Latest Masters of Business Research (Work in Progress): Exploring the consumers service brand consumption in a social media community by Inna Piven

Exploring the consumers service brand consumption in a

social media community

Abstract

Social media is becoming a dominant communication channel today in

branding and is as such of interests to academic researchers and marketing

practitioners. Although consumers’ migration into social media has already

gained far-reaching consequences for product and service brands, the

research on the consumers-brand relationship in a community-oriented

environment remains quiet, which is particularly true for service brands.

Following the recent call for a consumer research that focuses on online

brand-related communications and co-creation in real context, the proposed

study aims to explore service brand consumption within a social media

community.

In the line with scholars who view service consumers as brand co-creators,

this research will widen understanding of consumers’ consumption and cocreation

activities in social media through experiencing an iPad branded

application, the most popular contemporary gadget. Suggesting that the iPad

application offers consumers a new way to interact with brands, the research

will undertake the experimental approach to investigate how consumers

experience the service in a novel social media format with the specific interest

on consumers’ engagement in co-creation activities. At that point, exploring

the consumers’ personal and communal experiences is to lead to the

development of the conceptual model of service brand consumption within

social media community.

Taking into account that relationship between consumers and brands is a

critical issue of the service research, insights on consumers’ service brand

consumption in social media will be practically useful, particularly in creating

compelling experiences for consumers, providing them with multiple points for

interaction with brands and overall, in building meaningful relationships.

Researchers

Inna Piven

Master of Business Student, Department of Management and Marketing,

Faculty of Creative Industries and Business, dimitry1@xtra.co.nz, Unitec

Institute of Technology, Department of Management and Marketing, Private

Bag 92025, Auckland, New Zealand.

Dr Robert Davis

Associate Professor, Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of

Creative Industries and Business, rdavis@unitec.ac.nz, Phone: +(649) 815

4321, Postal Address: Unitec Institute of Technology, Private Bag 92025,

Auckland, New