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This paper aims to focus its inquiries on the parasocial interactions (PSI) and relationships (PSR) consumers form with personae in online social media communities. The authors extend the marketing literature on parasocial interaction/relationship beyond brands by focusing on personal social media accounts (public student-athletes).

The authors adopt a grounded theory methodology (Glaser and Strauss, 2009) triangulating observational netnographic data (Kozinets, 2010) of 49 public student-athlete accounts on Twitter (34,500 tweets) with in-depth interviews. The findings emphasize that PSI/PSR occur not only from interactions with brands but also through personal accounts on social media platforms.

The investigation reveals that through such social media platforms, PSI/PSR influence consumers cognitively, affectively and behaviorally. In terms of cognition, the data suggest that PSI/PSR can influence opinion, interests, attention allocation and construction of relations, specifically through the availability of in-depth knowledge about the social media persona. Additionally, the research findings indicate that affect-laden messages from persona can alter emotion and mood, induce empathetic reactions and trigger inspiration, especially in relation to the shared interest of the online community of the social media account. Behaviorally, the findings suggest that personas’ messages can direct and inspire both online and offline actions through endorsed behavioral parasocial interactions.

This research focused on one specific social media platform, Twitter. Twitter was specifically chosen, because it is a popular social media platform and allows non-reciprocal relationships. Although the authors feel that the findings would hold for other social media platforms, future research may be conducted to see if there are differences in PSI/PSR development on different types of networks. Additionally, the authors focused on a specific type of personal account, student-athletes. Future research may wish to extend beyond this population to other personal social media accounts, such as fashion bloggers, diy bloggers and others.

This research reveals that PSI/PSR can occur not only from interactions with brands but also through personal accounts on social media platforms. The findings give support for the value of brand spokespersons and brand ambassadors and suggest that brands should take careful consideration into who is chosen to represent the brand.

Marketer-generated value-laden social media digital content marketing (VSM-DCM) relates to content that is neither too “pushy” nor too “pully.” On the foundation of media engagement, motivation- and attitude-based theories, this study rationalizes and investigates the mechanism that underlies the effect of VSM-DCM on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention.

The authors devised a 2 (product type: search vs. experience) × 3 (VSM-DCM: utilitarian vs. hedonic vs. utilitarian + hedonic) between-subject design (N = 360) after three pre-tests (N = 223).

The authors show that VSM-DCM formats are effective in enhancing brand attitude and eWOM intention for different products. Specifically, market-generated VSM-DCM that simultaneously embeds utilitarian and hedonic values is the most effective for optimizing brand attitude and eWOM intention in both search and experience product contexts. The effect of VSM-DCM formats on eWOM intention is mediated by brand attitude, while product type (search vs. experience) moderates this indirect effect.

This paper breaks new ground by highlighting the relevance of marketer-generated VSM-DCM in the DCM context and by illustrating the mechanism through which it leads to consumers’ intention to engage in eWOM. In so doing, it contributes to the debate on DCM implementation and the contextual factors that moderate the optimization of DCM outcomes.

By doing sentiment analysis of netnographic data, this study aims to explain the need to give special attention to negative sentiments expressed in virtual tribes, as they play a significant role in translating the informational mode of conversation to the relational mode of conversation. The overall purpose is to aid brand managers in the process of brand co-creation by articulating brand communication targeted to specific audiences based on their shared passions and interests.

The study adopts a mixed-methods approach. The primary data were collected from two virtual brand communities through qualitative net-based ethnographic methods. Semantria Excel plug-in was used to categorize the extracted consumer statements based on positive, neutral and negative sentiments.

Managing the negative interactions in the virtual communities and relationship development with members through non-commercial conversations should be the two main priorities for effective brand management. Sentiment analysis specifically helps to identify pain points and consumer sentiments at each stage of the shopper journey. The findings of the study endorse the importance of offering and supporting communities as a valid marketing.

This paper shows how systematic attention to user interactions on virtual brand communities can be used for tribal marketing, which in turn will impact the intangible aspects of the business, such as increasing brand value and loyalty. By engaging the consumers, the social ties among the target audience can be nurtured and strengthened.

This paper focuses on decoding their behavior by unpeeling the consumer statements rather than tangible aspects of the business, such as sales of products or services. It contributes to development of a theoretical framework that outlines how the interactions in virtual brand communities can aid in formulating the functional and communicational strategies for a brand.

This study aims to examine the relationships between the online communities’ characteristics and resilience to negative information (RNI) mediated by both brand knowledge and brand involvement.

According to stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, this research postulates that information quality, rewards and virtual interactivity drive RNI directly and indirectly through brand knowledge and/ or brand involvement. A survey of 326 Facebook pages followers was conducted, representing followers of fashion clothing brands in social media platforms in Egypt. We have used AMOS to check the constructs’ validity and reliability, as well as the Hayes’s PROCESS macro to test the mediation.

The findings show that information quality, rewards and virtual interactivity are the respective drivers of brand knowledge and brand involvement; the brand knowledge and brand involvement help explain why consumers are resilient to negative information of specific brands; and the drivers of brand knowledge and/ or brand involvement differ in consumers who tend to ignore negative information they receive about the brand.

Outcomes of the research recommend that executives should identify the outstanding determinants for improving resilient consumers to negative information through creating the highest possible brand knowledge and involvement between the consumers and brands.

Little attention has been paid to examine the RNI and linking it with brand knowledge and brand involvement in online communities’ context, thus, the current research is conducted.

The purpose of this paper is to forward an extension of reception analysis as a way to incorporate and give insight to social media mediations and big data in a qualitative marketing perspective. We propose a research method that focuses on discursive developments in consumer debates for example on YouTube – a large-scale open-access social media platform – as opposed to the closed and tightknit communities investigated by netnography.

Online reception analysis

Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, we find that big data can enrich online reception analyses by showing new aspects of weak tie online networks and consumers meaning making.

The potential of online reception analysis is to encompass a discursive perspective on consumer interactions on large-scale open-access social media and to be able to analyze socialities that do not represent shared cultures but are more representative of transitory everyday interactions.

Our method contributes to the current focus to define levels of analysis beyond research centered on individuals and individual interactions within groups to investigate other larger socialities. Further, our method also contributes by incorporating and investigating the mediatization of interaction that social media contributes with and therefore our methods actively work with the possibilities of social media. Hence, by extending the advances made by netnography into online spaces, online reception analysis can potentially inform the current status of big data research with a sociocultural methodological perspective.

The purpose of this study sets out to examine (1) how have conflicts been conceptualized and operationalized within the context of online consumption communities? (2) what are the main conflict management, resolution strategies and frameworks that have been identified? and (3) what are the gaps in the relevant body of work in terms of theoretical and methodological dimensions, and what implications do they have for future research.

This study adopts a systematic and multidisciplinary literature review of online conflicts. Following a descriptive and thematic content analysis, it examines 79 peer-reviewed scholarly articles of the past 20 years within 6 scientific databases.

The authors propose a literature-based conceptualization of online conflicts and a multi-level conflict resolution matrix based on the different governance structures and social control mechanisms investigated in extant research.

The originality of this study lies in the integrative and interdisciplinary view of online conflict in global consumption communities.

This study aims to identify the benefits and costs of participation in small group consumption communities (SGCCs), and understand how benefits and costs experienced in these communities differ from those experienced in large group consumption communities (LGCCs).

Thematic analysis of data collected through multi-method approach comprising depth-interviews, participant observation of community events and online community forums was used to identify benefits and costs of SGCC participation.

Eight benefits and three costs of SGCC participation were identified. While some benefits and costs were found to be similar to those identified in LGCCs earlier, their experience and manifestation was found to differ significantly in SGCCs.

Data were collected from SGCCs located in India (collectivist culture). Hence, findings may not be reflective of individualist cultures.

Understanding that benefits and costs of community participation are experienced differently in SGCCs and LGCCs may be useful input for managers wanting to seed/nurture consumption communities. By increasing benefits and reducing costs, managers can transform communities into vibrant social systems, and thereby improve members’ engagement and involvement.

Of the eight benefits identified in the study, two benefits – Escape and Meaningful Engagement are identified for the first time. The study also explores costs of SGCC participation (an area hitherto under explored) in detail. In addition, the study illustrates how some of the benefits despite being seemingly similar in SGCCs and LGCCs are inherently different.

To study the legal underpinnings of the definition of social enterprise in the context of the problems with the corporate legal structures available in the UK in the late twentieth century and the reforms of the early twenty first century to assess whether further reforms are needed to facilitate the growth of the social enterprise movement.

A definition of social enterprise is proposed and examined in light of the problems associated with twentieth century company law and the efforts to reform and develop it in the period, 2000‐2006.

Three major developments may be seen to have important consequences for the continuing reform and development of company law: the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 2002 (Office of Public Sector Information 2002a) (private members bill); the Co‐operatives and Community Benefit Societies Act 2003 (Office of Public Sector Information 2003) (private members bill); the PIU Report “Private Action, Public Benefit” (Cabinet Office/Strategy Unit 2002) and the resulting Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Business) Act 2004 (Office of Public Sector Information 2004); and the Charities Act 2006 (Office of Public Sector Information 2006). Refers also to other developments impacting on company law, notably the European Co‐operative Society’s European Co‐operative Society Statute (SCE) Regulation and Directive.

Provides a useful guide to UK legal trends likely to impact on social enterprises.