Antecedents and consequences of social media firm brand engagement : a framework for business-to-business social media brand engagement

Abstract

The digital era has transformed how business-to-business (B2B) firms need to engage with customers and stakeholders to develop brands. Social media (SM) provides an opportunity for B2B firms to co-create brand value and develop sustainable brands by engaging business customers in online SM platforms. However, there is a lack of research empirically investigating how SM firm brand engagement activities can create value when implemented within a comprehensive framework. SM marketing research has mainly focused on the implementation of SM platforms (Cartwright et al., 2021). Scholars are calling for research to propose a comprehensive framework with theoretical support, which incorporates SM as a strategic tool throughout a firm’s customer engagement process for brand value co-creation (Cartwright et al., 2021; Essamri et al., 2019; Gustafson et al., 2021; Iglesias & Ind, 2020). This dissertation fills this gap by examining how B2B firms engage customers via SM to contribute to the co-creation of brand value (Essamri et al., 2019; Gustafson et al., 2021; Iglesias & Ind, 2020). Specifically, the study used two essays to (a) develop a framework for B2B SM firm brand engagement, (b) conceptualize the SM firm brand engagement construct, (c) address the antecedents and outcomes related to SM firm brand engagement, (d) provide supporting theories to advance future research in B2B SM brand engagement, and (e) provide an empirical analysis to support our SM firm brand engagement framework. Structural equation models provided analyses of 215 survey results from marketers and brand managers within B2B firms. The model analysis was done within Smart-PLS using a bootstrap subsample of 5,000. Our results demonstrate that significant relationship exist between a firm’s SM marketing strategic orientation, brand engagement activities (developing brand partnerships, nurturing brand passion and bridging brand meaning) and Outcomes (brand value co-creation and performance). Combined, the results provide implications for marketing scholars, practitioners, and business leaders. Our results emphasize that successful firm led SM brand engagement activities depend on the firm’s SM marketing strategic orientation. Top management must share their corporate vision with employees for SM use, supported by an integrated marketing strategic plan that leverages SM platforms for customer engagement.