Purpose: Many enterprises recognize that social media is a valuable source of information propagation for brands. Using the self-congruity and social identity theories as theoretical bases, the purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated conceptual model and explore the effects of brand-evangelism-related behavioral decisions of enterprises on virtual community members. Design/methodology/approach: This study targeted community members who had purchased a specific cosmetic brand’s products and had been members of an official brand fan page for at least one year. Using a survey of 488 valid samples and structural equation modeling was used to conduct path analyses. Findings: The results indicated that seven hypothetical paths were supported and exhibited desirable goodness of fit. Value congruity can be used to explain effects of dual identification on various relationships. Relationships among variables of brand evangelism are not independent. Specifically, the effect of brand purchase intentions on positive brand referrals is higher than that on oppositional brand referrals. Practical implications: The findings can help brand community managers to adopt innovative and effective strategies to gain community members’ identification and maintain a desirable relationship between business and community members. In addition, this study should help marketers to increase the opportunity of maximizing the brand evangelism effect. Originality/value: This study contributes to the understanding for multiple perspectives of value congruity and adopts the extension viewpoint to understand community members not only have brand value and self-congruity problems but also have community membership goals and values related to the fit problem.

Based on the stimulus-organism-response model, this research proposes a model that illustrates the effect of perceived interactivity on brand community members’ attitudes toward the site and brand community relationships. This research recruited 425 Facebook Fan Page (FBFP) users for a survey study, and structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses. The results show that perceived interactivity (i.e., perceived control, perceived responsiveness, and perceived communication) positively influences users’ attitudes toward using an FBFP, which subsequently positively influences customer–brand, customer–product, customer–company, and customer–other customer relationships. This research advances the literature on virtual communities and brand communities by demonstrating how perceived interactivity affects users’ attitudes toward FBFPs and the impact of users’ attitudes toward FBFPs on brand community relationships. The findings provide managerial implications in regard to interacting with members and building brand community relationships.

Purpose: This study developed a new interpretation of the attitude contagion theory, with the information adoption model (IAM) as the theoretical basis. A review of electronic word-of-mouth studies was conducted by using informational and individual determinants to develop an integrated empirical model that identified the antecedents and consequences of consumer attitude toward online reviews.Design/methodology/approach: This study recruited 750 members of Facebook beauty fan pages in Taiwan and used the structural equation model to test research hypotheses.Findings: Results revealed that perceived “ electronic word-of mouth (eWOM) credibility of online reviews” and “product involvement” could be used to explain the effects of attitude toward online reviews. Regarding the attitude contagion effect, the effect of “attitude toward online review” on both “attitude toward a product” and “attitude toward a brand” is stronger than that on “eWOM adoption.”Originality/value: This paper provides valuable insights into the antecedents, consequences and mediating mechanisms that determine consumer attitude toward online reviews.

Purpose: Live streaming platforms have become an essential marketing medium. This study constructed a model based on a combination of psychological contract theory and trust transfer theory.Design/methodology/approach: A survey was administered to viewers who watched live streaming sales videos belonging to the top three most popular categories on Facebook and purchased a featured product in the past 6 months.Findings: All but one hypothesis were supported. Although psychological contracts significantly increased trust in live streamers and trust in products, trust in products was increased more through trust in live streamers than directly.Originality/value: The authors identified prerequisites for psychological contract establishment and developed an integrated empirical model.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore a model of how people are influenced from the perspectives of individuals (cognitive trust and affective trust), group (sense of virtual community), and social influence (normative influence and information influence) factors. Design/methodology/approach: This research adopts structural equation modeling to test the proposed model and the structural model shows a good fit. This research sample consists of 312 members who have used Facebook for at least six months. Findings: The results indicate the following. Both cognitive trust and affective trust have effects on members’ sense of virtual community. Cognitive trust, affective trust, and sense of virtual community have effects on both normative influence and informative influence, respectively. Members in a virtual community could create a sense of virtual community via affective trust. Members’ sense of virtual community partially mediates between cognitive/affective trust and normative/informative influence. Originality/value: This study investigates the multiple perspectives of the interpersonal interaction between individual, community, and social influence.