty of its factors and their relationships lacks robust understanding. In this regard, this study aims to explore factors of customer engagement in SMBC and construct hierarchical relationships among these factors in the fashion and apparel sector. The study employed a qualitative research design through focus group discussions and interviews with industry and academic experts. The result thereof is analysed using the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) approach. The findings revealed that purchase intention and customer-brand co-creation behaviour led to hierarchical order followed by customer-brand relationships and brand loyalty. The study is limited to the SMBCs of the fashion and apparel sector. Further studies may be carried out for different sectors or product categories. This research work has significant inferences for academicians and brand practitioners involved in the management and promotions of online fashion brand pages to strategise their moves towards engaging customers.

Keywords: social media brand communities; SMBC; customer engagement; fashion and apparel; F&A; focus group discussions; FGDs; interpretive structural modelling; ISM; purchase intention; customer brand co-creation behaviour.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMP.2023.127680

International Journal of Management Practice, 2023 Vol.16 No.1, pp.59 - 88

Received: 05 Jun 2020
Accepted: 11 Jun 2021
Published online: 14 Dec 2022 *