The effect of user-generated content on consumer-based brand equity of major retailers in the Cape Metropole

T.W.Hermanus, Prof V.V. Mugobo

Vol 19 | Issue 1 pp. 13-33

Abstract

Negative and positive views on service and brand quality are generally  shared on various social media platforms and are categorised as user-generated content (UGC). Both negative and positive UGC can either damage or enhance a company’s reputation or consumer-based brand equity, and this may ultimately have an impact on the organisations financial performance. This study sought to examine whether UGC does influence consumer-based brand perceptions, and if so, to determine whether negative or positive UGC exerted the most influence on these perceptions. The data for the study was collected using a mono-method quantitative research approach, which included a sample of 513 Generation Y respondents who completed self-administered online questionnaires distributed using Survey Monkey. Data analysis was based on both descriptive and regression models using SPSS version 27. As its major result, the study found that UGC does exert an influence on consumer-based brand equity, while positive UGC exerted a more significant influence than negative UGC. Similarly, both positive and negative UGC had an influence on other brand equity elements, such as brand credibility, brand loyalty and purchase intentions. From a policy perspective, it is imperative for companies to implement strategies or interventions in the form of promotional and information campaigns that enhance positive UGC while at the same time countering negative UGC that is damaging to the business.  

Keywords: user-generated content, Generation Y, consumer-based brand equity, response strategies, communication strategy and secondary brand associations.

Back to Volume 19 issue 1



References

Aaker, D.A. 1992. The value of brand equity. Journal of Business Strategy, 13(4):27–32.

Abina & Uthman, A.B. 2018. Internal brand equity of universities and students’ academic performance: An empirical survey of accounting students. Global Management Review, 12(1):1-20.

Ali, M., Iraqi, K.M., Khan, L. & Salam, F. 2019. The effect of traditional media communication and social media communication in generating consumer-based brand equity in context of Pakistan. South Asian Journal of Management Sciences, 13(2):137–154.

Arya, V., Paul, J. & Sethi, D. 2022. Like it or not! Brand communication on social networking sites triggers consumer‐based brand equity. International Journal of Consumer Studies46(4):1381-1398.

Baalbaki, S.S. & Guzmán, F. 2016. Consumer-based brand equity. In Dall’Olmo Riley, F., Singh, J. & Blankson, C. (eds). The Routledge Companion to Contemporary Brand Management. Routledge: 32–47.

Bhattacherjee, A. 2012. Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices. Textbooks Collection. Global Text Project.

Bolton, R.N., Chapman, R.G. & Mills, A.J. 2019. Harnessing digital disruption with marketing simulations. Journal of Marketing Education, 41(1):5-31.

Bruhn, M., Schoenmueller, V. & Schäfer, D.B. 2012. Are social media replacing traditional media in terms of brand equity creation? Management Research Review, 35(9):770–790.

Brzozowska-Woś, M. & Schivinski, B. 2019. The effect of online reviews on consumer-based brand equity: Case-study of the Polish restaurant sector. Central European Management Journal, 27(3):2–27.

Budree, A., Fietkiewicz, K. and Lins, E., 2019. Investigating usage of social media platforms in South Africa. The African Journal of Information Systems11(4), p.1.

Buzeta, C., De Pelsmacker, P. & Dens, N. 2020. Motivations to use different social media types and their impact on consumers’ online brand-related activities (COBRAs). Journal of Interactive Marketing, 52:79–98.

Castillo, A.C., Flores, A.M., Sanchez, L.M., Yusay, A. & Posadas, M.A. 2022. The moderating effect of the country of origin on smartphones’ brand equity and brand preference on customer purchase intention. Journal of Business and Management Studies4(2):58-78.

Chakraborty, U. & Bhat, S. 2018. Credibility of online reviews and its impact on brand image. Management Research Review, 41(1):148–164.

Chari, S., Christodoulides, G., Presi, C., Wenhold, J. & Casaletto, J.P. 2016. Consumer trust in user‐generated brand recommendations on Facebook. Psychology & Marketing, 33(12):1071–1081.

Chatzipanagiotou, K., Christodoulides, G. & Veloutsou, C. 2019. Managing the consumer-based brand equity process: A cross-cultural perspective. International Business Review, 28(2):328–343.

Chelliah, A.A.E., Nawaz, N. & Gajenderan, V. 2022. User-generated content and its impact on brand attitude and purchase intentions. Impact of Artificial Intelligence, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Business Success, 485:421-432.

Christodoulides, G., Bonhomme, J. & Jevons, C. 2010. The impact of user-generated content on consumer-based brand equity. 6th Thought Leaders International Conference on Brand ManagementFebruary 2010. 0-16.

Christodoulides, G., Jevons, C., & Bonhomme, J.,2012 “Memo to marketers: Quantitative evidence for change: How user-generated content really affects brands.” Journal of advertising research 52, no. 1 (2012):1-19.

Ciasullo, M.V., Montera, R. & Palumbo, R. 2019. Online content responsiveness. An exploratory empirical study on strategies for managing UGC in Italian hotels. Paper presented at the Excellence in Services International Conference, Thessaloniki.

Coelho, A., Bairrada, C. & Peres, F. 2019. Brand communities’ relational outcomes, through brand love. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 28(2):154–165.

Colicev, A., Malshe, A. & Pauwels, K. 2018. Social media and customer-based brand equity: An empirical investigation in retail industry. Administrative Sciences, 8(3):55–70.

Cooper, D.R. & Schindler, P.S., 2011. Business research methods 12th ed., New York, United States of America, McGraw-Hill.

Cunha, I., 2021. Revisiting electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM): a systematic review, Doctoral dissertation, University of Portugal, Portugal.

Dash, G., Kiefer, K. & Paul, J., 2021. Marketing-to-millennials: Marketing 4.0, customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Journal of business research122:608-620.

Daugherty, T. & Hoffman, E. 2014. eWOM and the importance of capturing consumer attention within social media. Journal of Marketing Communications, 20(1-2):82-102.

Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Pandey, N., Pandey, N. & Mishra, A., 2021. Mapping the electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) research: A systematic review and bibliometric analysis. Journal of Business Research135:758-773.

Dwivedi, A., Johnson, L.W., Wilkie, D.C. & De Araujo-Gil, L. 2018. Consumer emotional brand attachment with social media brands and social media brand equity. European Journal of Marketing, 53(6):1176–1204.

Eckes, M.J., 2016. Empirical investigation of the impact of online Word of Mouth on customer-based brand equity in the German product market, Doctoral dissertation. University of Portugual, Portugual.

Erkmen, E. 2018. Managing your brand for employees: Understanding the role of organizational processes in cultivating employee brand equity. Administrative Sciences, 8(3):52.

Esomar, 2021., Esomar, [Online} Available at: https://esomar.org/codes-and-guidelines [Accessed: 4 October 2022].

Ortiz-Ospina, E. and Roser, M., 2023. The rise of social media. Our world in data. – “The rise of social media”. Published online at OurWorldInData.org. Available at: ‘https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media’ [Accessed on 12 February 2023].

Estrella-Ramón, A. & Ellis-Chadwick, F. 2017. Do different kinds of user-generated content in online brand communities really work? Online Information Review, 41(7):954-968.

Estrella-Ramón, A., García-de-Frutos, N., Ortega-Egea, J.M. & Segovia-López, C. 2019. How does marketers’ and users’ content on corporate Facebook fan pages influence brand equity? Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, 36:100867.

Eusebius, S. 2020. Customer-based brand equity in a digital age: An analysis of brand associations in user-generated social media content. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Gajenderan, V., Priya, R.P. & Nawaz, N. 2020. User generated content and its impact on brand attitude and purchase intention. International Journal of Management, 11(2):277–286.

Gürhan-Canli, Z., Hayran, C. & Sarial-Abi, G. 2016. Customer-based brand equity in a technologically fast-paced, connected, and constrained environment. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 6(1–2):23–32.

Hair, J.F., Ringle, C.M. & Sarstedt, M., 2013. Partial least squares structural equation modeling: Rigorous applications, better results and higher acceptance. Long range planning46(1-2):1-12.

Hallgren, J., Sigurbjörnsson, K. & Black, T. 2018. The relationship between brand related UGC and CBBE: An Internet meme experiment. Unpublished Bachelor’s thesis, Linnaeus University, Sweden.

He, J. & Zhang, S., 2022. How digitalized interactive platforms create new value for customers by integrating B2B and B2C models? An empirical study in China. Journal of Business Research142:694-706.

Ho-Dac, N.N., Carson, S.J. & Moore, W.L. 2013. The effects of positive and negative online customer reviews: Do brand strength and category maturity matter? Journal of Marketing, 77(6):37–53.

Hornik, J., Satchi, R.S., Cesareo, L. & Pastore, A. 2015. Information dissemination via electronic word-of-mouth: Good news travels fast, bad news travels faster! Computers in Human Behavior, 45:273-280.

Hussain, S. and Ahmed, R.R., 2020. Smartphone buying behaviours in a framework of brand experience and brand equity. Transformations in Business & Economics19(2):220-242.

Iacobucci, D. & Churchill, G.A. 2010. Marketing research: Methodological foundations. 12th ed. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Ibrahim, B., Aljarah, A., Hayat, D.T. & Lahuerta-Otero, E., 2022. Like, comment and share: Examining the effect of firm-created content and user-generated content on consumer engagement. Leisure/Loisir,1-24.

Jeon, H.M. and Yoo, S.R. 2021. The relationship between brand experience and consumer-based brand equity in grocerants. Service Business15(2):369-389.

Johnen, M. & Schnittka, O. 2019. When pushing back is good: The effectiveness of brand responses to social media complaints. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(5):858–878.

Keller, K.L. & Swaminathan, V. 2020. Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and managing brand equity. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

Keller, K.L. 1993. Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing, 57(1):1-22.

Keller, K.L. 2010. Brand equity management in a multichannel, multimedia retail environment. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 24(2):58–70.

Keller, K.L. 2012. Understanding the richness of brand relationships: Research dialogue on brands as intentional agents. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(2):186–190.

Keller, K.L. 2013. Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and managing brand equity. 4th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

Khobzi, H., Lau, R.Y. & Cheung, T.C. 2018. The outcome of online social interactions on Facebook pages: A study of user engagement behavior. Internet Research, 29(1):2-23.

Kim, A.J. & Johnson, K.K.P. 2016. Power of consumers using social media: Examining the influences of brand-related user-generated content on Facebook. Computers in Human Behavior, 58:98–108.

Kuksov, D., Shachar, R. & Wang, K. 2013. Advertising and consumers’ communications. Marketing Science, 32(2):294–309.

Lappeman, J., Patel, M. & Appalraju, R. 2018. Firestorm response: Managing brand reputation during an nWOM firestorm by responding to online complaints individually or as a cluster. Communicatio: South African Journal for Communication Theory and Research, 44(2):67-87.

Lassar, W., Mittal, B. & Sharma, A. 1995. Measuring customer-based brand equity. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 12(4):11–19.

Lim, J.S., Pham, P. & Heinrichs, J.H. 2020. Impact of social media activity outcomes on brand equity. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 29(7):927–937.

Llopis-Amorós, M.P., Gil-Saura, I., Ruiz-Molina, M.E. & Fuentes-Blasco, M. 2019. Social media communications and festival brand equity: Millennials vs Centennials. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 40:134-144.

Lwin, C.M., 2022. The effect of social media marketing on brand equity of Myanmar Cosmetics (Doctoral dissertation, MERAL Portal). Department of Commerce Yangon University of Economics, Myanmar.

Machado, J.C., Vacas-de-Carvalho, L., Azar, S.L., André, A.R. & Dos Santos, B.P. 2019. Brand gender and consumer-based brand equity on Facebook: The mediating role of consumer-brand engagement and brand love. Journal of Business Research, 96:376-385.

Mackay, M.M., Romaniuk, J. & Sharp, B. 1998. A classification of brand equity research endeavours. Journal of Brand Management, 5(6):415–429.

Malhotra, N.K. & Birks, D.F., 2006. Marketing Research: An Applied Approach, Updated Second European Edition. London, United Kingdom, Pearson Education Limited.

Maslikhan, M.I. 2019. The effect of negative publicity on brand equity (image attitude, and purchase intention) in Indonesia: Case of Dolce and Gabbana racism scandal. International Journal of Business and Administrative Studies, 5(3):144-154.

Mayrhofer, M., Matthes, J., Einwiller, S. & Naderer, B. 2020. User generated content presenting brands on social media increases young adults’ purchase intention. International Journal of Advertising, 39(1):166–186.

Mishra, A.S. 2019. Antecedents of consumers’ engagement with brand-related content on social media. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 37(4):386–400.

Morra, M.C., Ceruti, F., Chierici, R. & Di Gregorio, A. 2017. Social vs traditional media communication: brand origin associations strike a chord. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 12(1):2–2.

Muntinga, D.G. 2018. Managing brands in the age of DIY-Branding: The COBRA approach. Springer Gabler, Wiesbaden: Handbuch Techniken der Kommunikation: 505-524.

Munyau, P.K. 2017. Role of customer-based brand equity on brand market performance in the banking service sector in Kenya. Unpublished PhD thesis, Jomo Kenyatta University Of Agriculture And Technology, Kenya.

Naeem, M. & Ozuem, W. 2020. Developing UGC social brand engagement model: Insights from diverse consumers. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 20(2):426-439.

Nielsen, 2021., Nielsen, [Online} Available at:   https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2021/beyond-martech-building-trust-with-consumers-and-engaging-where-sentiment-is-high/ Accessed: 4 October 2022].

Park, C. & Lee, T.M. 2009. Information direction, website reputation and eWOM effect: A moderating role of product type. Journal of Business research, 62(1):61-67.

Park, C. S. & Srinivasan, V. 1994. A survey-based method for measuring and understanding brand equity and its extendibility. Journal of Marketing Research, 31(2):271.

Plieijers, D. & Kristal, S. 2021. Food porn on Instagram: Only a feast for the eye or also valuable for restaurants? Unpublished Doctoral dissertation. Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Qu, Q., Wang, L., Zhang, L. & Liu, X. 2019. Modeling and simulation for the impact of EGC strategies on the negative UGC diffusion. 1st ed. Beijing: University of International Business and Economics: 1 – 16.

Rachna, B. & Khajuria, I. 2017. A study of user-generated content on social networking sites and its impact on consumer-based brand equity constructs. Global Journal of Management and Business Research: e-Marketing, 17(1):1-8.

Reichmann, S. 2017. User-generated content strategies for building brand-consumer relationships. Unpublished PhD thesis, Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften, Hamburg.

Russell, G.J. & Kamakura, W. 1993. Measuring brand value with scanner data. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 10(1):9-22.

Sadyk, D. & Islam, D.M.Z. 2022. Brand equity and usage intention powered by value co-creation: A case of instagram in Kazakhstan. Sustainability14(1):500,1-13.

Saunders, M., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A. 2016. Research Methods for Business Students. 7th ed. Harlow, Pearson Education Limited.

Saunders, M.N.K., Lewis, P. & Thornhill, A., 2019. Research Methods for Business Students. 8th ed. New York, Pearson.

Schivinski, B. & Dąbrowski, D. 2014. The impact of brand communication on brand equity dimensions and brand purchase intention through Facebook. Paper Series A. Gdanks University of Technology, Faculty of Economics, Management and Statistics, 4(4):31:53.

Schivinski, B., 2019. Eliciting brand-related social media engagement: A conditional inference tree framework. Journal of Business Research130(C):594-602.

Schivinski, B., Christodoulides, G. & Dabrowski, D. 2016. Measuring consumers’ engagement with brand-related social-media content: Development and validation of a scale that identifies levels of social-media engagement with brands. Journal of Advertising Research, 56(1):1–18.

Schivinski, B., Czarnecka, B., Pontes, N., Mao, W., De Vita, J. & Stavropoulos, V. 2022. Effects of social media brand-related content on fashion products buying behaviour–a moderated mediation model. Journal of Product & Brand Management. Mar 8 (ahead-of-print).1-39.

Schivinski, B., Łukasik, P. & Dabrowski, D. 2015. User-generated images and its impact on consumer-based brand equity and on purchase intention. Logistyka, (2):1054–1061.

Scholz, M., Dorner, V., Landherr, A. & Probst, F. 2013. Awareness, interest, and purchase: The effects of user-and marketer-generated content on purchase decision processes. In 34th International Conference on Information Systems. Milan, Italy, December 2013,1-16.

Smith, A. N., Fischer, E. & Yongjian, C. 2012. How does brand-related user-generated content differ across YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter? Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(2):102–113.

Sonnier, G.P., McAlister, L. & Rutz, O.J. 2011. A dynamic model of the effect of online communications on firm sales. Marketing Science, 30(4):702-716.

Stackla.com, 2021, What is User-Generated Content? https://stackla.com/resources/blog/what-is-user-generated-content/ [09 March 2022].

Stacks, D.W., Salwen, M.B. & Eichhorn, K.C. (red.). 2019. An integrated approach to communication theory and research. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge.

Steenkamp, P. 2016. Towards a client-based brand equity framework for selected business-to-business services. Unpublished PhD thesis, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.

Szabist, K., 2019. The relationship between brand related UGC and CBBE: A YouTube videos experiment. Unpublished research report, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Karachi.

Tang, T., Fang, E. & Wang, F., 2014. Is neutral really neutral? The effects of neutral user-generated content on product sales. Journal of Marketing, 78(4):41-58.

Tavakol, M. & Dennick, R., 2011. Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. International journal of medical education2:53.

Troiville, J., Hair, J. F. & Cliquet, G. 2019. Definition, conceptualization and measurement of consumer-based retailer brand equity. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 50:73–84.

Vinh, T. T. 2017. Measuring customer-based brand equity: A case of Heineken from the beer market in Vietnam. Asian Social Science, 13(3):177.

Vinh, T.T., Nguyen, P.N., Phuong, T.K.T., Tuan, N.T. & Thuan, T.P.H. 2019. Brand equity in a tourism destination: A case study of domestic tourists in Hoi-An city, Vietnam. Tourism Review74(3):704-720.

Winit, W. & Kantabutra, S. 2022. Enhancing the prospect of corporate sustainability via brand equity: A stakeholder model. Sustainability, 14(9):4998.

Wouters, C., 2016. “The effect of negative user-generated content on consumer-based brand equity: comparing brand loyal versus non-loyal customers in the luxury wine market.” Master’s thesis, University of Cape Town, 2016, Cape Town, South Africa.

W&R SETA. 2021. Wholesale and Retail SETAhttps://www.wrseta.org.za/sites/default/files/2021-04/WRSETA_Final%20SSP%20Update_%2028%20August%202020pdf  [5 October 2022].

Xu, H., Cheung, L.T., Lovett, J., Duan, X., Pei, Q. & Liang, D., 2021. Understanding the influence of user-generated content on tourist loyalty behavior in a cultural World Heritage Site. Tourism Recreation Research, April 2021,1-15.

Yoo, B. & Donthu, N. 2001. Developing and validating a multidimensional consumer-based brand equity scale. Journal of Business Research, 52(1):1–14.

Yuan, R. Liu, M.J., Luo, J. & Yen, D.A. 2016. Reciprocal transfer of brand identity and image associations arising from higher education brand extensions. Journal of Business Research, 69(8):3069-3076.

Zailskaite-Jakste, L. & Kuvykaitė, R. 2013. Communication in social media for brand equity building. Economics and Management, 18(1):142–153.

Zia, S., Khan, A., Tufail, M.M.B., Ismat, J. & Idrees, A., 2022. Impact of social media marketing on consumer-based brand equity. Journal of Marketing Strategies4(1):120-139.

Back to Volume 19 issue 1