Relationships among community interaction characteristics, perceived benefits, community commitment, and oppositional brand loyalty in online brand communities

To stand up for the brands they support, members of brand communities develop “oppositional brand loyalty” towards other rival brands. This study identifies how the interaction characteristics of brand community affect the perceived benefits of community members, and whether the perceived benefits cause members to develop community commitment, as well as the relationship between community commitment and oppositional brand loyalty. This study examined members of online automobile communities in Taiwan, and obtained a total of 283 valid samples. The analytical results reveal that interaction characteristics of brand community make members perceive many benefits, with “brand community engagement” being the most noticeable. Furthermore, hedonic, social, and learning benefits are the main factors to form community commitments. When members have community commitments, they will form oppositional brand loyalty to other rival brands. Based on the analytical results, this study provides suggestions to enterprises regarding online brand community operations. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.