Journal of Service Management

How to transform consumers into fans of your brand

Benedikt Jahn Werner Kunz

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Benedikt Jahn Werner Kunz, (2012),"How to transform consumers into fans of your brand", Journal of
Service Management, Vol. 23 Iss 3 pp. 344 - 361
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JOSM
23,3

How to transform consumers

into fans of your brand
Benedikt Jahn

344

Institute of Marketing, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany, and

Werner Kunz
College of Management, University of Massachusetts,
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Received 30 September 2011

Revised 15 February 2012
Accepted 19 February 2012

Downloaded by University of Liverpool At 08:21 07 December 2016 (PT)

Abstract
Purpose Brand fan pages on social networks have become very popular online services. However,
empirical research on fan pages is still in its infancy. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate
the effect of fan pages on the customer-brand relationship and what motivates users to participate.
Design/methodology/approach For this a framework was developed based on classical concepts
of use and gratification theory, customer engagement, and involvement theory. The model is tested
using a multi-step approach of qualitative and quantitative methods.
Findings The paper can show a significant influence from online service usage behavior on the fan
page on the customer-brand relationship. Furthermore, the paper identifies different values such as
functional and hedonic content as drivers of fan-page participation.
Research limitations/implications The results are limited by the used data set, which is not
representative for all industries and is cross-sectional. Further research could build up a database over
a longitudinal time frame in different industries. The results are interesting for theory and practice.
They confirm the positive effect of integration and engagement in general and show that fan pages are
more than just tools to connect brand fans. They are also instruments for gaining new fans.
Originality/value The present study is the first study that not only shows the effect of fan pages
on customer behavior, but also analyses the motives for participation and the crucial constructs to
manage them successfully.
Keywords Online services, Brand page, Engagement, Facebook, Customer-brand relationship,
Motivation, Consumer behaviour, Brands
Paper type Research paper

Journal of Service Management

Vol. 23 No. 3, 2012
pp. 344-361
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1757-5818
DOI 10.1108/09564231211248444

Introduction
The ways people exchange information and how individuals communicate with each
other have changed dramatically over the last years (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2010). Social
media channels like Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube are becoming more and more
important in business communication. The changes brought by the new online services
have also transformed our relationships to each other and to companies and
organizations. Traditionally, companies have tried to reach and build up relationships
with customers through marketing activities like reward programs, public relations,
and direct marketing. In this world, customers were passive receivers of relationship
activities as well as brand messages and the company had control over the brand
development process (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2010; Libai et al., 2010). Today, customers
can increasingly integrate and act as co-creators and multipliers of brand messages,
which enables enormous viral effects and creates opportunities for word-of-mouth
marketing (Kozinets et al., 2010; Libai et al., 2010). Thus, both customer and company

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participate actively in a conversation about the brand (Deighton and Kornfeld, 2009;
Hennig-Thurau et al., 2010).
Social media offer users a variety of online services to communicate with others,
which results in a completely new communication style. Customers are now empowered
to get in contact with each other, as well as engage and participate actively in brand
communication. Social networking sites like Facebook offer companies several options
to contact and communicate with their customers (fans). Fan pages are an important
online service for brand communication. They can be used by organizations, businesses,
brands, public figures, or causes to integrate and interact with their customer base
(Dholakia et al., 2004). They offer companies a service to communicate and interact with
their customers as well as deliver a variety of interesting content (Borle et al., 2012).
In marketing communication today fan pages have significant relevance for businesses.
However, empirical research on fan pages and its role for the customer-brand
relationship is in its infancy. Making use of the opportunities provided by fan pages on
social networking sites requires a thorough understanding of why consumers are
attracted to them and how customer integration and engagement on these platforms
influence their relationships to the brands and their offline behaviors. Therefore, the
present study investigates how brand fan pages affect the customer-brand
relationship. In particular, we consider the following research questions:
RQ1. What effects has fan page participation on customer loyalty?
RQ2. Which constructs are central for the management of fan pages?
RQ3. What are the drivers of successful brand fan pages?
We begin with a brief overview of the literature regarding social media, brand
communities, and fan pages. We then develop our framework that describes how fan
pages can contribute to brand loyalty of the customer and how fan-page participation
is influenced by various consumer values. Further, we describe the methodology of our
study and show the results of our analyses. Finally, we discuss managerial
implications, limitations of the study, and further research suggestions.
Research background
Although there have been several calls for more research on social media services
(Hoffman and Novak, 2009; Hennig-Thurau et al., 2010; van den Bulte, 2010; Kunz and
Hogreve, 2011) and there exists a huge demand from the business world, the empirical
research is limited. Because social media is still a relatively new research field, we
introduce various central concepts we use in our study before presenting our research.
Central concepts
Social media can be described as a group of internet-based applications that build on
the ideological and technological foundations of web 2.0, and that allow the creation
and exchange of User Generated Content (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010, p. 61). Some of
the most prominent forms of social media are social networking sites like Facebook
or LinkedIn. Social networking sites are defined as:
[. . .] web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile
within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection,

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and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system
(Boyd and Ellison, 2007, p. 211).

Users with profiles interlinked in this manner are called friends. These profiles can
include anything from favorite food and movies to relationship status and especially
preference for particular brands, organizations, or celebrities. For example, users can
post information about themselves, post links of web sites they like, comment
on postings of their friends, post pictures, and accept invitations for events; they also
can receive invitations to become fans of particular brands, organizations, or celebrities
(Raacke and Bonds-Raacke, 2008).
Facebook offers companies several services for contacting and communicating with
their customers. Fan pages are an especially interesting tool for companies to use. But
what does it mean to become a fan of a brand-related page? In general, a fan can be
anything from a devotee to an enthusiast of a particular object. Typical characteristics of
fans are self-identification as fan, emotional engagement, cultural competence, auxiliary
consumption, and co-production (Kozinets et al., 2010). The internet has made it possible
to overcome geographical restrictions and to build fan communities world-wide. In
practice, users become fans of a Facebook fan page by pressing the like-button, which
indicates to their social network that they like this brand; this preference is then added to
their profiles. The new content of this fan page is automatically posted to their personal
Facebook news feed, and they can post comments on the fan page, get in contact with the
company, forward offers from this page as well as interact with other fans.
Especially for the consumer motivation to use brand fan pages exist to our
knowledge till now no empirical study. But regarding the motivation to use social
networking sites and participating in brand communities empirical results are already
published, which is related to our research focus.
Research on social networking sites
A central topic in studies towards social networking sites is the motivation, why people
use these platforms. For instance, Raacke and Bonds-Raacke (2008) found two main
reasons for this: social connections (i.e. keeping in touch with friends) and information
sharing (e.g. events or gossip). In a similar fashion, Foster et al. (2010) found one of the
main motivations for participating in social networking sites is the perceived
information value from the community and the connection to friends. Many studies
also show that entertainment plays an important role as shared and consumed content
on social networking sites (Sheldon, 2008; LaRose et al., 2001).
Ellison et al. (2007) presented a more differentiated perspective on the social connection.
In a study with undergraduate students, they showed that Facebook develops social
capital in that participating is useful for strengthening friend relationships (i.e. bonding
social capital), expanding an individuals network (i.e. bridging social capital), and keeping
in contact with past relationships (i.e. maintaining social capital).
Additionally, Tufekci (2008) found that many activities on social networking sites
can also be conceptualized as forms of self-presentation. Users present themselves by
adjusting their profiles, linking to particular friends, displaying their likes and dislikes,
and joining groups. This motivation for social networking usage is supported by
several other studies (Dholakia et al., 2004; Bolar, 2009; Acquisti and Gross, 2006).
In particular, Peluchette and Karl (2009) shows that Facebook users employ their
postings consciously to portray images about themselves.

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Considering the existing research on social networking sites, we believe there are
three main motivation areas for consumers using social networking sites. The first is a
relationship area, where the focus of the individual is to stay connected and interact with
others and participate in a social (online) life. The second area is content acquisition and
distribution based on the individuals interests. This content can be functional as well as
hedonic. Finally, the third area is self-presentation, which is related to the social context
but also serves more the purpose of self-assurance and personal identity.
Research on brand communities
Since brand fan pages are organized around a single brand, product, or company, they
can be seen as a special kind of brand community. Since the last decade, brand
communities became very interested in branding research (Muniz and OGuinn, 2001;
McAlexander et al., 2002; Algesheimer et al., 2005; Adjei et al., 2010).
Muniz and OGuinn (2001, p. 412) defined a brand community as a:
[. . .] specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social
relationships among admires of a brand. It is specialized because at its center is a branded
good or service. Like other communities, it is marked by shared consciousness, rituals and
traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility.

McAlexander et al. (2002) indicated four crucial relationships in a brand community: the
relationships between the customer and the brand, between the customer and the firm,
between the customer and the product in use, and among fellow customers.
Algesheimer et al. (2005), using survey data from a European auto club, showed that
community identification leads to positive (i.e. community engagement and community
loyalty) and negative (i.e. normative community pressure and reactance) consequences.
Further, they showed an effect of membership continuance intentions to brand loyalty
intentions. Woisetschlager et al. (2008) support their results. Additionally, they found
two further reasons for consumer participation in brand communities: community
satisfaction and degree of consumer influence within the community. Moreover, they
showed an effect from community participation on word-of-mouth, brand image, and
community loyalty. An effect on brand loyalty was not shown.
By means of data from an online community, Kim et al. (2008) showed that online
community commitment is a driver on brand commitment. They also showed that
online community participants possess stronger brand commitment than consumers
who are not members of the community. Recently, Adjei et al. (2010) verified in a
netnography and experimental approach that online brand communities are successful
tools for increasing sales and showed that the sharing of information significantly
moderates this effect.
Considering the existing work on brand communities, we can see community
identification as a central influence for community participation (Bhattacharya et al.,
1995). Previous work has shown that brand community engagement can affect
membership loyalty, brand image, and word-of-mouth. Thus, community participation
and membership can be seen as an important tool for a successful branding strategy.
Research on brand fan pages
Although very similar and sometimes used interchangeably, differences do exist
between brand fan pages on social networking sites and traditional online brand
communities. What fan pages differ from brand communities is the fact that they are

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embedded in an organic grown and not brand-related network of social ties. Thus,
members of a fan page are also connected within the social network site to so-called
friends who might be not fans of the brand and are mostly real offline connections
(Boyd and Ellison, 2007). Given this, fan-page membership can be used by the
individual to show a peer group the own self(-concept). In this sense fan page
memberships become signals of a persons self-identity.
Further fan pages are mainly company driven and used as an explicit brand
communication and interaction channel. In a classical brand community the brand is
the center of the community and the community is based on a structured set of social
relationships among admires of a brand (Muniz and OGuinn, 2001, p. 412). In
contrast, a fan page is supposed to be first of all a connection between the user and the
brand. Thus, fan-page usage and engagement motivation might differ from traditional
brand communities.
Despite the popularity in the business practice, we found only one empirical research
study that considered fan pages in a branding context. Borle et al. (2012; Dholakia and
Durham, 2010) examined the degree to which participating on a Facebook fan page
affects customer behaviors. In a longitudinal study, conducted in cooperation with two
restaurants, they showed an effect of membership on the fan page to behavioral loyalty,
spending in the restaurants, and the restaurant category over all. The findings support
the idea that Facebook fan pages are useful for deepening the relationship with
customers. But it is still not clear what is happening inside of the black box fan page
and what the crucial constructs are for managing fan pages. Therefore, we introduce in
the next section a framework that shows a differentiated effect of fan pages from the
usage motivation to brand loyalty.
Theoretical framework
Considering the concept of a brand fan page, we developed a framework based on
classical concepts of uses and gratifications theory (Katz, 1959), customer engagement
(van Doorn et al., 2010; Brodie et al., 2011), and involvement theory (Zaichkowsky, 1985).
By this, we follow a basic approach, describing how fan-page behavior might influence
consumers brand loyalty and what might influence the fan-page behavior itself. For this,
we divide the process into three zones: gratification, participation, and customer-brand
relationship. The basic idea of this framework is that, if the brand fan page satisfies
particular needs of a user, this satisfaction should lead to a higher approach to the brand
fan page, which should in turn lead to a higher brand loyalty (Figure 1).
The uses and gratification (U&G) theory, proposed by Katz (1959), has been found
useful for application to new media like the internet, online communities, social
networking, and blogs (Raacke and Bonds-Raacke, 2008; Sheldon, 2008; Chung and
Austria, 2010; Ko et al., 2005; Ruggiero, 2000; Song et al., 2004). U&G theory tries to
explain why individuals have different media-usage patterns. According to U&G
theory, people use media to satisfy various needs and to achieve their goals. The most
prominent needs can be subsumed into three areas: a content-oriented area based on the
information delivered by the media, a relationship-oriented area based on social
interaction with others, and a self-oriented area based on particular needs of individuals
such as achieving status or need for diversion. With the second concept, consumer
engagement, we want to differentiate the usage pattern of a fan page. The concept has its
origin in organizational psychology and can be defined as persistent, positive,

Gratification

Fan Page Participation

Customer-Brand Relationship

Content-Oriented
Functional
Value
Hedonic
Value

H2a +
H2b +
H3a +

Fan page
Usage Intensity

Relationship-Oriented

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Brand
Commitment

349

H5a +

Social
Interaction
Value
Brand
Interaction
Value

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H3b +
Brand
Loyalty

H1 +

Brand
WOM

H3d+ H3c +
H5b +

Self-Oriented

H4 +

Fan page
Engagement

Brand
Purchase

Self-Concept
Value

affective-motivational state of fulfillment (Maslach et al., 2001, p. 417). Consumer

engagement can be seen as special form of the widely discussed concept of customer
engagement in the service research community (Brodie et al., 2011; Libai et al., 2010;
van Doorn et al., 2010; Verhoef et al., 2010). Following this understanding, customer
behavior goes beyond transaction, and may be specifically defined as a customers
behavioral manifestation that has a brand or firm focus, beyond purchase, resulting
from motivational drivers (van Doorn et al., 2010, p. 254).
Transferring the engagement construct to the context of a fan page, we define fan-page
engagement as an interactive and integrative participation in the fan-page community and
would differentiate this from the solely usage intensity of a member. We do not expect
these constructs to be independent from each other and would assume that fan-page usage
leads to fan-page engagement. For instance, it is possible that a person is using a fan page
on a regular basis (e.g. receiving gratis coupons from the fan page) without becoming
highly engaged with the fan page. We therefore propose the following hypotheses:
H1. Brand fan-page usage intensity influences brand fan-page engagement
positively.
To explain the fan-page usage behavior, we use the three gratification areas of U&G
theory introduced above, and we apply them according to the context of the fan pages. In
the content area, we differentiate between the functional and hedonic values that are
delivered (Hirschman and Holbrook, 1982). This is supported by previous empirical
studies in the social media field, where several researchers have found that information
(Raacke and Bonds-Raacke, 2008; Foster et al., 2010) and entertainment (Sheldon, 2008;
Dholakia et al., 2004; LaRose et al., 2001) play important roles for social media users.
Based on this we propose the following:
H2a. Higher functional value of the fan-page content leads to higher fan-page usage
intensity.

Figure 1.
Framework of
fan-page participation

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H2b. Higher hedonic value of the fan-page content leads to higher fan-page usage
intensity.
In the relationship area, we see two main kind of relationships where an interaction could
be of value for a fan-page user: the interaction with other users, and the interaction with
the brand or company behind the brand. This is supported by social networking motive
literature, which found growing, maintaining, and broadening relationships to others as
major motivations for using a social networking site (Sheldon, 2008; Ellison et al., 2007;
Dholakia et al., 2009). Furthermore, literature concerning brand relationship shows that
consumers tend to invest in a relationship to a brand (Fournier, 1998; Algesheimer et al.,
2005). Based on this we propose an effect on usage and engagement:

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H3a. Higher social interaction value leads to higher fan-page usage intensity.
H3b. Higher brand interaction value leads to higher fan-page usage intensity.
H3c. Higher social interaction value leads to higher fan-page engagement.
H3d. Higher brand interaction value leads to higher fan-page engagement.
Finally, consumers can decide to participate in a fan page because they expect an
impact on their image or status. In this case, consumers defer values for their own
personal identities by being members of a brand fan page. Similar Algesheimer et al.
(2005) argued that group participation can be seen as an expression of personal
values. Further, Peluchette and Karl (2009) showed that Facebook users use their
profiles and postings consciously to portray images about themselves. Thus, fan
pages can serve the purpose to portray the own self-concept. Based on this we propose
the following:
H4. Higher self-concept value of the fan-page membership leads to higher
fan-page engagement.
After considering the value and fan-page behavior, we want to motivate the expected
relationship to branding. We would assume that the participation in the community has
a positive effect for the user and the company (Rosenbaum, 2008). The central concept
for relationship marketing is brand loyalty (de Ruyter et al., 1998). Oliver (1999, p. 34)
defines loyalty as:
[. . .] a deeply held commitment to rebuy or re-patronize a preferred product/service
consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brand-set purchase,
despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching
behavior.

This definition stresses the importance of two important components: an attitudinal

(i.e. commitment) and a behavioral (i.e. purchase, patronage) component of loyalty. This
is consistent with Dick and Basu (1994), who also sees relative attitude and repeat
patronage as central parts of loyalty relationships and many other conceptualizations
(Bloemer and Kasper, 1995).
On the one hand, fan-page users that show high usage intensity, get in regular
contact with the brand, which in turn should have an effect on their brand relationship
and should increase their likelihood for repurchase, word-of-mouth, or their general
commitment to the brand. On the other side, brands with high fan-page engagement

already have developed a strong relationship to the fan-page community.

This emotional bond is also associated with the object of the fan page, the brand.
Thus, we assume that an increase in brand loyalty is based on fan-page engagement.
This relationship is also supported by the involvement theory. Involvement can be
defined as a persons perceived relevance of the object based on inherent needs,
values, and interests (Zaichkowsky, 1985, p. 342). Fan-page usage and engagement
are indicators for a high involvement with the brand. Prior studies have shown a
relationship between involvement and product or brand loyalty (Quester and Ai, 2003;
Olsen, 2007). Therefore, we propose the following hypotheses:
H5a. Fan-page usage intensity influences brand loyalty positively.
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H5b. Fan-page engagement influences brand loyalty positively.

Methodology
To test our framework, we applied a multi-step approach incorporating a series of
qualitative and quantitative analyses. First, we conducted a netnographic analysis
(Kozinets, 2002) to understand members motives for usage and participation in a
fan-page community. For this, we analyzed all user-generated posts during one year on
active fan pages of different automobile brands (i.e. Audi: 821.175 fans; Volkswagen:
365.990 fans; Mazda: 66.717 fans). Overall, we categorized 661 different posts from the
three fan pages (i.e. photos, videos included; Audi: 198 posts; Volkswagen: 227 posts;
Mazda: 236 posts). We identified five main categories as usage motives:
self-presentation, relationship to the brand, interaction with the brand, information,
fun and entertainment, as well as social interaction. These results support our proposed
value system in our proposed model.
In a second step, we used two focus groups with six active fan-page users to ensure
that the found motives are really relevant for fan-page usage and engagement.
The participants were asked for their motives, their participation behavior, and the
potential changes in their relationship to the brand and the brand behavior since they
became members of the fan page. The results confirmed the value system of the
netnographic analysis. Moreover, the discussion showed that fan pages are mainly
used passively, while some fans are really engaged with the fan pages. Some of the
participants reported an effect of the fan page on their actual brand relationship.
In a third step, we executed a survey on Facebook to test our framework in a field
environment. For the data collection, we invited members of different brand fan pages
(e.g. Coca Cola, BMW, RedBull, Starbucks, McDonalds, Abercrombie & Fitch,
WeightWatchers, Lufthansa, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Barack Obama, GameStar, FC
Bayern Munich) to participate in an online survey by posting the survey link on the fan
page. The incorporated fan pages represent a wide mix of product, service,
organizational and personality fan pages. Through the survey, we obtained a sample of
523 fully completed questionnaires of brand fan-page members. Gender is distributed
evenly in the sample (51.7 percent female, 48.3 percent male). Age of fan-page members
in the sample follows a normal curve of distribution. Average age of the respondents
was 28.6. All participants were frequent fan-page users (more than 80 percent use their
fan pages at least once a week) and active Facebook members (76 percent use Facebook
longer than 20 minutes a day).

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Measurement
For the constructs of our framework, we generated multi-item scales on the basis of
previous measures, the qualitative pre-studies, and the theoretical foundation
(a complete list of all items is presented in the Appendix, Table AI). The measurement
of hedonic and functional value is based on a scale from Voss et al. (2003). Brand
interaction value describes the value that is derived from the communication with the
brand and is measured based on communication component of the web-interactivity
scale (Song and Zinkhan, 2008). For the social interaction value we adapted the social
component of the social networking sites gratification system of Barker (Barker, 2009).
Measurement of the self-concept value is adapted from the social value component of
customer value system from Sweeney and Soutar (2001). It can be defined as utility
derived from the fan pages ability to enhance social self-concept. The scale for
measurement engagement is developed based on the conceptualization of the construct
of van Doorn et al. (2010) focusing on elements like community participation,
identification, and integration. Brand loyalty is reflected by attitudinal and behavioral
components (Oliver, 1999; Dick and Basu, 1994). The attitudinal component is indicated
by brand commitment, understood as enduring desire to maintain a valued
relationship (Moorman et al., 1992, p. 316) and measured through identification,
interaction, and support. The behavioral component is measured by word-of-mouth and
purchase behavior ( Johnson et al., 2006). Finally as controlling construct, we also
measured brand attitude perceived as good, positive, likeable, and favorable (Coulter,
1998; Day and Stafford, 1997; Stafford, 1996; Escalas and Stern, 2003).
All measures were rated on seven-point Likert scales (anchored by I fully disagree
vs I fully agree). The measures were pretested in an offline pretest with 35 college
students and an online pretest with 106 fan-page members of different fan pages, and
they showed a high reliability in the analysis. The reliability results of the constructs are
shown in Table AI and indicate acceptable psychometric properties for all constructs.
Discriminant validity is proved by using Fornell-Larcker criteria (Fornell and Larcker,
1981) (the Appendix, Table AII).
Results of the core model
We tested the proposed hypotheses using a structural equation model. The fit statistics
indicate an adequate fit of the proposed model (i.e. x 2/df 2.99; CFI 0.92;
RMSEA 0.062). The results of the model estimation are shown in Figure 2.
The multiple squared correlations for brand loyalty are 0.28, which is reasonable
considering that online fan pages are not the online influence factor for the
consumer-brand relationship. All coefficients of our proposed processing model (except
two) were highly significant ( p , 0.001). We have not found a significant effect from the
social interaction value to fan-page usage. This might be because social interaction
mainly focuses on elements related to membership exchange. By means of passive
consumption of a media, social interaction value can hardly be gained. The effect from
brand interaction value on fan-page engagement is just significant on the 0.01 level.
Additionally, we tested several alternative model specifications to ensure the
validity of our framework. First, considering our framework, one might argue that the
proposed effects are an artifact of a general positive attitude towards the considered
brand. We would also assume an influence of brand attitude on the constructs of the
framework, but the general relationship within the framework should be not affected.

Gratification

Fan Page Participation

Customer-Brand Relationship

Content-Oriented
Functional
Value

0.38***
0.43

Hedonic
Value

Relationship-Oriented

0.24***

0.47

Fan page
Usage Intensity

Brand
Commitment

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Brand
Interaction
Value

0.69***
0.28

0.26***
0.25***

Brand
Loyalty

0.26***
0.26***

0.14**

Self-Oriented
0.17***
Self-Concept
Value

353

n.s.
0.36***

Social
Interaction
Value

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0.66
0.81***

Brand
WOM

0.80***

0.64
Brand
Purchase

Fan page
Engagement
0.37
Signifinance level
*** < 0,001
**
*

< 0,01
< 0,05

N = 523
CMIN/DF = 2.99
CFI = 0.92
RMSEA = 0.062
Squared Multiple Correction

Therefore, we integrated brand attitude as a controlling variable for all fan-page

participation constructs (usage and engagement) and brand loyalty. All coefficients of
the structural model were still significant ( p , 0.05) and none of the path coefficients
changed the direction. Second, we additionally tested for the effect of the personal
identity value on fan-page usage and for the effect of hedonic and functional value on
fan-page engagement. All turned out as not significant ( p . 0.05). Thus, we can show
according to U&G theory that different motivations affect fan-page behavior
differently.
Discussion
In our study, we analyzed the role of fan pages as a new online service for the
customer-brand relationship, detected fan-page engagement as an important driver for
the consumer-brand relationship, and identified various influential factors for successful
brand fan pages. Considering these results, we can infer multiple implications for the
management of fan pages.
First of all, we can conclude that fan pages are an excellent tool for companies today:
they have measurable effects on the customer-brand relationship. Brand managers
should embrace this new channel and understand how to work with it in a contemporary
fashion. Setting up a brand fan page and generating traffic data (e.g. visits, page
impressions, etc.) is not enough to improve customer relationships. The goal of a brand
fan-page strategy is to completely engage, integrate, and immerse users in a vivid and
active community. Besides that, the company needs to give users realistic reasons to
engage in a fan-page community and foster the we-sense on the fan page. Relationship
building based on real values for the consumer should be in the focus for the company
because service companies can have many interaction points with the consumer,

Figure 2.
Framework of fan-page
participation

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354

and there are a lot of opportunities to foster this interaction and build up a meaningful
community.
Further, from our empirical results, we see that valuable content, both hedonic and
functional, on the fan page itself is one of the most important drivers for attracting users
to fan pages. Brand fan pages must deliver interesting, entertaining, and innovative
content to its fans. Exclusive content, sweepstakes, online events, and contests are some
of the means brand fan pages can use to achieve this. Another value driver is based on
interaction among fan-page members and between customers and the brand itself.
Companies should therefore support as much interactivity as possible. Online events or
community games can trigger discussions about relevant topics. Beyond consumer
interactivity, companies must scan fan pages and be attentive to the happenings in their
fan-page communities. Fan pages are interactive channels. If the company is not
(inter)active, their brand fan pages will not be successful. Beside the interaction between
the brand and the consumer it is very important to moderate the ongoing fan interaction.
This implies new challenges for customer services (Van Bruggen et al., 2010). While in
the past they had to deal with one customer at a time (Kantsperger and Kunz, 2005),
today they need to participate in a community on a public site visible for everyone. They
must answer questions immediately and communicate proactively, even more so when
comments are negative (Kunz et al., 2012; Senecal and Nantel, 2004; Rao et al., 2011).
These implications show that successful social media management is strongly
related to the interactive relationship capabilities of a company. Our research verifies
how strongly modern social media management is shaped by the service-dominant
logic (Vargo and Lusch, 2004). Social media inherently implies a customer and
relational-oriented view. If the brand fan page does not deliver value for the community
members on a regular basis, they will abandon the page. Maybe the statistics of likes
or followers is still high, but real consumer engagement will go down. The company
alone cannot deliver value or an experience on a brand page. They need the community
and the community (hopefully) needs the company.
Limitations and further research
We believe our study has interesting implications, but we are aware about its
limitations. Although our fan-page sample represents a wide area of different industries
(i.e. over 40 different pages of goods, service, organization, or celebrity brands), they are
not representative for all fan pages existing on social networking sites. More research is
needed to understand the roles fan pages play in specific industries. Future research
could focus on the difference between manufacturing industries and dominantly
service industries, the differences between more hedonic or functional brands, or the
difference between company brands and human brands. Further, our study did not
observe personal traits (e.g. novelty seeking, extraversion or self-esteem) which could
influence the effects illustrated in our framework. The data for this study are
cross-sectional. Further research could build up a database over a longitudinal time
frame with a constant panel sample to observe the dynamics of fan-page members
behavior over time.
Beyond our study further research is needed to understand the meaning of fan pages
and, indeed, social media in general for customer relationship management. Research
might study also the effect of observed behavior of fan-page members on their Facebook
friends who are not fans but can follow what their friends are doing. Also the impact

of new technological possibilities like mobile application (Kleijnen et al., 2009) as well as
the limitations of online experiences (Picard, 2010) needs to be researched in more detail.
Additionally, further study is needed for the effects of negative word-of-mouth on social
media platforms. It might also be interesting and important to look for best practices for
managing negative or defaming comments on fan pages and other social media
platforms.

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355
Conclusion
The mixture of social and commercial aspects makes brand fan pages unique.
Our study has shown the high potential of brand fan pages for the customer-brand
relationship as well as for relationship building. Ideally, fans would see brands as real
friends in their social networks, which play an important part in their everyday lives.
In this case, brand communication is no longer automatically perceived as disturbing
advertising but as interesting and reasonable conversation among friends.
If companies better understand the reasons for fan-page usage and engagement, they
can use this to interact with, integrate, and engage their customers as well as transform
them from ordinary users to real fans of their brands. Our study is a first step to
understand brand fan pages; but there remains a broad field of discovery for a deeper
understanding of this new social media channel as an effective relationship-building
tool.
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(The Appendix follows overleaf.)

About the authors
Benedikt Jahn is a PhD Student at the Institute of Marketing at the
Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich and is also currently completing his Master of
Business Research. His research interests are in the area of social media marketing, especially on
brand communication on fan pages on social networking sites.
Werner Kunz is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Massachusetts in
Boston. He received his Doctorate from Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. His research
interests are in social media, consumer networks, innovation, and service marketing. He has
published in various marketing and service research journals, for instance, the International
Journal of Research in Marketing. Werner Kunz is the corresponding author and can be contacted
at: werner.kunz@umb.de

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: reprints@emeraldinsight.com

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

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Appendix

Construct

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360

Table AI.
Scale items and reliability
measurement

Functional value
The content of the fan page is helpful for me
The content of the fan page is useful for me
The content of the fan page is functional for me
The content of the fan page is practical for me
Hedonic value
The content of the fan page is fun
The content of the fan page is exciting
The content of the fan page is pleasant
The content of the fan page is entertaining
Social interaction value
I can meet people like me on this fan page
I can meet new people like me on this fan page
I can find out about people like me on this fan page
I can interact with people like me on this fan page
Brand interaction value
I can interact with the brand on this fan page
I can communicate with the brand on this fan page
I can give feedback to the brand on this fan page
I can get answers from the brand on this fan page
Self-concept value
[. . .] I can make a good impression on others
[. . .] I can improve the way I am perceived
[. . .] I can present others who I am
[. . .] I can present others who I want to be
Fan-page usage intensity
I frequently use (e.g. watching/reading) this fan page
I often use (e.g. watching/reading) this fan page
I regularly use (e.g. watching/reading) this fan page
Fan-page engagement
I am an integrated member of this fan-page community
I am an engaged member of this fan-page community
I am an active member of this fan-page community
I am a participating member of this fan-page community
I am an interacting member of this fan-page community
Brand attitude
In my opinion this brand is good
In my opinion this brand is positive
I like this brand
I think favorably about this brand
Brand commitment
I feel I am part of a community around this brand
I am an active supporter of this brand
I interact with this brand
Word-of-mouth
I recommend this brand to other people
I introduce this brand to other people
I say positive things about this brand to other people
Purchase
I intend to remain loyal to this brand in the future
I will not stop buying/supporting this brand
I think of myself as a loyal consumer/supporter of this brand

aa

EFAb

CRc

AVEd

SRMRe

CFIf

0.94

0.91
0.91
0.92
0.91

0.96

0.78

0.032

0.95

0.88

0.86
0.84
0.85
0.89

0.88

0.66

0.032

0.97

0.92

0.88
0.92
0.91
0.90

0.92

0.75

0.018

0.99

0.93

0.92
0.95
0.90
0.90

0.93

0.78

0.015

0.99

0.91

0.80
0.82
0.75
0.74

0.90

0.69

0.057

0.92

0.90

0.90
0.94
0.90

0.89

0.74

0.94

0.90
0.93
0.94
0.84
0.90

0.94

0.76

0.028

0.96

0.94

0.94
0.92
0.94
0.89

0.94

0.79

0.010

1.00

0.87

0.88
0.90
0.88

0.87

0.68

0.90

0.94
0.93
0.91

0.92

0.80

0.91

0.92
0.92
0.93

0.91

0.78

Notes: aCronbachs a; bexploratory factor analysis; ccomposite reliability;

extracted; estandardized root mean residual; fcomparative fit index

average variance

0.81
0.27
0.27
0.27
0.37
0.24
0.28
0.21
0.18
0.21

0.27

0.30

0.37

0.27

0.46

0.36

0.25

0.33

0.27

0.30

0.88

0.22

0.21

0.42

0.12

0.45

0.26

0.44

0.45

0.87

Social
interaction
value

0.39

0.38

0.39

0.29

0.42

0.38

0.28

0.88

Brand
interaction
value

0.25

0.29

0.42

0.14

0.38

0.26

0.83

Selfconcept
value

0.31

0.27

0.31

0.29

0.39

0.86

0.23

0.28

0.63

0.07

0.87

0.52

0.47

0.20

0.89

0.44

0.51

0.82

Usage
Fan-page
Brand
Brand
intensity engagement attitude commitment

0.64

0.89

Brand
word-ofmouth

Notes: Italic numbers on the diagonal show the square root of the AVE, numbers below the diagonal represent construct correlation

Functional
value
Hedonic
value
Social
interaction
value
Brand
interaction
value
Self-concept
value
Usage
intensity
Fan-page
engagement
Brand
attitude
Brand
commitment
Word-ofmouth
Brand
purchase

Functional Hedonic
value
value

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0.95

Brand
purchase

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Table AII.
Correlation matrix and
discriminant validity

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9. RossmannAlexander Alexander Rossmann Alexander Rossmann is a Professor for Marketing and Sales
at Reutlingen University and Research Associate at the Institute of Marketing, University of St.
Gallen. Prior to this, he worked as a Managing Director of a leading consultancy firm. His expertise
covers relevant issues of social media research, digital business, customer co-creation and relationship
marketing. Alexander Rossmanns research has been accepted for publication at the Journal of Services
Marketing and the Marketing Review St. Gallen. He contributes regularly to international research

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conferences. Alexander Rossmann holds a doctoral degree from the University of St. Gallen and a
master degree from the University of Tbingen and the State University of New York. RanjanKumar
Rakesh Kumar Rakesh Ranjan Kumar Rakesh Ranjans research investigations include social media and
electronic WoM, co-creation, service interaction quality and performance issues in sales channels. His
research has been accepted for publication at the Journal of Services Marketing and the Journal of the
Academy of Marketing Science. A few of his ongoing studies have been included in the proceedings
of international refereed conferences such as the Academy of Marketing Science (Monterey, 2013), the
American Marketing Association (Boston, 2013; San Francisco 2014), the Academy of Management
(2013) and the European Marketing Academy (Valencia, 2014). SugathanPraveen Praveen Sugathan
Praveen Sugathan holds PhD from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and is currently an
Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli . He specializes in the firmcustomer interfaces which are facilitated by new technologies and media. His research interests include
investigating customer responses after co-creation, how customers spread and engage with word-ofmouth, and customer perception of realism is creative products. He is also interested in customer and
marketing analytics. School of Informatics, Reutlingen University, Reutlingen, Germany Marketing
Department, Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Kolkata, India Marketing Department, Indian
Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli, Tiruchirappalli, India . 2016. Drivers of user engagement in
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10. Apenes SolemBirgit Andrine Birgit Andrine Apenes Solem Department of Business and Management,
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2016. Influences of customer participation and customer brand engagement on brand loyalty. Journal of
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2016. Online brand community: through the eyes of Self-Determination Theory. Internet Research 26:4,
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them: An examination of impression management associated with visible political party affiliation on
Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior 61, 280-287. [CrossRef]
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negative Facebook posts have positive effects. Electronic Markets 26:3, 219-231. [CrossRef]
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dynamics in the attractions industry: The case of E-da theme park, Taiwan. Technological Forecasting
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16. Yi Sun, Kwok Kee Wei, Chaobin Fan, Yaobin Lu, Sumeet Gupta. 2016. Does social climate matter? On
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19. Mingli Zhang, Lingyun Guo, Mu Hu, Wenhua Liu. 2016. Influence of customer engagement with
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20. Rodoula H Tsiotsou Department of Business Administration, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki,
Greece . 2016. The social aspects of consumption as predictors of consumer loyalty. Journal of Service
Management 27:2, 91-116. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
21. Kevin Kam Fung So SmartState Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development,
College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South
Carolina, USA Ceridwyn King Fox School of Business, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
USA Beverley Ann Sparks Griffith Business School, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia Ying Wang
Department of Tourism, Sport Hotel Management, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia . 2016.
Enhancing customer relationships with retail service brands. Journal of Service Management 27:2, 170-193.
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22. Bastian Popp, Herbert Woratschek. 2016. Introducing branded communities in sport for building strong
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26. Salim L Azar, Joana Csar Machado, Leonor Vacas-de-Carvalho, Ana Mendes. 2016. Motivations to
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markets. Computers in Human Behavior 54, 491-500. [CrossRef]
28. Chetna Kudeshia, Pallab Sikdar, Arun Mittal. 2016. Spreading love through fan page liking: A perspective
on small scale entrepreneurs. Computers in Human Behavior 54, 257-270. [CrossRef]
29. Aaron W. Baur, Johannes S. Henne, Markus BickCustomer Service Experience Through TechnologyEnabled Social CRM An Exploratory Analysis in the Automotive Industry 157-172. [CrossRef]
30. Ching-Wei Ho, Yu-Bing Wang. 2015. Re-purchase intentions and virtual customer relationships on social
media brand community. Human-centric Computing and Information Sciences 5:1. . [CrossRef]
31. Mariola Palazon Departamento de Comercializacin e Investigacin de Mercados, Facultad de Economa
y Empresa, Universidad de Murcia, Espinardo, Spain Mara Sicilia Marketing Department, University of
Murcia, Murcia, Spain Manuela Lopez Escuela de Ciencias Empresariales, Universidad Catlica del Norte,
Larrondo, Chile . 2015. The influence of Facebook friends on the intention to join brand pages. Journal
of Product & Brand Management 24:6, 580-595. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
32. Dr Ross Brennan and Professor Sue Halliday Wondwesen Tafesse Department of Marketing, Bod
Graduate School of Business, Bod, Norway . 2015. Content strategies and audience response on Facebook
brand pages. Marketing Intelligence & Planning 33:6, 927-943. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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33. Hamid Khobzi, Babak Teimourpour. 2015. LCP segmentation: A framework for evaluation of user
engagement in online social networks. Computers in Human Behavior 50, 101-107. [CrossRef]
34. Werner Kunz, Sukanya Seshadri. 2015. From virtual travelers to real friends: Relationship-building
insights from an online travel community. Journal of Business Research 68:9, 1822-1828. [CrossRef]
35. Monica Alexandra Hodis, Rajendran Sriramachandramurthy, Hemant C. Sashittal. 2015. Interact with
me on my terms: a four segment Facebook engagement framework for marketers. Journal of Marketing
Management 31:11-12, 1255-1284. [CrossRef]
36. Chetna Kudeshia Birla Institute of Technology, Extension Centre, Noida Arun Mittal Birla Institute of
Technology, Extension Centre, Noida . 2015. The journey of Chumbak: from mail to mall leveraging
social media networks for on-going dialogue with customers. Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies 5:4,
1-24. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
37. Jan Breitsohl, Werner H. Kunz, David Dowell. 2015. Does the host match the content? A taxonomical
update on online consumption communities. Journal of Marketing Management 31:9-10, 1040-1064.
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38. Xiabing Zheng, Christy M. K. Cheung, Matthew K.O. Lee, Liang Liang. 2015. Building brand loyalty
through user engagement in online brand communities in social networking sites. Information Technology
& People 28:1, 90-106. [CrossRef]
39. Petros Tomaras, Klimis Ntalianis. 2015. Evaluating the Impact of Posted Advertisements on Content
Sharing Sites: An Unsupervised Social Computing Approach. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences
175, 219-226. [CrossRef]
40. Christy Ashley, Tracy Tuten. 2015. Creative Strategies in Social Media Marketing: An Exploratory Study
of Branded Social Content and Consumer Engagement. Psychology & Marketing 32:1, 15-27. [CrossRef]
41. Eunji Kim, Yonnim Lee, Jaehong Cho, Ohbyung Kwon. 2014. Brand-Post Factors Affecting the Social
Media Success : Case of Energy/Eco-Friendly Company Brands in Facebook. Journal of the Korea society
of IT services 13:4, 1-17. [CrossRef]
42. Natalie Jane De Vries, Jamie Carlson. 2014. Examining the drivers and brand performance implications of
customer engagement with brands in the social media environment. Journal of Brand Management 21:6,
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43. Robert Davis, Inna Piven, Michael Breazeale. 2014. Conceptualizing the brand in social media community:
The five sources model. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 21:4, 468-481. [CrossRef]
44. Inwon Kang, Eunsun Cho. 2014. A Study on User's Voluntary Behavior in Company Social
Networks(CSN). Journal of the Korea society of IT services 13:2, 35-53. [CrossRef]
45. Tommy K H Chan, Xiabing Zheng, Christy M K Cheung, Matthew K O Lee, Zach W Y Lee. 2014.
Antecedents and consequences of customer engagement in online brand communities. Journal of Marketing
Analytics 2:2, 81-97. [CrossRef]
46. Carla Ruiz-Mafe Department of Marketing, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain Jose Mart-Parreo
Department of Marketing, European University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain Silvia Sanz-Blas Department
of Marketing, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain . 2014. Key drivers of consumer loyalty to Facebook
fan pages. Online Information Review 38:3, 362-380. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
47. Benedikt Jahn, Markus Pfeiffer. 2014. Die digitale Revolution Neue Geschftsmodelle statt (nur) neue
Kommunikation. Marketing Review St. Gallen 31:1, 79-93. [CrossRef]
48. Alexander Muk, Christina Chung. 2014. Driving Consumers to Become Fans of Brand Pages: A
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49. Irena Pletikosa Cvijikj, Erica Dubach Spiegler, Florian Michahelles. 2013. Evaluation framework for social
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51. Kristina Heinonen, Maria Holmlund, Tore Strandvik Carla Sofia Martins Department of Engineering and
Industrial Management, School of Engineering, Porto University, Porto, Portugal Lia Patrcio Department
of Engineering and Industrial Management, School of Engineering, Porto University, Porto, Portugal .
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52. Lerzan Aksoy, Allard van Riel and Jay KandampullyBart LarivireBased at the Center for Service
Intelligence, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Herm JoostenBased at the Institute for Management
Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Edward C. MalthouseBased at the
Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA Marcel van
BirgelenBased at the Institute for Management Research, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The
Netherlands Pelin AksoyBased at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, George Mason
University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA Werner H. KunzBased at the College of Management, University
of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA MingHui HuangBased at the Department of
Information Management, College of Management, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. 2013.
Value fusion. Journal of Service Management 24:3, 268-293. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
53. Ronald E. GoldsmithMarketing, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA Margherita
PaganiBocconi University, Milan, Italy Xiaojing LuShanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
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54. Huanhuan CaoDepartment of Information Management and Ecommerce, Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an, China Jinhu JiangDepartment of Information Management and Ecommerce, Xi'an Jiaotong
University, Xi'an, China LihBin OhDepartment of Information Management and Ecommerce, Xi'an
Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China Hao LiDepartment of Information Management and Ecommerce,
Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China Xiuwu LiaoDepartment of Information Management and E
commerce, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China Zhiwu ChenDepartment of Information Management
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of social networking services continuance. Journal of Service Management 24:2, 170-190. [Abstract] [Full
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55. Andrea SchlschenCelebrity Endorsement in Social Media 1940-1956. [CrossRef]
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