The impact of brand connectedness on consumer engagement behavior in the social media brand community

Purpose Triggered by the extensive use of social media brand communities (SMBCs) in interactive marketing, this article aims to explore how brand connectedness (BC) affects consumer engagement behavior (CEB) in SMBCs. Design/methodology/approach The research model was verified with the partial least squares structural equation modeling applied to the actual data collected from the web crawling largest microblogging platform in China (Sina Weibo). Findings Results indicate that BC may positively influence consumer emotions (CEs), eventually leading to engagement behavior in SMBCs. In addition, gender and duration of membership act as vital moderators in the model. One of the most interesting findings is the differences between posting and commenting, although both are CEBs. BC has a more significant effect on commenting than posting, and the mediating effect of CEs between BC and posting behavior is not significant. Originality This research contributes to the literature on interactive marketing by examining BC in the context of SMBCs, which is under-researched in the literature but is highly pertinent to social media contexts. Moreover, we measure BC through social network analysis for the first time, which not only supports the empirical work but also expands the social network theory and social capital theory. This research also extends the body of knowledge on consumer engagement by investigating the differences between posting and commenting behaviors.