How do cultural differences affect the participation in, loyalty to, and purchase intention through online brand communities? A cross cultural study in Belgium and India

Details

Supervisors

Jupsin, Thierry

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [120] : ingénieur de gestion, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

This research explored the influence of cultural dimensions on online brand communities with a focus on the consumer-to-consumer relationship. To do so, this paper explored the current literature about the topic, and then developed hypotheses aimed to explain the impact of cultural dimensions on participation in, loyalty to, and purchase intention through online brand communities. This research used a specific case to test the consumer-to-consumer relationship: Airbnb, which has a successful online brand community with members from different countries. To do so, a survey was sent to Airbnb users coming from two different national cultures (Belgium and India). This study also covers how certain cultural predispositions can be activated at the individual level regardless of the citizenship. Findings provide evidence that members with higher moral responsibility tend to participate more in online brand communities. Moreover, predispositions regarding trust in community members’ opinions were found to be a statistically significant predictor of purchase intention through an online brand community. Findings also support that collectivist members tend to have higher purchase intentions through an online brand community than individualistic members.