Gamification has become a popular technique in marketing. Many companies believe that gamification can potentially increase the engagement, awareness and loyalty of consumers with respect to the brand. However, there is current dearth of empirical evidence supporting these beliefs beyond the pervasive hype. In this study we investigated the relationships between gamification, brand engagement and brand equity among consumers (N = 824) of two online gamified brand communities. The results showed that achievement and social interaction -related gamification features were positively associated with all three forms of brand engagement (emotional, cognitive and social). Immersion -related gamification features were only positively associated with social brand engagement. Additionally, brand engagement was further positively associated with brand equity. The results imply that gamification can positively affect brand engagement and further increase brand equity, and that gamification appears to be an effective technique for brand management.
Keywords: Gamification | Engagement | Community | Brand | Social commerce | Marketing

Given the growing role of brands as relationship partners and relationship facilitators and the pre-eminence of the online environment for consumers, this article contributes to the understanding of virtual brand-centric relationships by presenting the first bibliometric mapping analysis of the academic research into the topic from its conception until 2018. Using keyword co-occurrence, it examines 585 records and identifies the most productive countries, journals, influential authors and papers, and research clusters. With 96% of the published records appearing between 2010 and 2018, this analysis revealed that the field is emergent. The research primarily originates from authors based in the USA, China and the UK. It also is highly fragmented, with papers being published in information management and marketing/branding journals, with cross-citations lacking. In addition, its foundations rest on a small number of works published in a handful of journals by just a few academics. The analysis also identified three main clusters of keywords: (a) identity, feelings and relationship outcomes; (b) relational elements; and (c) relationship facilitation. This bibliometric analysis brings insights together from different research streams, adds to the categorization of the literature on the topic, and provides promising future research directions in terms of research areas and strategies.
Keywords: Bibliometric analysis | Bibliographic coupling | Brand relationships | Keyword co-occurrence | Online brand communities | VOSviewer

This research aims to explain members’ online brand community (OBC) engagement and participation based on their relationships with other members and with the community sponsor. It proposes a conceptual model integrating variables that have been studied in previous research on brand trust, OBC identifica tion, and satisfaction, and others that have received little or no research attention, including the OBC sponsor’s opportunism, sponsor’s control, and OBC experience, with OBC engagement playing a key role. The conceptual model has been tested by applying structural equation modelling to a database of 628 consumers belonging to over 260 different online brand communities OBC from diverse economic sectors: for example, brands involving sports (Adidas and Nike), fashion (Mango, Stradivarius and Zara) and technology (Apple, Samsung and Sony). In general, the authors conclude the importance of engagement in explaining a member’s involvement in a community, and the important role played by antecedents such as online brand community experience and trust, not only directly but also indirectly via identification with the community. The results confirm the influence of engagement upon a member’s participation in a community. Our study supports this direction of the relationship over the reverse – participation engagement – as suggested by other previous works. With regard to the antecedents of trust in the online brand community, it has been concluded that using the community for mainly commercial purposes has a negative effect.
Keywords: Brand engagement | Community sponsor | Consumer engagement | Online brand communities | Participation engagement | Structural equation modeling | Survey research

In the age of social media, an increasing number of firms have begun to host online brand communities (OBCs) to strengthen their relationship with their consumers. Despite the popularity of firm-hosted OBCs, building a suc cessful online brand community is still a challenge for every firm because of the nature of voluntary participation. This paper introduces an organizational socialization approach to promote sustained member participation, a de ciding factor for the success of online communities. Based on theory of organizational socialization, this study identifies three typical socialization tactics employed by sponsors of OBCs (i.e., member education, interaction support, and participation feedback). Further, we present an empirical study to examine their effects on mem bers membership continuance intention using the data collected from several firm-hosted OBCs. The mediator role of community identification and the moderator role of membership duration are investigated, and theoret ical and managerial implications for community management are discussed.
Keywords: Firm-hosted online brand community | Socialization | Member education | Interaction support | Participation feedback

To increase competitiveness, companies are increasingly using online brand communities (OBCs) to cocreate value for themselves and their consumers; however, evidence of the effectiveness of OBCs as a marketing tool remains mostly anecdotal. This study developed a framework for examining how the cocreation of value in OBCs can extend and improve brand relationships between corporations and consumers through combination with the integration of online and offline relationships. Sample 1, comprising 450 respondents, was used to investigate second-order OBC value cocreation and total measurement models. Sample 2, comprising 418 respondents, demonstrated that OBC value cocreation directly benefits consumer OBC commitment, thereby directly enhancing offline brand relationship quality (BRQ) and brand commitment as well as indirectly enhancing brand loyalty, and that BRQ directly benefits brand commitment and brand loyalty. This paper presents the research and managerial impli cations of these findings, as well as limitations and future research directions.
Keywords: Online brand community | Value cocreation | Brand relationship model | Brand relationship quality