Social Media Effects in Virtual Brand Communities

Social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook and Twitter are emerging as major communication channels for organizations looking for new ways of customer engagement. Although this new scenario is having a massive impact on consumer behavior and marketing strategies, very little is known about users' intentions to participate in online social networks, and the potential benefits that online social interaction could generate. This research presents a new framework integrating the advantages of two well-known approaches, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), to understand the intention to participate in the SNSs. The TAM focuses more on volitional factors, while the TPB considers external influences such as social factors. The authors' framework integrates both models, and extended them with two key elements in online communication and E-commerce: privacy and trust. The framework also reflects the effects of interaction between brands and consumers on Facebook and Twitter. The new theoretical framework was tested through two cross-sectional surveys in Facebook and Twitter. The results indicate that high levels of trust, attitude and perceived usefulness can be good indicators of the adoption of a SNS. Individually, Twitter was found to be a powerful word of mouth tool, and Facebook is a good interactive channel. These findings can provide a better picture of how practitioners should develop their strategies in both platforms in order to maximize their potential.