A Value Co-Creation Framework for Brand Community Engagement

Thesis Abstract

This study investigates how value is co-created within brand communities and how such co-creation drives engagement, loyalty, and advocacy in contemporary digital ecosystems characterized by user-generated content, social platforms, and influencer participation. The problem addressed is the fragmentation between traditional firm-centric value propositions and the emergent, reciprocal value processes that occur when consumers actively participate in brand meaning-making. The aim is to develop a robust Value Co-Creation Framework (VCCF) that explicates mechanisms, antecedents, and consequences of co-created value in brand communities, and to test the framework across multiple product categories to establish generalizability. The specific objectives are (1) to identify the dimensions of value co-creation within brand communities (beyond utilitarian value to social, epistemic, and experiential value), (2) to examine how community governance, platform affordances, and consumer roles influence co-creation participation, (3) to model the relationships between co-creation activities, perceived value, and engagement outcomes (brand trust, commitment, and advocacy), and (4) to assess boundary conditions such as brand type (consumer electronics, apparel, and cosmetics) and platform context (owned communities vs. third-party platforms). A mixed-methods approach is employed. In the qualitative phase, 40 in-depth interviews with active community members and 12 key informants (community managers and brand managers) will be conducted to explore constructs and develop a conceptual model grounded in value co-creation theory and social exchange theory. The quantitative phase utilizes a cross-sectional survey of 1,200 respondents drawn from three brand communities representing distinct product categories and platform contexts, with stratified sampling to ensure representation by age, gender, and engagement level. Data collection instruments include a structured questionnaire with validated scales for value co-creation dimensions (utilitarian, social, epistemic, and experiential value), engagement outcomes (brand trust, commitment, and advocacy), and moderator variables (platform type, community governance quality, and consumer role). Validity and reliability will be established through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach’s alpha testing, with discriminant validity assessed via the Fornell-Larcker criterion. Analytical methods comprise structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the proposed explanatory relationships and mediation and moderation analyses to examine indirect effects and boundary conditions. Regression-based analyses will complement SEM for robustness, and thematic analysis of interview transcripts will be conducted to triangulate qualitative insights and ensure theoretical saturation. The expected findings are (i) a multidimensional value co-creation construct with distinct yet interrelated facets; (ii) evidence that governance quality and platform affordances significantly shape participation in co-creation activities; (iii) positive and significant paths from co-creation activities to perceived value, leading to higher levels of brand trust, commitment, and advocacy; (iv) differential effects across product categories and platform contexts, indicating boundary conditions for the VCCF. The study contributes to knowledge by integrating value co-creation theory with brand community dynamics to produce a parsimonious, testable framework that links co-creation processes to measurable engagement outcomes, while identifying governance mechanisms and platform characteristics that enhance or hinder co-creation. It advances methodological rigor by combining qualitative exploration with a large-scale quantitative validation, and by applying SEM to assess a comprehensive model with latent constructs. Practically, the VCCF offers managers a diagnostic toolkit to design community features, governance rules, and content strategies that foster meaningful value co-creation and sustainable engagement, alongside guidance on platform selection relative to the brand’s strategic objectives. The main conclusion anticipates that effective value co-creation within brand communities is contingent on integrated governance practices, platform-enabled affordances, and adaptive consumer roles that collectively transform participation into durable engagement and advocacy. Recommendations include implementing transparent governance frameworks, curating interoperable platform features that facilitate episodic and ongoing co-creation, and tailoring community policies to product category and platform context, while encouraging researchers to investigate longitudinal dynamics and potential spillover effects across brand ecosystems.