The dual concept of consumer value in social media brand community: A trust transfer perspective

Companies are increasingly relying on social media brand communities to interact with consumers and achieve business values. Thus, it is essential to understand how companies can extract value from consumers in social media brand communities. We develop a model clarifying the dual concept of consumer value and illustrating how consumer-perceived value can be transformed into consumer-generated value from a trust transfer perspective. Specifically, we identify three types of consumer-perceived value: utilitarian, hedonic, and social. We capture consumer-generated value in terms of purchase intention and social media word of mouth. Using a two-wave survey, our results strongly support the research model. Specifically, the three types of consumer-perceived values positively affect consumer trust in social media brand communities, which in turn leads to trust in brand and in social media and, thereafter, consumers’ subsequent social media word of mouth and purchase intentions. Our study makes several contributions to the strategic information systems literature concerning leveraging social media brand communities into business strategies. Theoretically, our study expands the understanding of the dual concept of consumer value in social media brand communities through the trust transfer theory. Practically, our study delivers insights for companies into how social media brand communities can be used as a strategic tool for achieving business values.