Information flow and WOM in social media and online communities

Abstract

Companies have to cope with the new reality and appreciate that they cannot be successful unless they find new ways to approach their consumers. [...]it is not surprising that in the last 15 years, there is increasing academic interest on online consumption and brand communities with multiple streams of research that springs from the area. [...]this issue informs the landscape of recent research progress and novel applications, techniques, case studies and strategies in analysing online information posted on various social media platforms. The authors confirm a joint effect of co-creation and sharing on satisfaction and repurchase intention. [...]the effect of co-creation can be bolstered by encouraging participants to share the experience with other people. In particular the article, "Antecedents and outcomes of online brand engagement: the role of brand love on enhancing electronic-word-of-mouth" by Sandra Loureiro, Tatjana Gorgus, and Hans Kaufmann use a panel sampling with 201 participants from the millennial generation provided by the software tool Qualtrics to demonstrate how involvement and online brand experience are important drivers of online brand engagement.