how do social media influence customer...
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HOW DO SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE
CUSTOMER LOYALTY
- A CASE STUDY OF CHINA
A study submitted in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science in Information Systems Management
at
THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
By
LIANGZI LI (Registration No. 100220858)
September 2011
I
ABSTRACT
Background: Social media engages billions of people into participatory and
collaborative work. Meanwhile, it brings enormous business opportunities to
organisations and firms as well. Many marketers show strong interest in social media
marketing and integrate social media marketing into overall marketing strategies.
However, the broad application of social media marketing stands in contrast to few
academic literatures that study the strategies and provide a clear and valid guidance
for new media marketing. Also, because the crucial position of customer loyalty in
marketing, it is therefore of great significance to study social media marketing
incorporating customer loyalty project.
Aims: The research aims to identify critical factors of customer loyalty in relation to
social media and put forward recommendations for organisations to achieve and retain
customer loyalty through social media marketing.
Methods: The research employs a qualitative approach to explore the research aim.
Firstly, two explorative and qualitative focus groups which guided by specific
research questions generated on the basis of existing literature are conducted among
participants who are representatives of social media users in the research context of
China. Secondly, a hybrid process of inductive and deductive thematic analysis is
used to interpret qualitative data. Among which the deductive thematic analysis is
based on the research questions and theories and the inductive thematic analysis is
based on the emerging data. Thirdly, a final thematic map is produced to present the
critical themes which show the relationship between social media and customer
loyalty.
II
Results: The factor of customer loyalty is in accordance with users‟ behaviour on
social media. For users mainly dominated by self information acquisition behaviour,
satisfaction is the critical factor. For users whose major motivation is to maintain
social relationships, trust is the critical factor. Furthermore, satisfaction and trust play
different roles on loyalty phases. Satisfaction is functioned on phases of „no loyalty‟
and „cognitive loyalty‟. Trust has fundamental implication on phases of „affective
loyalty‟, „conative loyalty‟ and „action loyalty‟.
Conclusions: The research aims and objectives were all achieved. Due to the fact that
the research is a relatively small project because of limited research condition, a data
collection which contained a large number of focus groups that varied from sex and
age are desirable.
III
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I own sincere and earnest thankfulness to all the following people who have supported
and guided me in the completion of this dissertation. First, I would like to show my
deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Pamela McKinney, for her careful guidance,
continuous encouragement and enthusiastic help throughout my whole dissertation
writing. Second, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation to all the
participants in the focus group. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents who gave my
courage and confidence to overcome difficulties.
IV
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................... 1
1.1 Research background ....................................................................................... 1
1.2 Research context .............................................................................................. 3
1.3 Research aims and objectives .......................................................................... 3
Chapter 2: Literature review ................................................................................... 5
2.1 Social media ..................................................................................................... 5
2.1.1 Historical context of social media......................................................... 5
2.1.2 The definition of social media .............................................................. 7
2.1.3 The classification of social media ......................................................... 8
2.1.4 Social media vs. traditional media ...................................................... 12
2.2 Customer loyalty ............................................................................................ 14
2.2.1 Historical overview of customer loyalty ............................................. 14
2.2.2 Loyalty phases .................................................................................... 17
2.2.3 The importance of customer loyalty ................................................... 20
2.2.4 Criteria to measure customer loyalty .................................................. 21
2.3 Using social media to influence customer loyalty ......................................... 21
2.3.1 Cognitive-affect-conative-action framework to influence customer
loyalty .......................................................................................................... 21
2.3.2 Two effective ways that social media can be employed to influence
customer loyalty ........................................................................................... 24
Chapter 3: Methodology ......................................................................................... 29
3.1 Justification of methodology choice .............................................................. 29
3.2 Research design ............................................................................................. 31
3.3 Data analysis techniques ................................................................................ 35
3.4 Ethical aspects ................................................................................................ 38
3.5 Critical review of methodology ..................................................................... 39
Chapter4: Data analysis ......................................................................................... 41
4.1 Thick description............................................................................................ 41
V
4.1.1 Description of people using social media in China ............................ 41
4.1.2 Descriptions of several social media sites .......................................... 42
4.2 The stages of data analysis ............................................................................. 44
4.2.1 Developing the code manual ............................................................... 44
4.2.2 Summarising the data and identifying the initial themes .................... 50
4.2.3 Applying the templates of codes and additional coding ..................... 62
4.3 Producing a thematic map .............................................................................. 70
Chapter 5: Discussion ............................................................................................. 72
5.1 Social relationships and self-information acquisitions as two main themes of
using social media ................................................................................................ 72
5.2 Social relationships ........................................................................................ 72
5.2.1 Self-information acquisition ............................................................... 74
5.3 Satisfaction is a critical factor to influence weak relational customers ......... 76
5.4 Trust as a critical factor that influences high relational customers ................ 79
5.5 Implications for social media marketing........................................................ 83
5.5.1 Social media mix................................................................................. 83
5.5.2 Focus on different types of customers ................................................ 84
5.5.3 EWOM as an effective way for social media to influence customer
loyalty .......................................................................................................... 84
5.5.4 Virtual community as an effective way for social media to influence
customer loyalty ........................................................................................... 85
Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 87
Appendix A ................................................................................................................. 98
Appendix B ............................................................................................................... 101
Appendix C ............................................................................................................... 102
VI
List of figures
Figure 1 Classification of social media by social presence and self-presentation
...................................................................................................................... 11
Figure 2 Classification of social media by half-life and depth ......................... 12
Figure 3 Dick & Basu‟s model on customer loyalty ......................................... 17
Figure 4 Loyalty phases with corresponding vulnerabilities ............................ 18
Figure 5 Fundamental differences between quantitative research and qualitative
research strategies ........................................................................................ 30
Figure 6 Research objectives and research questions ....................................... 35
Figure 7 The criteria of social media ................................................................ 45
Figure 8 Types of customer loyalty .................................................................. 47
Figure 9 Practical ways in which social media may influence customer loyalty
...................................................................................................................... 49
Figure 10 Initial themes based on research questions ....................................... 51
Figure 11 Synthesised initial themes ................................................................ 61
Figure 12 Social media‟s theory-driven codes .................................................. 63
Figure 13 Customer loyalty‟s theory-driven codes ........................................... 65
Figure 14 Theory driven codes of the relationship between social media and
customer loyalty ........................................................................................... 66
Figure 15 Data-driven codes with quoted text .................................................. 68
Figure 16 Thematic map showing motivations for using social media, criteria
of social media, reported behaviour, major factors and phases of customer
loyalty .......................................................................................................... 71
Figure 17 Thematic map showing the four critical themes ............................... 71
1
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Research background
Web 2.0 technology promotes broad participatory and collaborative work among an
increasing number of Internet users (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Social media are
an outcome of web 2.0 technology that appeared not long ago, arousing billions of
people‟s passions (Thackeray et al., 2008; Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; Weinberg and
Pehlivan, 2011). With user-generated content (UGC) seen as a popular phenomenon
of using social media, a multitude of people are involved in this participatory project.
The gigantic number of users and the increasing time they spend on social media
sites engenders enormous business opportunities for firms (Kaplan and Haenlein,
2010; Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). A great many firms are involved in various
social media platforms and are active through the continuous and frequent production
of news feeds and customer interaction, which organisations believe can develop,
maintain and enhance the company-consumer relationship. The advantages of social
media have attracted a wealth of firms to social media marketing (Chi, 2010).
Customer loyalty is always valued by firms even in the era of social media. The
fundamental benefit of social media, which is the profitability generated by loyal
customers, is five times that of normal customers (Lynch, 1995). Thus, firms put
customer loyalty in a crucial strategic marketing position. The widespread use of
networking technology has evolved traditional customer relationship management
(Newell, 2005). Nowadays, consumers are in control of marketing as they have great
access to information and great command over their media consumption (Vollmer
and Precourt, 2008). It is therefore of profound significance to investigate the
relationship between social media and customer loyalty.
2
However, because of the relatively young age of social media, there are insufficient
academic papers regarding this topic (Thackeray et al., 2008). The complete
definition of „social media‟ was initially put forward by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010).
Several academics have studied the characteristics and classifications of social media
(Mangold and Faulds, 2009; Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). There are some journal
articles that discuss the marketing aspect of social media, like co-creation (Bell and
Loane, 2010; Harwood and Garry, 2010; Kerrigan and Graham, 2010a), brand
community (Cova and Pace, 2006; Cova and White, 2010; Hamilton and Hewer,
2010) and electronic word-of-mouth (Gruen et al., 2005; Jansen and Zhang, 2009;
Burton and Khammash, 2010; Huang and Scotia, 2010). Nevertheless, the academic
literature is quite fragmented, spread across different aspects of marketing. While
practitioners show strong interest in social media marketing as well (Li and Bernoff,
2008; Kotler et al., 2010; Valos et al., 2010; Yu, 2011) and make contributions that
offer empirical insights, few have analysed the consequences of social media and
linked it with theories. As a consequence, those practitioners‟ work might lack
reliability and theoretical significance (Bryman, 2004). Most importantly, no matter
whether the literature has been written by academics or practitioners, it has focused
on general aspects of marketing. Little of the literature has incorporated investigating
customer loyalty. Besides, in terms of customer loyalty, some academics or
practitioners have focused on satisfaction with regards to the satisfaction of previous
consumption as the critical determinant of customer loyalty, thus ignoring the
development of trust. Regarding social media marketing, many practitioners have
overweighed the interaction with customers via social media and have thus paid little
attention to the essence of the products. Both of these partial viewpoints have led to
ineffective and inefficient marketing management in social media.
On this basis, the important role of social media, the value of customer loyalty and
the new research field were all significant reasons to conduct the present research.
3
These factors justified the research position, i.e. to investigate the influence of social
media on customer loyalty.
1.2 Research context
The research context is in China. The dominant micro-blog site, Sina Weibo, has
more than 140 million registered users and was launched in August 2009 (Hille,
2011). Renren, China‟s largest social network site, was set up in 2005 (Renren, 2011).
Some other examples include Youku, the so-called Chinese YouTube that was
founded in 2006 (Youku, 2011), and Baidu Tieba, a well-known Chinese virtual
community that was launched in 2003 (Baidu, 2011). These social media sites have
drawn the majority of Chinese users. There are many organisations conducting social
media marketing on these platforms.
1.3 Research aims and objectives
The primary objectives of the research were as follows.
Firstly, a literature review was conducted in order to:
i) Define and understand social media
ii) Define and understand customer loyalty
iii) Define the relationship between social media and customer loyalty
Research was then undertaken using a qualitative approach to:
iv) Identify consumer behaviour on social media sites
v) Identify the factors that influence customer loyalty
vi) Explore how social media influence customer loyalty, including answering the
following questions:
4
(1) How do different types of social media affect customer loyalty?
(2) Which characteristics of customer loyalty can social media influence?
Finally, the research proposes recommendations for firms to expand their influence
on customer loyalty by utilising social media.
5
Chapter 2: Literature review
2.1 Social media
2.1.1 Historical context of social media
The second generation of web technology presented a revolution in the development
of the Internet (Hamilton and Hewer, 2010). It provides a technical platform for users
to produce and distribute information through collaborative writing, content sharing,
social networking, syndication, etc. (Thackeray et al., 2008; Kaplan and Haenlein,
2010). Compared to the first generation of web technology, which allowed content to
be created and published by individuals (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010), web 2.0 is
more social. Specifically, web 2.0 promotes the participation of all users in the
continuous modification of content (Anderson, 2007; Harwood and Garry, 2010;
Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). In essence, co-creation is the distinctiveness of web 2.0
(Thackeray et al., 2008; Kerrigan and Graham, 2010b). Social media that offers
„user-generated content‟ is an outcome of web 2.0 technology (Kaplan and Haenlein,
2010; Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011).
Discussing the development of web technology from a historical view helps to get a
clear understanding of the concepts of „web 2.0‟ and „social media‟. The first
generation of web technology, called web 1.0, is based on HTML that enables web
clients to view and edit information (Anderson, 2007). Due to a series of ports to
other machines from the original computer, the ability to edit information via web
1.0 is limited to a relatively small number (Berners-Lee, 1999). Moreover, the
rudimentary function of web 1.0 is dominated by one way communication through
static web pages (Bell and Loane, 2010). Hence, the users are regarded as observers
who acquire information rather than participators involved in the exchange of
6
information (Eckman, 2008; Bell and Loane, 2010). Based on the existing web 1.0
technology, web 2.0 is viewed as an implementation (Anderson, 2007) that supports
open innovation, close collaboration, co-creation, creativity, etc., fundamentally
enriching the user experience (Hamilton and Hewer, 2010). Tim O‟Reilly, the
founder of O‟Reilly Media and a technology thought leader, is credited with his
famous discussion around the term „web 2.0‟ (Anderson, 2007; Bell and Loane,
2010). His team offers an explicit definition of web 2.0 (O'Reilly, 2005):
“Web 2.0 is a set of economic, social, and technology trends that collectively form the basis for
the next generation of the Internet – a more mature, distinctive medium characterised by user
participation, openness, and network effects.”
The following principles are the broad consensus of what web 2.0 entails, based on
O‟Reilly‟s discussion (O'Reilly, 2005; Anderson, 2007; Bell and Loane, 2010):
The web as a platform
Harnessing collective intelligence
Content and data that drives forces of applications
Software is easy to use
7
Web 2.0 effectively integrates users into a collaborative content development process
through social media applications (Bell and Loane, 2010; Kerrigan and Graham,
2010b; Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). It is essential to distinguish the difference
between web 2.0 and social media. The former is a technological platform upon
which the latter can represent their features (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). To
illustrate, web 2.0 is a term that is mostly used among software developers and
end-users to describe a new technology; nevertheless, social media are composed of
a wealth of applications that directly deliver the collaborative experience to users
(Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011).
2.1.2 The definition of social media
Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) offer a clear definition of social media as “a group of
Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological
foundations of web 2.0, which allow the creation and exchange of User Generated
Content.” Some other authors have pointed out the key features of social media.
Weinberg and Pehliva (2011) describe social media as „consumer-generated media‟
based on web 2.0 technology. Sutton, et al. (2008) state that social media are
platforms for „peer to peer communication‟. Eyrich, et al. (2008) and Gillbert and
Karahalios (2009) indicate that social media are „relationship driven‟. Li and Bernoff
(2008) use „groundswell technology‟ to describe relationships centred around social
media, i.e. “[a] social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they
need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations” (Li
and Bernoff, 2008: 9). This puts emphasis on the changed structure of media. In the
past, people generally gained information from institutions. Thanks to new
networking technologies, the „marketer media era‟ has transformed to the
„consumer-generated media era‟ (Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011), insofar as
consumers make decisions from a multitude of other users‟ information, which
8
illustrates the consumer‟s power to influence other peers (Li and Bernoff, 2008).
Thus, it is of great significance to maintain relationships with consumers in the social
media age. From all the perspectives above, the quintessential characteristics of
social media can be put forward: „web 2.0 technology functioned‟,
„consumer-generated content‟ and „relationship-oriented‟.
2.1.3 The classification of social media
Social media includes various types of applications, like blogs, micro-blogs, virtual
communities, social networks, collaborative projects, virtual game worlds, etc.
(Anderson, 2007; Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). This
great diversity requires scientific categorisation to demarcate clear boundaries, not
only between existing applications but also for emerging applications. Based on a set
of strict media theories, Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) classified social media by
media richness and self disclosure. Media richness theory is according to social
presence theory proposed by Short et al. (1976). Social presence is built on Wiener
& Mehrabian (1968)‟s immediacy theory that is “those communication behaviours
that enhance closeness to and nonverbal interaction with other”. After studied
studying a variety of telecommunications, such as voicemail and teleconferencing in
organisational settings, Short, et al. (1976) defined the term „social presence‟ to
indicate that the inability to transmit non-verbal information leads to negative
communication. Based on the social presence theory, Daft and Lengel‟s (1986) media
richness theory proposes that communication aims to reduce uncertainty and
equivocality. More specifically, rich media (e.g. face-to-face media) offer non-verbal
cues like facial expressions, body movement, etc. that would result in effective
communication when information is ambiguous, uncertain and emotional. However,
if the information is simple and unequivocal, the lean media (e.g. email) could save
interaction efforts in communication (Liam et al., 1999). This theory states that
9
media differ in the richness of their information transmission (Kaplan and Haenlein,
2010). Thus, some media enable an abundance of sensory information that is more
effective in reducing uncertainty and equivocality.
Self-presentation is the concept that people desire to control impressions in any type
of social interaction (Goffman, 1969). Goffman (1969) expounds that individuals
may engage in strategic activities to convey impressions that are in their interests to
convey. Self-presentation strategies are significant in relationship management
(Ellison et al., 2006), which are presented by self-disclosure. Kaplan and Haenlein
(2010) regard that self-presentation is critical in enhancing relationships. The study
shows that people are under pressure to present their „true self‟ to others, especially
in important relationships, through a gradual and reciprocal process whereby people
disclose their personal information to others and receive responses from their
partners. After interpretation and validation, their relationship develops further
(Ellison et al., 2006). Individuals often make complex decisions on what and when to
disclose in consideration of the concern that they may lose autonomy and openness
(Ellison et al., 2006). Computer-mediated media, which are asynchronous and
emphasise verbal information, give individuals more freedom to control their
self-presence (Ellison et al., 2006). Due to the „passing stranger effect‟ and
anonymity, individuals may be more willing to present themselves in
computer-mediated communication (CMC) than in face-to face communication.
According to criteria defined by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010), social media can firstly
be categorised by the degree of social presence that the richness of the media enable.
Secondly, social media are categorised by the degree of self-presence they can
provide through various self-disclosure strategies.
Weinberg and Pehlivan (2011) categorise various types of social media based on
10
information depth and information half-life. Information depth refers to the richness
of the content. Information half-life indicates the longevity of information in terms of
appearance on the screen and interest related to the topic among the audience
(Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). Kaplan & Haenlein‟s (2010) classification criteria
mainly focus on the content of social media. They give more specific factors on the
evaluation of content, i.e. self-presence and social presence (Kaplan and Haenlein,
2010). However, Weinberg and Pehlivan (2011) explicate that the half-life of
information is another crucial factor. This is due to the fact that social media vary in
the frequency and timing of information updates. For example, the convenience of
information released on micro-blogs realises fast and frequent updates (Li and
Bernoff, 2008). The most recent micro-blog updates become buried in thousands of
updates, which leads to a relatively short half-life. On the contrary, blogs are more
likely to contain long text and less frequent updates. Thus, it is necessary to include a
time axis in the classification of social media. Kaplan and Haenlein‟s (2010)
framework includes longevity of information as a social presence criterion. In
particular, social presence has resulted in the media differing in transmitting the same
depth of information in a given time interval. It is extrapolated that Kaplan‟s
framework would help to further analyse social media content from a psychological
aspect.
11
Figure 1 Classification of social media by social presence and self-presentation
Self-presentation/
Self-disclosure
Social presence/ Media richness
Low Medium High
High Blogs Social
networking
sites (e.g.,
Facebook)
Virtual social
worlds (e.g.,
Second Life)
Low Collaborative
projects (e.g.,
Wikipedia)
Content
communities
(e.g.,
You Tube)
Virtual game
worlds (e.g.,
World of
Warcraft)
Source: Kaplan and Haenlein (2010)
12
Figure 2 Classification of social media by half-life and depth
Half life of information
Information
Depth
Source: Weinberg and Pehlivan (2011: 279)
2.1.4 Social media vs. traditional media
Social media have bestowed customers with power in the marketing place that they
have never experienced before (Li and Bernoff, 2008; Mangold and Faulds, 2009).
Consumer-generated media enable users to create, use, share, maintain and educate
other people about brands, products and services (Blackshaw and Nazzaro, 2004).
The extensive scale of interaction that social media support can be generally
resourceful, self-policing and generative, such that firms may find the interaction
hard to control in in the open public sphere (Benkler, 2006; Sutton et al., 2008). The
increasing presence of information and communication technology (ICT) has
Blogs
e.g. WordPress
Brand Building
Convey product
knowledge
Communities
e.g. HP
communities,
MacRumours
Establish and
matintain relations
Micro-blogs
e.g. Twitter
Create awareness
and recall
Brief engagement
short conversations
Social Networks
e.g. Facebook
Influence and track
beliefs and attitudes
Long
Short
Deep Shallow
13
resulted in wide dissemination of information and growing public participation via
various social media platforms (Sutton et al., 2008; Mangold and Faulds, 2009). By
contrast, in the traditional communication paradigm, a firm directly delivers
messages mainly via broadcasting, newspapers, bulletin boards, etc. to customers
(Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). The main channel of the firm‟s information is
dominated by the firm itself. Outside the boundary, the communication is confined to
individual consumers, whereby the word-of-mouth impact can be minimal due to
limited dissemination via traditional media (Mazlin, 2006). The marketer approach,
where consumers mainly gain product or service information from institutions, is
gradually being transformed into consumer-generated media (Weinberg and Pehlivan,
2011). The top-down structure in the traditional communication paradigm that
favours marketers is giving place to a decentralised horizontal structure regarded by
consumers as more credible and interesting (Kotler et al., 2010). Therefore, the
eroded power to control information in the era of social media poses challenges for
firms. In terms of the customer perspectives that have developed with social media,
research has shown that social media have become the most fundamental sources of
media for consumers (Rashtchy et al., 2007). Consumers perceive social media as
accountable sources of information concerning products and services (Vollmer and
Precourt, 2008). Increasing numbers of consumers conduct information searches
using social media to make purchase decisions (Foux, 2006). This trend diminishes
the usefulness of traditional media, i.e. marketer media, and shows the tremendous
marketing potential of social media. Thus, a firm‟s marketing strategy should involve
a mix of social media.
Another distinction between social media and traditional media is spending.
Marketers usually use ROI (return on investment) to evaluate the media spend
(Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). Weinberg and Pehlivan (2010) identify two practical
approaches towards using social media in terms of the extent to which the approach
14
is traditional or emergent (Berthon et al., 2005). The first approach is extremely
traditional: regarding social media as traditional media, such as television and print
(Berthon et al., 2005). The response is predictable due to the use of tried and true
metrics. The critical marketing objectives, e.g. awareness, purchase and recall, are
used to measure the ROI. The second approach is experimental due to its focus on
testing and learning to explore the crucial factors (e.g. engagement and conversation)
coupled with social media. The social ROI is the assessment of this approach
(Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). Historically, marketers spent cash on paid media to
directly deliver brand messages to consumers. In terms of relationship-driven social
media, social currency is used to assess the spending processing (Weinberg and
Pehlivan, 2011). Social currency refers to the effectiveness of building relationships
(Li and Bernoff, 2008; Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). In listening and engaging with
consumers, the marketers depend on word-of-mouth rather than the direct delivery of
the marketer-constructed message to promote their brand (Weinberg and Pehlivan,
2011).
2.2 Customer loyalty
2.2.1 Historical overview of customer loyalty
Customer loyalty was traditionally conceptualised as „repeating purchase behaviour‟
in the early literature and measured by specific metrics, such as purchase sequence,
proportion of purchase and purchase frequency (Brown, 1952; Cunningham, 1956;
Tucker, 1964; Brody and Cunningham, 1968). Nevertheless, only allowing for the
behaviour aspect of brand loyalty is inconclusive and ambiguous, On one hand, the
behaviour-centric definition is unable to differentiate between true loyalty and
spurious loyalty, which may stem from consumer inertia or availability rather than
the preference for a particular brand (Day, 1969). On the other hand, the focus on
15
behaviour constructs operational definitions, whereas according to the logic of
modern science, the conceptual definition should be prior to and determine
operational definitions (Jacoby and Kyner, 1973). In other words, the previous
research exclusively emphasised the outcomes rather than the inherence of loyalty
(Jacoby and Kyner, 1973). The conceptual definition should be sufficient for
measuring complex multi-dimensional customer loyalty, thus the attitudinal
dimension that focuses on the underlying factors of customer loyalty was proposed
(Day, 1969; Jacoby and Kyner, 1973; Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999). The
following research suggests that customer loyalty is composed of two aspects: a
behavioural aspect and an attitudinal aspect (Day, 1969; Jacoby and Kyner, 1973;
Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999). On this basis, Jacoby and Kyner (1973) give six
multi-dimensional criteria to express customer loyalty. They define loyalty as: “(1)
the biased (2) behaviour response (3) expressed over time (4) by some
decision-making unit (5) with respect to one or more alternative brands out of a set of
such brands (6) is a function of psychological process.” (Jacoby & Kyner, 1973 : 2)
Among them, the sixth condition highlights that customer loyalty is a
decision-making and evaluative process as customers psychologically select the best
brand out of various brands (Jacoby and Kyner, 1973).
Recent research has continued to support the theory that customer loyalty is a
combination of the two aspects discussed above, but the focus has recently been on
further exploring the consequences and theoretical meaning of loyalty (Dick and
Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999). Based on the definition that customer loyalty is the
strength of the relationship between behaviour and attitude(Dick and Basu, 1994),
Dick and Basu (1994) provide an attitude-behaviour framework in which customer
loyalty is divided into four different categories: true loyalty, latent loyalty, spurious
loyalty and no loyalty. They pay attention to the measures of attitudinal loyalty (Dick
and Basu, 1994). To be valid and relevant, the focal brand preference should be
16
comparable in a given consumption context (Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999).
Consumer affect, beliefs and intentions are three critical indicators in the
decision-making process. (Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999).
Behavioural aspects:
Repeat purchasing (Brown, 1952; Cunningham, 1956)
The regularity and frequency with the brand selected in the past (Kuehn,
1962)
Purchase frequency and sequence of a particular brand (Tucker, 1964)
Behavioural aspects and attitudinal or psychological aspects:
Repeat purchasing propelled by a strong internal disposition (Day, 1969)
Behavioural responses and functions of psychological processes (Jacoby
and Kyner, 1973)
“a strength of relationship between individual‟s relative attitude and their
repeat patronage” (Dick and Basu, 1994)
“a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronize a preferred product/
service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand
or same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and
marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behaviour”
(Oliver, 1999)
17
Figure 3 Dick & Basu’s model on customer loyalty
Repeat purchase
High Low
Relative
attitude
High True loyalty Latent loyalty
Low Spurious loyalty No loyalty
Source:( (Dick and Basu, 1994))
2.2.2 Loyalty phases
Customer loyalty is split into different levels according to the degree of commitment
to a brand (Oliver, 1999; Griffin, 2002), thus suggesting that customer loyalty might
be a continuous development process. Following Dick and Basu‟s (1994)
attitude-based model, Oliver (1997) developed a framework to identify sequential
phases of customer loyalty in a cognition-affect-conation pattern. To be precise,
customers can become loyal at each phase and their loyalty can be enhanced at each
phase, i.e. beginning with the cognitive phase then the affective phase, followed by
the conative phase and finally the action phase.
The following table presents each loyalty phase and its vulnerabilities (Oliver, 1999).
To illustrate, cognitive loyalty is the first phase and indicates whether consumers
prefer one brand to its alternatives. It is built on the belief that loyalty is acquired
from previous or vicarious knowledge. However, the commitment to the brand is
shallow due to the lack of sufficient recognition. The second phase is affective
loyalty. At this stage, consumers grow dispositional bias towards the brand. The
customer loyalty is presented as the degree of liking the brand. The next phase is
conative loyalty. Customers have developed a brand intention to repurchase, which
reflects an anticipated but unrealised repurchase action. The last phase, action loyalty,
18
refers to customers who have transformed the motivated intention into readiness to
act accompanied by an additional desire to overcome obstacles towards the action.
Figure 4 Loyalty phases with corresponding vulnerabilities
Stage Identifying Marker Vulnerabilities
Cognitive Loyalty to information:
Such as price, features, and so
forth
Actual or imagined better
competitive features or price
through communication (e.g.,
advertising) and vicarious or
personal experiences.
Deterioration in brand features
or price. Variety seeking and
voluntary trial.
Affective Loyalty to a liking:
“I buy it because I like it.”
Cognitively induced
dissatisfaction. Enhanced
liking for competitive brands,
perhaps conveyed through
imagery and association.
Variety seeking and voluntary
trial. Deteriorating
performance.
Conative Loyalty to an intention:
“I‟m committed to buying it”
Persuasive counter
argumentative competitive
messages. Induced trial (e.g.,
coupons, sampling,
point-of-purchase
promotions). Deteriorating
performance.
Action Loyalty to action inertia,
coupled with the overcoming
of obstacles.
Induced unavailability (e.g.,
stocklists – purchasing the
entire inventory of a
competitor‟s product from a
merchant). Increased obstacles
generally. Deteriorating
performance.
Source: (Oliver, 1999 : 36)
19
Griffin (2002) made similar classifications in terms of the degree of loyalty that
customers commit to a brand. She divides customers into seven stages: suspect,
prospect, disqualified prospect, first time customer, repeat customer, client and
advocate. A suspect is anyone who might purchase the brand. A prospect is someone
who needs the product or service. A disqualified prospect is one who does not need
or is not able to purchase the product or service. A first time customer is someone
who has purchased the brand once. Repeat customers have repurchase behaviour. A
client makes regular purchases and is immune to the pull of the competition. An
advocate repurchases frequently and encourages others to buy the brand.
Comparing the two frameworks, Griffin‟s (2002) suspect, prospect and disqualified
prospect can be grouped into Oliver (1999)‟s cognitive phase in order to state that
loyalty is mainly affected by information. A first time customer who has achieved
pleasure and fulfilment from a purchase thus develops a positive attitude towards the
brand, which can be related to Oliver‟s (1999) affective phase. Repeat purchasers and
clients have strong desires to repurchase that are linked with the conative phase,
where the loyalty is influenced by intention. Affected by action inertia, advocates
who have overcome obstacles that may prevent the action are associated with the
action phase.
20
2.2.3 The importance of customer loyalty
Customer loyalty is of great significance for firms due to its profound effect on
long-term profitability (Gefen, 2002; Ribbink et al., 2004). According to Hallberg
(1995), a 20/80 rule can be applied to the relationship between profitability and
customer loyalty: that is, 20% of the loyal customer‟s account for 80% of the sales.
The reason for this is that loyal customers are not sensitive to price fluctuations and
are thus willing to pay higher prices for a brand (Griffin, 1995; Hallberg, 1995;
Gefen, 2002). Loyal customers also act as word-of-mouth marketers to bring
potential customers to firms, hence reducing additional advertising fees (Gefen, 2002;
Reinartz and Kumer, 2002). Furthermore, increased loyalty brings cost savings
(Griffin, 1995; Ribbink et al., 2004; Ya-wei, 2006). The most fundamental related
costs are marketing costs, transaction costs and failure costs (Griffin, 1995; Ya-wei,
2006).
21
2.2.4 Criteria to measure customer loyalty
The operational definition of customer loyalty is not in accordance with the logic of
modern science, i.e. the conceptual definitions should determine and precede the
operations (Jacoby and Kyner, 1973). However, the definition is practical for
specifying the measurement of the behaviour because it is the manifest outcome of
customer loyalty. Thus, the proportion of purchase (Cunningham, 1956;
Christodoulides and Michaelidou, 2011), purchase sequence (Tucker, 1964) and
purchase frequency (Tucker, 1964; Hepworth et al., 1994; Griffin, 2002; Ya-wei,
2006) related to the behavioural aspects are relevant and valid metrics of customer
loyalty. The attitudinal aspects of customer loyalty are difficult to measure.
Researchers could acquire such information from qualitative research, for example,
observation and self-reports (Dick and Basu, 1994), or through quantitative methods,
such as scale measures and response latency (Holbrook and Batra, 1987).
Word-of-mouth is believed to come from notable emotional experiences (Westbrook,
1987), i.e. consumption satisfaction/dissatisfaction that mediates post-purchase
communication, which can reflect commitment to the brand. The consequences of
loyalty thus provide further crucial measurements of customer loyalty (Oliver, 1999;
Ya-wei, 2006).
2.3 Using social media to influence customer loyalty
2.3.1 Cognitive-affect-conative-action framework to influence
customer loyalty
The cognitive-affect-conative framework manifestly presents the consequences of
customer loyalty and signifies the factors that exert influence on each phase of
customer loyalty (Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999). To be precise, the determinant
22
associated with the cognitive phase is information (Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver,
1999), which is based on previous shallow knowledge or experience. Based on
psychological theories, Dick and Basu (1994) indicate that during this phase, the
managerial role is to enhance brand recognition. According to Berger and Mitchell
(1989), repeated advertising strengthens people‟s memories of an object without
weakening the evaluation of it. Thus, increased information accessibility at this phase
is fundamental. However, Oliver (1999) demonstrates that this level of loyalty is
„phantom loyalty‟ because the motivations at the cognitive phase are costs and
benefits insofar as they are perceptible in contrast with competitive offerings. The
content that is intended to attract customers is therefore of great significance
(Mangold and Faulds, 2009; Kotler et al., 2010; SocialTouch, 2011). As this level
considers costs and an in-depth understanding of features, the marketer‟s focus is on
appealing promotions and illustrative product information.
The determinant associated with the affective phase is feeling (Dick and Basu, 1994).
Cohen and Areni (1991) define affect as a general descriptor of a valenced feeling
state. Retrieval of affect is used to evoke feelings towards an object (Dick and Basu,
1994). In the context of the Internet, the interactions that happen on social media
sites have strong impacts on consumers‟ feelings towards the brand (Oliver, 1999;
Castells, 2001; Li and Bernoff, 2008; Hamilton and Hewer, 2010). Recent research
notes that such interactions in web-based interactive media are a crucial part of
experience marketing (Smilansky, 2009). Tynan and Mckechine (2009) illustrate the
experience as:
“The noun or verb to convey the process itself, participating in the activity, the affect or way in
which an object, thought or emotion is felt through the senses or the mind and even the outcome
of an experience by way of skill or learning for example…”
23
Pine and Gilmore (1998) also state that experiences are generated as companies
“engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event”, which
signifies that the creation of experiences is related to both companies and consumers
and that the experience, whether satisfactory or disappointing, will result in a
memory. As consumers not only receive the experience but also respond to and react
to the experience, this emphasises the role of interaction (Holbrook and Hirschman,
1982). Effective and friendly interaction, e.g. support could arouse passion and
emotion, whereas an ineffective and unpleasant interaction could result in a negative
mood and a disillusion of brand image (Castells, 2001; Li and Bernoff, 2008;
Hamilton and Hewer, 2010; Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Thus, creating an
interaction that evokes feelings and emotions towards a brand is claimed to be a
critical factor that influences the affect phase of loyalty.
Conation is perceived as a level of abstraction lower than cognition and affect
(Bagozzi and Burnkrant, 1979). It is influenced by repeated positive affect towards a
brand (Oliver, 1999). At this phase, consumers have developed a strong commitment
to a brand, which has established preference among consumers by continually satisfy
consumers‟ values insofar as the repurchase is an anticipated but unrealised
behaviour (Oliver, 1999). To elicit such behaviour, the brand should strengthen
behaviour dispositions or intentions (Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999). Dick and
Basu (1994) propose three aspects that are coupled with conative loyalty: switching
costs, sunk costs and expectations. These antecedents may incline towards different
facets but the focus is the competitive message. To be precise, consumers find the
increased values of alternative suppliers and the decreased costs of switching (Porter,
1980; Oliver, 1999). Oliver (1999) points out that the conatively loyal customers
have not developed the resolution to avoid intentionally considering competitive
brands, thus competitive offerings (such as coupons and samples) could attract
consumers to another brand.
24
When it comes to the action phase, consumers have a focused desire to repurchase a
brand (Oliver, 1999). In this vein, consumers undergo action inertia, where they
overcome any barriers preventing them from repurchasing, such as variety seeking
and switching (Oliver, 1999). It is argued that the motivation of variety seeking and
switching are the perceived benefits and costs viewed by consumers (Dick and Basu,
1994). Such behaviour is frequent in the cognition phase and gradually reduced in
subsequent phases (Dick and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999). This is due to the fact that
increased consumer experiences, learning, satisfaction and repeat patronage,
accompanied by the loyalty phases, will reduce the perceived benefits and costs
associated with searching and switching (Newman and Staelin, 1972; Moore and
Lehmann, 1980). By the time they reach the action phase, consumers have devoted
great effort to their favoured brand and screened competitive offerings routinely
(Oliver, 1999). Thus the marketers are assured of their action-loyal consumers.
The consumer loyalty phase framework proposes various strategies to influence
specific stages of customer loyalty. With regards to the social media categorisation
framework, it is assumed that social media are varied in their effects on each phase of
customer loyalty.
2.3.2 Two effective ways that social media can be employed to
influence customer loyalty
2.3.2.1 EWOM
The new wave of technology has brought about a radical change to the structure of
marketing communications (Benkler, 2006; Huang and Scotia, 2010; Kotler et al.,
2010), i.e. the hierarchical and vertical structure in the past is now becoming a more
25
decentralised and horizontal structure (Benkler, 2006; Huang and Scotia, 2010). In
his famous book, The Wealth of Networks, Benkler (2006) states:
“The networked environment makes possible a new modality of organising production: radically
decentralised, collaborative, and non-proprietary based on sharing resources and outputs among
widely distributed, loosely connected individuals who cooperate with each other without relying
on either market signals or managerial commands”
Accordingly, the change has a fundamental impact on consumers‟ decision-making
processes (Gruen et al., 2005; Jansen and Zhang, 2009; Huang and Scotia, 2010).
The decentralised and collaborative social media based on user-generated content has
formed world-of-mouth that is viewed as a more credible, relevant and objective
information diffusion mechanism than the marketer-created sources of information
available elsewhere on the Internet (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Gruen et al., 2005;
Huang and Scotia, 2010). This is because consumers perceive information from their
peers as unbiased unlike that of marketers, who might use alluring information to
convince the consumers to purchase a product or service (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004;
Yu, 2011).
Traditional word-of-mouth has been defined as “oral, person to person
communication between a receiver and a communicator whom the receiver perceives
as non-commercial, regarding a brand, a product or service” (Arndt, 1967 : 5).
However, in an electronic age, face-to-face communication is no longer essential
(Burton and Khammash, 2010). Thus, electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) has
evolved as “any positive or negative statement made by potential, actual, or former
customers about a product or company, which is available to a multitude of people
and institutions via the Internet” (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004). With the development
of web technology, the created review and forward mechanism that allows users to
26
message each other and evaluate the credibility of a source further enhances the
function of word-of-mouth (Burmaster, 2008). Also, due to the Internet‟s easy
accessibility, asynchronous nature and information permanency, the electronic
word-of-mouth that can be achieved and recognised by millions of consumers carries
significant implications for online marketing (Gelb and Sundaram, 2002;
Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004; Bailey, 2005). Thus, harnessing the power of EWOM is
fundamental to marketers.
The social contagion effect of EWOM communication is conducted by the share or
forward mechanism in terms of social media (Jansen and Zhang, 2009; Huang and
Scotia, 2010). The influence of EWOM communication is mainly represented by two
dimensions (Huang and Scotia, 2010). One is the cognitive dimension, which focuses
on information exchange insofar as people construct and share thoughts, activities
and ideas (Beatty and Smith, 1987). The other is the affective aspect, whereby people
share emotions and moods (Huang and Scotia, 2010). According to Schoenewolf
(1990), people‟s emotions and behaviour are consciously or unconsciously
influenced by other people‟s emotional states and behavioural attitudes. In addition,
the social contagion in the affect dimension often results from less conscious
induction (Huang and Scotia, 2010). With regards to the EWOM of a brand, the
cognitive dimension relates to brand knowledge and the affect dimension is linked
with brand relationship (Jansen and Zhang, 2009). Brand knowledge mainly includes
the data, information and knowledge relating to a product and service (Jansen and
Zhang, 2009). The brand relationship includes brand satisfaction, brand trust and
brand attachment (Esch et al., 2006). Thus, social media not only act as platforms for
the provision of brand information, but also function as communication channels that
less consciously influence consumer purchase decisions (Jansen and Zhang, 2009).
Therefore, a firm should manage perceptions of its products and brand on social
media websites and take advantage of the EWOM effect to influence consumers‟
27
emotional states and behavioural attitudes (Jansen and Zhang, 2009).
2.3.2.2 Virtual community
The traditional marketing model, i.e. the product-centric model, indicates that value
creation and value exchange are two distinctive roles. In value creation, production
happens inside the firm; in value exchange, consumption occurs outside the firm
(Normann and Ramirez, 1994; Kotler et al., 2010). The new model driven by web 2.0
has blurred the boundary between production and consumption, demonstrating that
„informed‟, „empowered‟ and „connected‟ consumers play increasingly crucial roles
in co-creation within the experience environment (Harwood and Garry, 2010;
Kerrigan and Graham, 2010b). Co-creation depends on those active and demanding
consumers who are willing to engage in an experience environment through creating
their own unique, personalised consumption experiences (Prahalad and Ramaswamy,
2004). Substantial research has shown that co-creation processes occur within virtual
consumption communities (Benkler, 2006; Li and Bernoff, 2008; Hamilton and
Hewer, 2010; Harwood and Garry, 2010). The benefit of co-creation by consumers is
manifest. Through interaction with increasingly sophisticated and less amenable
consumers via a virtual community, a firm can better identify the needs, wants and
groups of consumers as a starting point to the marketing planning process, thus
delivering the desired values to consumers (Li and Bernoff, 2008; Valos et al., 2010).
In this vein, co-creation that occurs in a virtual consumption community enables a
firm to „tap the mass consumer intellectuality‟, hence taking advantage of both
internal and external capabilities to continually modify and co-evolve products and
services in an ongoing and iterative process (Harwood and Garry, 2010). In terms of
marketing, the active and passionate consumers in a virtual community may act as
ways for firms to attract other potential online consumers via their unique and
personal consumption experiences and creativity (Li and Bernoff, 2008).
28
Cova and Cova (2002) state that a virtual community is a network of heterogeneous
people connected by shared emotion and passion. In taking account of consumption
communities, Schouten (1995) notes that people feel a sense of community when
they share the same feelings and behaviour of consumption. From the perspective of
consumers, fans seek to construct their social identities among groups of like-minded
people through engagement in a wealth of consumption rituals and practices
(Hamilton and Hewer, 2010; Harwood and Garry, 2010), which in turn result in
deeper levels of emotion and passion (Harwood and Garry, 2010). Specifically, a
community engenders a sense of belonging insofar as consumers are voluntarily and
willingly involved in self-disclosure, help behaviour, judgements and
recommendations (Oliver, 1999). The brand is a virtual glue to link consumers
affectively (Hamilton and Hewer, 2010). Thus, a consumption community has great
impact on consumers‟ emotions and attitudes towards a brand (Kim et al., 2004).
This further signifies that such a community can affect the psychological aspects of
customer loyalty as a result of brand repetition, exposure and endorsements by
members (Oliver, 1999). Social media offer a variety of ways to deploy virtual
communities (Jantsch, 2010). As a facilitator or collaborator, a firm is required to
make deliberate efforts in social affiliations, interactions and conversations within
the virtual community (Hamilton and Hewer, 2010; Jantsch, 2010).
29
Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1 Justification of methodology choice
When conducting research, the researcher has a certain knowledge of social science
with an appreciation of what the aim of the research is and how the results can be
achieved (Creswell, 2003). The philosophical expression is that the researcher is
required to investigate the relationship between theory and research (inductive or
deductive), in order to define the appropriate knowledge with respect to the social
world (epistemology) and to identify whether the social world is an external factor
(ontology) (Crotty, 1998; Neuman, 2000; Creswell, 2003; Bryman, 2004). There are
two distinctive research methodologies: quantitative and qualitative methodologies
(Bryman, 2004). These differ in consideration of epistemology, ontology and the
nature of the relationship between theory and research (Neuman, 2000). The
distinctiveness of a research strategy necessitates researchers to select the most
appropriate strategy for the deployment of the research (Creswell, 2003).
A quantitative research strategy places emphasis on the quantification of data
collection and data analysis (Bryman, 2004). It entails a deductive approach to
deploy the research insofar as the theory guides the research (Bryman, 2004).
Specifically, based on the existing theories in the particular research domain, the
researcher deduces hypotheses and tests them (Neuman, 2000; Bryman, 2004). The
epistemological position of a quantitative research strategy is considered as
positivism, where the social world can be studied according to natural science
(Bryman, 2004). Furthermore, from the perspective of ontology, a quantitative
research strategy views social reality as external factors that are beyond our reach or
influence, which is referred to as objectivism (Bryman, 2004).
30
By contrast, a qualitative research strategy entails an inductive approach, where
theory is the outcome of the research (Creswell, 2003). It views social reality as
owing to individuals‟ own interpretations, which reflect the significance of human
behaviour rather than natural order (Bryman, 2004). Thus, the epistemological
orientation of a qualitative research strategy is interpretivism as opposed to
positivism (Bryman, 2004). Also, a qualitative research strategy suggests that social
phenomena, such as organisation and culture, are not pre-determined but formed
through social interaction within a constant state of revision (Strauss, 1987). This
reveals that the ontological orientation of a qualitative strategy is constructivism
(Strauss, 1987).
Figure 5 Fundamental differences between quantitative research and
qualitative research strategies
Quantitative Qualitative
Principal orientation to
the role of theory in
relation to research
Deductive; testing of
theory
Inductive; generation of
the theory
Epistemological
orientation
Natural science model, in
particular positivism
Interpretivism
Ontological orientation Objectivism Constructivism
Source: Bryman (2004: 22)
The deductive approach associated with quantitative methodologies is based on
ample literature that can help to produce hypotheses (Creswell, 2003). The research
then uses numerical analysis to measure the hypotheses and whether they relate to
the data collected (Gratton and Jones, 2004). Thus, deductions of rational hypotheses
that dominate the data collection are crucial to a quantitative research strategy.
The scarcity of existing literature and the fact that the commercial application of
31
social media is still in an experimental stage established the inductive nature of this
research, i.e. the research was required to apply a qualitative methodology, whereby
interviews and observations were conducted to explore the relationship between
social media and customer loyalty. The emphasis was to provide understanding rather
than testing. As stated in the literature review, social media are relationship-centric
(Li and Bernoff, 2008; Gilbert and Karahalios, 2009) and user-generated (Kaplan and
Haenlein, 2010; Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011), thus denoting the significant role of
human behaviour in social media, i.e. individuals‟ own interpretations of and
interactions with social media were critical to the research. This research was
positioned as interpretivist and constructivist, which further supported the application
of a qualitative methodology.
3.2 Research design
The research adopted a qualitative approach to explore the relationship between
social media and customer loyalty. Unlike a quantitative research strategy that
regards natural science as accountable knowledge, a qualitative research strategy
claims that the objects of social sciences, i.e. people, are more influential to their
environment (Bryman, 2004). Researchers are interested in studying people in
relation to social surroundings (Bryman, 2004), thereby interpreting the differences
among people‟s behaviour (Creswell, 2003). This requires researchers to view the
social realities from the perspectives of the people they studied, rather than from
their own cognition of the social world (Bryman, 2004). In order to understand the
social actors, researchers should investigate the consequences that individuals attach
to their actions (Taylor, 1993). Thus, a flexible and open structure is preferred. In this
way, the research questions naturally emerge according to the data collection process,
rather than the deliberately prescribed questions commonly applied in quantitative
research. This can help researchers to probe the different perspectives of individuals
32
(Creswell, 2003; Bryman, 2004). On this basis, it can be concluded that a qualitative
research strategy involves the application of a flexible structure to interpret
individuals‟ behaviour in a naturally emerging process (Creswell, 2003; Bryman,
2004).
The focus group method is used as part of a qualitative research strategy (Silverman,
2010). It is widely used in media and marketing research (Bryman, 2004). The focus
group method is an interview with several people around a topic that is explored in
depth (Bryman, 2004). It is facilitated by a moderator who guides the interview by
capitalising on the interactions happening during the setting with as little intrusion as
possible (Sim and Snell, 1996; Sim, 1997). Schroeder and Neil (1992) claim that
focus groups “provide opportunity for individual expression, group interaction and
group ownership of both problems and solutions.” The researcher is interested in
how people interact with the views of others and generate their own in a group
setting (Bryman, 2004). The focus group technique is regarded as naturalistic as
group members are able to compare, argue and interact with each other‟s
perspectives (Sim, 1997; Bryman, 2004). Also, they might construct and modify their
perspectives during the session (Sim, 1997; Bryman, 2004). As such, the focus group
technique represents the process of constructing meaning in the social world
(Bryman, 2004).
This research deployed the focus group method to acquire qualitative data. The
research used two focus groups: each group contained five to six people. Morgan
(1998) indicates that a small group size has a high possibility of generating rich data
when participants are highly involved or emotionally preoccupied with the topic.
Thus, five to six participants is appropriate for efficient and effective research.
In order to maintain the nature of the focus group, i.e. naturalist, flexible and with a
33
limited structure, the facilitator is required to assert slight control during the process
to ensure a free and wide-ranging discussion (Bryman, 2004). The facilitator must be
unbiased and unobtrusive during the whole process (Kitzinger, 1994). However,
when the discussion diverges too much, the researcher has to refocus the participants‟
attention with reminders and polite interruptions to avoid unrelated and trivial
dialogue (Bryman, 2004). Also, the facilitator should maintain the dialogue among
the group participants rather than between them and facilitator (Kitzinger, 1994).
The focus groups in this study were conducted in Chinese. This was due to the fact
that the focus context was in China, thus speaking in the native language made the
discussion as natural as possible. The researcher spread recruitment advertisements
through a school emailing service to every student. One student replied and agreed to
attend a focus group. The remaining participants were recruited through telephone
and instant chat applications within the circle of the researcher. It is interesting that
the participants knew each other. Many researchers prefer to select group participants
who know each other (Kitzinger, 1994; Holbrook and Jackson, 1996) because natural
groupings, such as friends and co-workers, ensure natural discussions (Kitzinger,
1994). All the participants were mature university students from China aged between
22 and 26. According to a Nielsen survey (2009), the audience of social media in
China mainly ranges from 18 to 34. Thus, the chosen members were a reasonable
sample of the social media audience in the context of China.
Data collection precisely indicates the methods by which data is collected (Sim,
1997). It is recommended to use recording devices during a focus session (Sim, 1997;
Bryman, 2004) as writing down the conversation in relation to the exact speaker is
difficult (Bryman, 2004). Also, abundant details may be lost, for example the manner
in which people say things, which is meaningful for content analysis and discourse
analysis (Bryman, 2004). Thus, recordings that kept track of the speakers and the
34
details of the speech provided were applied in this research.
The research aimed to explore the relationship between social media and customer
loyalty. On this basis, general research questions were produced to stimulate
discussion (Bryman, 2004). They were divided into three parts. The first part was to
define and understand social media. The second part was to define and understand
customer loyalty and the last part was to investigate the relationship between them.
The specific questions in relation to each part are given in the following table.
However, these questions were not fixed. The researcher adjusted the questions
according to the responses. The researcher generated sub-questions during the data
collection process in order to probe the data. This semi-structured approach not only
provided a clear focus with fairly specific topics but also allowed room to pursue
topics of particular interest to the research.
35
Figure 6 Research objectives and research questions
Research questions Research objective
Social media
What are you preferred types of
social media and why?
To identify the motivations to
use social media
What do you usually do on
social media?
To understand people‟s
behaviour using social media
Customer
loyalty
Do you consider that you are
loyal to certain brands?
To explore cognitive/
affective/conative/action
paradigm of customer loyalty
What influences you to be loyal
to a brand?
To identify the factors that
influence customer loyalty
Relationship
Have you followed some
brands on social media or have
you attended virtual
communities of a particular
brand? What do you usually
do?
To explore user-generated and
electronic word of mouth
behaviour on social media
Why do you follow a brand or
attend a virtual community?
To explore the motivations for a
consumer to follow a brand or
attend a virtual community
What are the activities that your
followed brand put forward and
what‟s your favourite type?
To explore effective social
media marketing methods
How do social media affect
your purchase of your followed
brand?
To analyse the influence that
social media exert on
behavioural aspects of customer
loyalty
How do social media affect
your attitude towards your
followed brand?
To analyse the influence that
social media exert on attitudinal
aspects of customer loyalty
3.3 Data analysis techniques
The research adopted thematic analysis to analyse the qualitative data. Thematic
analysis is one of the most widely used qualitative analytic methods (Boyatzis, 1998;
Bryman, 2004). It is a research method used to identify, analyse and report the
themes and subthemes that emerge from the data (Braun and Clarke, 2006; Fereday
and Muri-Cochrane, 2006). Although some researchers regard that „theme‟ is
36
tantamount to „code‟ in thematic analysis (Bryman, 2004), there are some differences.
A code is a label or name used to capture a part of the data that has potential
theoretical significance (Bryman, 2004). Coding is the initial step to „label‟,
„separate‟, „compile‟ and „organise‟ the data (Charmaz, 2006). Themes are developed
and extracted from codes (Fereday and Muri-Cochrane, 2006). They have a higher
level of abstraction or prevalence than codes (Bryman, 2004; Fereday and
Muri-Cochrane, 2006).
The identification of themes and subthemes requires thorough reading and re-reading
of transcripts (Bryman, 2004; Fereday and Muri-Cochrane, 2006). Researchers
usually produce a matrix for „ordering and synthesising data‟ (Ritchie and Lewis,
2003). The themes are then placed in the matrix to classify the data (Bryman, 2004).
During the research, several matrixes will be produced. Each matrix is related to one
core theme; subthemes for each core theme manage the qualitative data (Bryman,
2004).
Thematic analysis provides guidance on how to organise themes and data. However,
it does not elucidate clearly how to define the themes (Bryman, 2004). Boyatzis
(1998) suggests that a good theme contains qualitative richness in relation to the
studied phenomenon. Some researchers give recommendations on searching for
themes:
The theme is related to the research questions (Fereday and Muri-Cochrane,
2006), i.e. prior theorising gives clues on how to connect the data with the
research questions (Ryan and Russe, 2003).
The theme is prevalent in the interviewees‟ discussion, i.e. the theme is
repeated many times (Fereday and Muri-Cochrane, 2006).
The theme reaches a consensus (Sim, 1997).
37
The theme has a metaphor or analogy (Ryan and Russe, 2003).
The theme is underlying (Ryan and Russe, 2003). Linguistic connections such
as „because‟ and „since‟ may indicate causal relations.
There are two major ways to approach thematic analysis: inductive or deductive
(Boyatzis, 1998). The inductive way is that the theme emerges directly from the
qualitative data (Braun and Clarke, 2006). The researcher does not use prior theory to
code the data. The deductive way is that the researcher examines the data from a
theoretical perspective. The former is more „data-driven‟ than the latter. There are
trade-offs when choosing the inductive approach or the deductive approach (Ryan
and Russe, 2003). Applying the inductive approach might take the risk of not
connecting the theme with the research questions (Ryan and Russe, 2003; Braun and
Clarke, 2006). A more theory-centric way might “inhibit fresh ideas from the
qualitative data and make surprise connections” (Charmaz, 1990). This research
applied both the inductive and deductive approaches to analyse data. This is due to
the fact that the researcher explored some core themes from prior theories.
Meanwhile, the researcher wanted to include and expand the new themes generated
from the qualitative data.
A qualitative analytic method is an iterative and recursive process (Ryan and Russe,
2003; Bryman, 2004). This implies that the researcher might move to former stages,
for example data collection, in order to explore more interesting data based on the
existing analysis of data or conduct data collection and data analysis in tandem
(Bryman, 2004).
38
3.4 Ethical aspects
Ethical issues is relate to the following main areas (Diener and Crandall, 1978):
1. Whether there is harm to participants
2. Whether there is a lack of informed consent
3. Whether there is an invasion of privacy
4. Whether deception is involved
The research mainly aimed to explore the relationship between social media and
customer loyalty. The participants were only required to join a discussion. There was
no physical harm during the research.
In terms of the second aspect, the research took the following measures to obtain
informed consent. Firstly, the researcher documented a legally effective consent form
for the subjects. The researcher then emailed the interviewees the electronic version
of the consent from. They could then waive the consent or give some suggestions and
advice to help the researcher to revise the written consent form. Secondly, before the
formal interview, the researcher disseminated the revised consent form to the
interviewees. The interviewees were asked to sign their consent. They could
withdraw from the research at any moment.
The research was voluntary. Every participant had the right to join in the research or
withdraw from the research at any stage. Moreover, every effort was made to
maintain the confidentiality of records. The participants‟ data was anonymised; the
individuals are thus not identifiable. Furthermore, the researcher conducted a
rigorous audit to identify the types of personal data acquired from the research,
identifying and listing all information repositories holding personal data. There were
39
only two information repositories: the researcher‟s laptop and the recording device.
The recording device was only a transient data repository. After transferring the data
from the recording device to the laptop, the data in the recording device was
destroyed. Access to the data on the laptop was protected by password. Only the
researcher was allowed to acquire data.
With regards to preventing deception, before conducting the research, the researcher
gave specific statements to the participants concerning the research aims and
methods to the participants via email and an instant chat application. The participants
had a clear understanding of the research content and the requirements. Also, the
researcher disseminated an informed consent sheet to the participants. The informed
consent sheet specified the participants‟ rights and the research content.
3.5 Critical review of methodology
A research method should be reliable, valid and replicatable (Bryman, 2004). Owing
to the fact that the qualitative research method studies relatively small samples, it is a
question whether the qualitative method is concerned with high external validity
(Bryman, 2004); in other words, whether the qualitative research method can reflect
beyond the specific research context (Bryman, 2004). Furthermore, qualitative data is
translated by the researcher‟s own comprehension. The researchers‟ own theoretical
position and values dominate the research results, thus it could be questioned
whether the researcher can act as a mirror to the social world (Bryman, 2004).
Qualitative research is conducted with a small group of individuals sharing specific
characteristics in a unique social context (Bryman, 2004), hence replicating
qualitative research is difficult. Geertz (1973) points out that thick description in
relation to details of the social setting offers transferability to other contexts.
40
In accordance with the constructivism perspective, some researchers claim that the
social world is interacted with and constructed by humans (Strauss, 1987). A
researcher is engaged in the process of constructing the social world so that they can
represent the views of the subjects (Bryman, 2004). The point is that the qualitative
method can be „valid and true‟ if it accurately represents the features of the social
phenomena that it is intended to „describe, explain or theorise‟ (Hammersley, 1992),
thereby supporting the researcher‟s theoretical position on conducting qualitative
research.
This research adopted a qualitative research strategy. More specifically, the research
used focus groups to collect data and thematic analysis as a data analysis method. In
order to maintain its reliability, validity and transferability, the research offers a thick
description at the beginning of the analysis to specify the social setting. The research
also applied both deductive and inductive approaches to conduct the thematic
analysis. Thus, the research had rigorous theoretical foundations and strong relevance
to the research questions. Furthermore, the inductive approach applied in the
thematic analysis gave insights into the new ideas that emerged from the research.
However, this research was relatively small in scale. Thus, the results cannot be
generalised to a large population. In addition, the research only included two focus
groups because of time limits and condition, which may not have provided theoretic
saturation so no new insights would be generated from the next data collection
(Bryman, 2004).
41
Chapter4: Data analysis
4.1 Thick description
The qualitative research strategy is often criticised as having a „lack of replication‟
(Bryman, 2004). As qualitative research studies a relatively small number of
individuals sharing characteristics, it is of significance to explicate the context of the
focused social setting of the study (Bryman, 2004). Geertz (1973) devised a „thick
description‟ that specifies a rich statement of the social world, thereby forming a
basis for people to make judgements and thus providing a certain degree of
transferability for the research. This research adopted this view and offers a thick
description below.
4.1.1 Description of people using social media in China
The main users of social media in China are aged between 18-34, which is almost 70%
of the Chinese audience (Nielsen, 2009). The interviewees for the focus groups
ranged from 21-26, who belong to the majority group of social media users. In some
other countries, Facebook, Twitter, etc. dominate the social media traffic (Nielsen,
2010). However, due to censorship, these famous sites cannot be accessed in China
(Nielsen, 2010). The Chinese thus mainly use local social media providers. The key
players in Chinese social media are: Tencent, Renren, Netease, Tudou, Sina, Douban,
Tianya, etc. Among them, Tencent, Sina and Netease provide multiple services, e.g.
videos, blogs, micro-blogs, virtual communities, etc. Renren is a famous social
network site established at 2005 that has more than 110 million registered users
(Renren, 2011). Sina Weibo is the favoured micro-blog service among the Chinese,
accounting for 69.7% of the market share (Fu, 2010). Douban is a well-known
comment and reputation site that allows a range of specific topics (Nielsen, 2010).
42
Renren, Weibo and Douban were frequently mentioned during the focus groups.
4.1.2 Descriptions of several social media sites
4.1.2.1 Renren
Renren is called „Chinese Facebook‟. The site‟s design and functions are very similar
to Facebook. Renren is a real name social networking service (SNS). On this
platform, people can find their friends, share pictures and videos, know their friends‟
recent statuses and play social games. There are some apparent differences between
Facebook and Renren. Firstly, Renren has view counts. When people go to
someone‟s page, the view count will increase by one. Thus, many people are addicted
to presenting themselves in order to gain more view counts. Secondly, Renren has a
forward mechanism. People can forward others‟ statuses, similar to a micro-blog.
However, there is no count function to calculate how many people have forwarded a
status. Thirdly, Renren pays attention to the protection of personal activities like
comments. A person‟s comment to another person through the „leave a message‟
function cannot be seen by others if they choose to „leave it as a secret reply‟. Also,
direct comments to people are not able to be presented on a news feed. People have
to go to the individual‟s page to see them (Li, 2011).
4.1.2.2 Sina Weibo
Sina Weibo offers a micro-blogging service like Twitter. People can send short
updates to a multitude of people from a wealth of services, such as computers and
mobile phones (Jansen and Zhang, 2009). Weibo allows people to follow any user
and read each person‟s updates. The distinctive difference between Weibo and
Twitter is Weibo‟s media richness is much higher than Twitter. People are allowed to
43
upload pictures, share videos and music, create polls and vote, and send updates to a
particular group on Weibo. These activities can be directly shown to others, not via
an additional link like on Twitter. Furthermore, people can customise their personal
page, which is beneficial for self-presence. Nevertheless, the complexity of Sina
Weibo may sacrifice convenience and information immediacy.
4.1.2.3 Douban
Douban is a recommendation and comment platform (Nielsen, 2010). However, it
integrates a virtual community function, whereby group members can discuss a
specific topic. The broad topics established by Douban are books, films, music and
city events. Douban adopts a complex algorithm through which people can find
relevant objects and people with similar tastes based on their past search behaviour
(wendong, 2010). Thus, Douban provides a precise user positioning service.
Many marketers have noticed the promising land of social media and have stepped in
this field. For example, Renren supports official page services: Thinkpad, Estee
Lauder, Dell, etc. have all established official pages to interact with people and
promote brand awareness. This is the same case with Weibo, where a verified brand
can mark their official pages with a „V‟ to distinguish their special and real name
identity. In terms of Douban, the collaboration with brands is less. However, Douban
applies a creative way of presenting brands. Douban has set up an FM radio service.
Users can listen to songs that are correlated with their interests. The FM site has
many categories. Some brands, like Sony Ericson, Volvo and Burberry, have separate
channels on this site to show their fashionable and unique images.
44
4.2 The stages of data analysis
The research adapted Boyatzis‟ (1998) framework to conduct the data analysis. The
main stages in the original framework are:
1. Developing the code manual
2. Summarising the data and identifying the initial themes
3. Applying the templates of codes and additional coding
4. Connecting the codes and identifying themes
5. Corroborating and legitimating coded themes
As thematic analysis is recognised as a relatively flexible research method (Boyatzis,
1998), the researcher used this as the most appropriate way to discover the main
themes. The research made some minor changes to Boyatzis‟ (1998) framework. The
research applied the first three stages and added „producing a thematic map‟, based
on Braun and Clarke‟s (2006) guidance on thematic analysis. The main stages of this
research are thus:
1. Developing the code manual
2. Summarising the data and identifying the initial themes
3. Applying the templates of codes and additional coding
4. Producing a thematic map
4.2.1 Developing the code manual
The research adopted both inductive and deductive approaches to determine the
themes. Among them, the existing literature provided a template with which to
identify the themes (Schu\tz, 1967). The themes that result from a deductive
approach are theory-driven and close to the research questions (Fereday and
Muri-Cochrane, 2006).
45
In terms of this study, three general code categories comprised the code manual: the
criteria of social media, types of customer loyalty and the practical influence of
social media on customer loyalty. The following tables explicate each code category.
The format of the tables are based on Boyatzis‟ (1998) framework:
1. The code label
2. The definition of the theme
3. A description of the theme‟s occurrence
It is important to distinguish between „theme‟ and „code‟ in qualitative research.
Although some researchers regard that „theme‟ is tantamount to „code‟ in thematic
analysis (Bryman, 2004), there are some differences. A code is a label or name used
to capture a part of the data that has potential theoretical significance (Bryman, 2004).
Coding is the initial step to „label‟, „separate‟, „compile‟ and „organise‟ the data
(Charmaz, 2006). Themes are developed and extracted from codes (Fereday and
Muri-Cochrane, 2006). They have a higher level of abstraction or prevalence than
codes (Bryman, 2004; Fereday and Muri-Cochrane, 2006).
Figure 7 The criteria of social media
Code 1
Label Social presence (Short et al., 1976).
Definition Inability to transmit non-verbal
information led to negative
communication (Short et al., 1976).
Description Rich media that offer non-verbal cues,
such as acoustic and visual cues, result in
effective communication when
46
information is ambiguous, uncertain and
emotional.
Code 2
Label Self-presence (Goffman, 1969).
Definition People have a desire to control
impressions in any type of social
interaction (Goffman, 1969).
Description People have pressure to give their true
self to others during the relationship.
Through a gradual and reciprocal
process, whereby people disclose their
personal information and receive positive
responses, their relationship will develop
further.
Code 3
Label Information depth (Weinberg and
Pehlivan, 2011).
Definition The richness of content (Weinberg and
Pehlivan, 2011).
Description Refers to the information quality and the
extent of the knowledge contained.
Code 4
Label Information half-life (Weinberg and
Pehlivan, 2011).
Definition The longevity of the information in terms
of appearance on the screen and interest
related to the topic among the audience
(Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011).
47
Description The frequency and convenience of
updating information can influence
information half-lives.
Figure 8 Types of customer loyalty
Code 1
Label Cognitive customer loyalty (Dick and
Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999).
Definition Customer prefers one brand to its
alternatives because of the previous or
vicarious knowledge that they hold
(Oliver, 1999).
Description Cognitive customer loyalty mainly
relates to brand belief (Dick and Basu,
1994). This phase of loyalty is shallow
(Oliver, 1999). Information, such as
features and price, plays a major role in
influencing cognitive customer loyalty
(Oliver, 1999).
Code 2
Label Affective customer loyalty (Dick and
Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999).
Definition Customer has generated a positive
feeling state, i.e. a positive attitude
towards a brand, on the basis of
satisfaction with the last purchase (Dick
and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999).
Description Affective customer loyalty is associated
48
with past purchase experience (Dick and
Basu, 1994), thereby making interactions
that would evoke feelings and emotions
towards a brand crucial (Tynan and
McKechnie, 2009).
Code 3
Label Conative customer loyalty (Dick and
Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999).
Definition Conative customer loyalty is the
customer‟s behavioural disposition
towards repurchasing a brand (Dick and
Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999).
Description Conative customer loyalty is associated
with behavioural disposition (Dick and
Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999). Competitive
messages, such as coupons and
promotions, would enhance the
consumer‟s intention to repurchase.
Code 4
Label Action customer loyalty (Oliver, 1999).
Definition Customer has generated a commitment to
repurchase a brand (Oliver, 1999).
Description Customers have devoted great effort to
their favoured brand and reached action
inertia: the variety seeking and switching
that connotes costs and benefits are
screened by consumers (Oliver, 1999).
49
Figure 9 Practical ways in which social media may influence customer loyalty
Code 1
Label Electronic word-of-mouth
(Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004).
Definition “any positive or negative statement made
by potential, actual, or former customers
about a product or company, which is
available to a multitude of people and
institutions via the Internet”
(Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004).
Description EWOM has a fundamental impact on
consumer decision-making processes
(Gruen et al., 2005). Social media that
enable user-generated-content provide a
platform for transmitting EWOM.
Code 2
Label Virtual community (Cova and Cova,
2002).
Definition A network of heterogeneous people
connected by shared emotion and passion
(Cova and Cova, 2002).
Description A virtual community that promotes
co-creation between a brand and its
consumers enables the brand to tap mass
intellectuality and creativity to improve
its product and service (Prahalad and
Ramaswamy, 2004). Further, a virtual
community is connected by shared
50
emotion and passion, thus affecting
consumers‟ attitudes towards a brand
(Hamilton and Hewer, 2010).
4.2.2 Summarising the data and identifying the initial themes
During this stage, researchers analyse and interpret the data that was collected from
the research. Boyatzis (1998) suggests that coding is a conscious or unconscious
process. Researchers may rely on prior theories to identify themes or explore themes
on the basis of the data collected. This process involves researchers re-reading and
paraphrasing the data to search for meaningful and basic segments or elements that
can generalise a social phenomenon (Bryman, 2004; Fereday and Muri-Cochrane,
2006).
The crucial points based on the responses to the research questions made by the
participants are extracted in the following table. The focus groups were guided by
certain specific questions, creating the semi-structured nature of the research. The
questions were:
What are you preferred types of social media and why?
What do you usually do on social media sites?
Do you consider that you are loyal to certain brands?
What influences you to be loyal to a brand?
Have you followed some brands on social media sites or have you attended
virtual communities of a particular brand? What do you usually do?
Why do you follow a brand or attend a virtual community?
What are the activities that your followed brand put forward and what‟s your
51
favourite type?
How do social media affect your purchase of your followed brand?
How do social media affect your attitude of your followed brand?
Figure 10 Initial themes based on research questions
Research objective Summary of responses
Motivations to use social media Relationship-based:
„I use Facebook because people can
publish social events but Renren does not
have such a function‟ [Interviewee 1]
„I prefer Renren because I started it very
early‟ [Interviewee 4]
„I like Weibo because I can follow
celebrities‟ [Interviewee 3]
„I use Renren because most of my friends
are there‟[Interviewee 4]
„Weibo has a power to drag people into it
that forms a virtual society‟
[Interviewee 3]
„I am addicted to Renren and want to
find out what others do on Renren‟
[Interviewee 9]
„Renren requires people to use their real
names‟ [Interviewee 10]
Interaction:
„I could interact with celebrities via
Weibo‟ [Interviewee 3]
52
„I used to write a blog because I wanted
to share my travelling experiences with
others, however I shut down it because
there were no comments‟ [Interviewee 6]
„Share photos with others‟
[Interviewee 6]
„I lost my interest in Renren because
people have low passion to interact‟
[Interviewee 10]
Information immediacy:
„I do not like Facebook and Weibo
because of overloaded and miscellaneous
information‟ [Interviewee 2]
„I like Weibo because information is
rather brief and updated very quickly on
there‟ [Interviewee 3]
Convenience:
„I use Renren because it is written in
Chinese‟ [Interviewee 4]
„I do not use Facebook because I have to
find people by email address‟
[Interviewee 4]
„I use Renren because of its better
localisation than Facebook‟
[Interviewee 5]
53
„I can use Weibo via my mobile phone‟
[Interviewee 10]
Relevance:
„I prefer Douban (a virtual community)
because of the classified topics there‟
[Interviewee 5]
„Douban and Tieba present associated
topics‟[Interviewee 2]
Privacy:
„Weibo enables some strangers to follow
you, I am worried that my personal
information would be utilised‟
[Interviewee 2]
Trustworthy:
„There is some false information on
Weibo‟ [Interviewee 2, 5]
Exhibitionism:
„Celebrities show their true selves via
Weibo‟ [Interviewee 3]
„Celebrities fake themselves via Weibo‟
[Interviewee 5]
„I only use a blog, I write the blog most
of time because I want to share emotions‟
[Interviewee 8]
54
Social presence:
„I like the pictures, videos and shared
articles on Renren‟ [Interviewee 7]
Behaviour on social media Entertainment:
„Look for fun videos‟ [Interviewee 7]
„Look for delicious food and fun places‟
[Interviewee 6]
„Look for interesting content‟
[Interviewee 9]
„Play games‟ [Interviewee 10]
„Share fun content‟ [Interviewee 7,9]
Exhibitionism:
„Write down my thoughts‟
[Interviewee 8]
„Share viewpoints‟ [Interviewee 4]
„Discuss political issues‟ [Interviewee 4]
Information acquisition:
„Read news‟ [Interviewee 4]
„Read blogs‟ [Interviewee 8]
„Get celebrity news‟ [Interviewee 3]
„Learning‟ [Interviewee 9]
Maintain relationship:
„Hold social events‟ [Interviewee 1]
„Participate in social events‟
[Interviewee 1]
55
„Keep in touch with my friends‟
[Interviewee 1,9,10]
Different types of customer loyalty No loyalty:
„I don‟t remember any brand. When I
purchase I compare every time‟
[Interviewee 3]
„I don‟t have loyalty to any brand. If a
product is cheap, I will buy it‟
[Interviewee 7]
Cognitive loyalty:
„The WOM brand leaves me with a
good impression‟[Interviewee 4]
Affective loyalty:
„I like Topman due to the good quality‟
[Interviewee 1]
Conative loyalty:
„I have strong feelings toward a cosmetic
brand. I like it very much. I don‟t use it
now because I can‟t buy it here‟
[Interviewee 8]
Action loyalty:
„A good brand like Apple represents
spirit, I will buy it absolutely‟
56
[Interviewee 5]
„I never listen to other‟s comments about
my loyal brand. I know it‟s good and I
will buy it‟ [Interviewee 2]
Factors influencing customer loyalty Quality:
„Good quality‟
[Interviewee 1,3,8,10]
Aesthetics:
„Beautiful design‟
[Interviewee 2,6,9]
Satisfaction:
„I have consumed a brand‟ [Interviewee
2, 8, 9,10]
„I always purchase ASUS, because it
never broke down‟ [Interviewee 10]
Trust:
„The quality is changing, I have to
ascertain the quality in
person‟[Interviewee 3]
„I trust its quality‟ [Interviewee 2]
„I will check a brand through its formal
website‟ [Interviewee 8]
„I get information from the official
website of a brand‟ [Interviewee 6]
57
Word-of-mouth:
„The WOM brand must be good‟
[Interviewee 3,4,6,8]
„People‟s feelings may influence my
purchase decision‟ [Interviewee 3,8]
User-generated and electronic
word-of-mouth behaviour
Word-of-mouth:
„Check reviews and compare them to
help me buy a product‟ [Interviewee
1,2,3,4,5]
„Some of their comments are useful‟
[Interviewee 1,2,3,4,5]
User-generated content:
„I have posted it and I gained
bonuses‟[Interviewee 9]
„I will if I can have some benefits‟
[Interviewee 4]
„I write reviews because of strong
interest and affection towards that brand‟
[Interviewee 2]
„I write comments because of the bad
quality and I want others to see it‟
[Interviewee 3]
„Real‟ [Interviewee 2]
„Help me to know the product better‟
[Interviewee 2,4]
„Definitely influence my purchase
decision‟ [Interviewee 1,2]
58
Motivations for following a brand Value:
„Useful‟ [Interviewee 1,2,6,9,10]
„Fun‟ [Interviewee 7,9]
„Learn things‟ [Interviewee 9,10]
„Gain some free software‟
[Interviewee 6, 9]
„Expand my purchased products‟
function‟ [Interviewee 6, 9]
„Update my product‟ [Interviewee 6, 9]
„Bonus‟ [Interviewee 6, 9, 10]
Relationship:
„Interact with other people‟ [Interviewee
5,6, 8,9,10]
„I feel happy to discover others‟ praise
about my purchased product‟
[Interviewee 10]
Convenience:
„Easy to follow a brand via social media‟
[Interviewee 10]
„Too busy to follow a brand‟ [Interviewee
1, 2]
Effective methods of social media
marketing
Benefit:
„Lottery‟ [Interviewee 3, 7]
„Free samples‟ [Interviewee 1,3]
„Virtual money‟ [Interviewee 7]
„Increase my virtual popularity‟
59
[Interviewee 7]
Interaction:
„Help me to solve problems‟ [Interviewee
1,2,5]
„Credible and reliable‟ [Interviewee 10]
„Use celebrities to advertise your
products‟ [Interviewee 2]
Behavioural influences on customer
loyalty
Repurchase:
„If they release discount information on
social media sites, I will make the
decision to repurchase that brand
immediately‟ [Interviewee 1]
„I saw their released discounts shared by
my friends a lot of times, finally I buy it‟
[Interviewee 10]
„I will repurchase if they provide some
benefits‟ [Interviewee 7]
„I repurchase that brand because of their
timely and effective feedback‟
[Interviewee 6,10]
„I never buy the brand because they
ignored my enquiry‟ [Interviewee 6]
„I never purchase that brand because they
cannot answer my questions‟
[Interviewee 6]
„Free samples let me know that brand
better, I feel that is good. Then I
60
repurchase it‟ [Interviewee 3]
Attitudinal influences on customer
loyalty
Cognition:
„Repeatable advertisements leave me
with a strong impression regarding that
brand‟ [Interviewee 2]
„I know the product better‟
[Interviewee 10 ]
Affection:
„The creative product video increases my
affection toward that brand‟ [Interviewee
6]
„Timely feedback enhances my feeling of
that brand‟ [Interviewee 6, 8,10]
The initial codes associated with the research questions were further developed. On
one hand, some of the codes were synthesised into new codes. For example,
regarding motivations for following a brand, convenience is a type of value. On the
other hand, some codes became sub-codes. For example, concerning motivations to
use social media, interaction and self-presence are both relationship-based. In order
to present a clear code table, people‟s responses in relation to the codes were
extracted. The developed codes are presented as follows.
61
Figure 11 Synthesised initial themes
Research objective Summary of responses
Motivations to use social media Relationship-based:
{ Interaction, exhibitionism, privacy}
Self-information acquisition:
{Convenience, immediacy, relevance,
trustworthy, entertaining}
Behaviour on social media Self-entertaining
Self-improvement
Exhibitionism
Interaction
Different types of customer loyalty No loyalty
Cognitive loyalty
Affective loyalty
Conative loyalty
Action loyalty
Factors influencing customer loyalty Satisfaction
Trust
Motivations for following a brand Value
Relationship
Effective methods of social media
marketing
Benefit
Interaction
Behavioural influences of customer
loyalty
Action
Attitudinal influences of customer
loyalty
Cognition
Affection
62
4.2.3 Applying the templates of codes and additional coding
The code manual that was developed according to the literature review acted as a
template to assist the theoretical coding. The codes from the codebook were applied
to identify the key points of the qualitative data. Each segment of text from the
transcript is sorted to match the prior identified codes. Here, interviewees‟ names are
omitted because of ethical issues. The researcher used unidentified letters to present
the responses.
63
Figure 12 Social media’s theory-driven codes
Name of theory-driven code Social presence (Short et al., 1976).
Explanation Inability to transmit non-verbal
information led to negative
communication (Short et al., 1976). Rich
media aims to reduce uncertainty and the
ambiguity of information.
Interviewee 7 „I like to turn to Renren to view pictures,
videos and share contents‟
Interviewee 6 „I go to Flickr to upload pictures‟
Interviewee 9 „View fun videos‟
Interviewee 10 „Play games‟
Interviewee 10 „Renren requires people to use their real
names‟
Name of theory-driven code Self-presence (Goffman, 1969).
Explanation People have a desire to control
impressions in any type of social
interaction (Goffman, 1969).
Interviewee 6 „I used to write a blog because I wanted
to share my travelling experiences with
others, however I shut down it because
there were no comments‟
Interviewee 8 „I only use a blog, I write the blog most
of the time because I want to share
emotions‟
Interviewee 10 „I write a diary on my blog‟
64
Name of theory-driven code Information depth (Weinberg &
Pehlivan, 2011.
Explanation The richness of content (Weinberg and
Pehlivan, 2011). This refers to the
information quality and the extent of
knowledge it contains.
Interviewee 10 „People can release social event
information on Facebook ‟
Interviewee 5 „Virtual communities have relevant
topics. The information quality is high‟
Name of theory-driven code Information half-life
Explanation The longevity of information in terms of
appearance on the screen and interest
related to the topic among the audience
(Weinberg and Pehlivan, 2011). The
convenience of updating the information
and the information depth that the social
media site contains determine its
information half-life.
Interviewee 2 „I do not like Weibo and Facebook
because of overloaded and miscellaneous
information‟
Interviewee 8 „I write a blog monthly, maybe. I stay on
the blog for about one to two hours‟
Interviewee 9 „I cannot resist freshening my Renren
page‟
65
Figure 13 Customer loyalty’s theory-driven codes
Name of theory-driven code Cognitive customer loyalty (Dick and
Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999).
Explanation Customer prefers one brand to its
alternatives because of the previous or
vicarious knowledge that they hold
(Oliver, 1999). Cognitive loyalty is
affected by brand information (Oliver,
1999).
Interviewee 4 „The WOM brand leaves me with a good
impression‟
Name of theory-driven code Affective customer loyalty (Dick and
Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999).
Definition Customer has generated a positive
feeling state, i.e. a positive attitude
towards a brand, on the basis of
satisfaction with the last purchase (Dick
and Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999). Affective
loyalty is affected by liking a brand
(Oliver, 1999).
Interviewee 1 „I like Topman due to the good quality‟
Name of theory-driven code Conative customer loyalty (Dick and
Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999).
Explanation Conative customer loyalty is a
customer‟s behavioural disposition
towards repurchasing a brand (Dick and
66
Basu, 1994; Oliver, 1999). It is a loyalty
to an intention (Oliver, 1999).
Interviewee 8 „I have strong feelings toward a cosmetic
brand. I like it very much. I don‟t use it
now because I can‟t buy it here‟
Name of theory-driven code Action customer loyalty (Oliver, 1999).
Explanation Customer has generated a commitment to
repurchase a brand (Oliver, 1999). It is a
loyalty caused by action inertia (Oliver,
1999).
Interviewee 5 „A good brand like Apple represents
spirit, I will buy it absolutely‟
Interviewee 2 „I never listen to other‟s comments about
my loyal brand. I know it‟s good and I
will buy it‟
Figure 14 Theory driven codes of the relationship between social media and
customer loyalty
Name of theory-driven code Electronic word-of-mouth
(Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004)
Explanation “any positive or negative statement made
by potential, actual, or former customers
about a product or company, which is
available to a multitude of people and
institutions via the Internet”
(Hennig-Thurau et al., 2004). Social
media that enable user-generated content
provide a platform for transmitting
67
EWOM.
Interviewee 10 „I saw their released discounts shared by
my friends a lot of times, finally I buy it‟
Interviewee 3 „I surely check others‟ reviews about a
product. If they say that the product‟s
quality is bad, I will definitely be
influenced‟
Interviewee 8 „If my female friends asked me which
cosmetics are good, I will recommend it
to them‟
Interviewee 7 „I will tell if they ask‟
Interviewee 8 „Others‟ feelings about those cosmetics
may affect my attitude‟
Interviewee 4 „I will pay attention to a WOM brand‟
Interviewee 5 „Consumer created content is very
useful‟
Interviewee 10 „Some of them are naïve and emotional‟
Name of theory-driven code Virtual Community (Cova and Cova,
2002).
Definition A network of heterogeneous people
connected by shared emotion and passion
(Cova and Cova, 2002).
Interviewee 10 „I feel happy to discover others‟ praise
about my purchased product‟
Interviewee 9 „Fun, people help each other…the
activities that Nokia community hold
make people crazy…I like Nokia better‟
68
Interviewee 6 „Useful, they create free apps for
Android…I download many…when I
need something, I turn to the virtual
community‟
At this stage, paraphrasing and interpreting the data was conducted in accordance
with the research questions and a predetermined code manual, which is a deductive
way to conduct data analysis. Nevertheless, there are some emerging themes
observed in the transcript. Thus using an inductive way to conduct qualitative data
analysis that expands the code that contains both theory-driven themes and
data-driven themes is meaningful and comprehensive.
Figure 15 Data-driven codes with quoted text
Name of data-driven code Satisfaction
Explanation of code Satisfaction is a critical factor of
customer loyalty. Customer loyalty
indicates repeated purchases. The
fulfilment of the last purchase (i.e.
consumption that fulfils consumers‟
needs, values, desires, etc.) strengthens
the consumer‟s motivation to conduct a
repeated purchase.
Interviewee 8 „I have used that brand‟s cosmetics. They
are good to use. I like that brand very
much and I will choose it in the future‟
Interviewee 10 „I always purchase ASUS, because it
never broke down‟
Interviewee 2 „I have consumed…I know they will
69
continuously satisfy me…deliver desired
value to me‟
Name of data-driven code Trust
Explanation of code Customers have confidence in brands
that continuously fulfil the same needs.
Interviewee 2 „I believe the brand will continuously
satisfy me‟
Interviewee 10 „Whether this brand is reliable and
trustworthy influences my affection
towards that brand‟
Interviewee 5 „A good brand like Apple represents
spirit, I will buy it absolutely…Steve
Jobs is a charming person. I believe in
him…‟
Name of data-driven code No loyalty.
Explanation of code No loyalty indicates that customers have
no preference for any brand. They regard
brands as similar, with little
differentiation between them.
Interviewee 7 „I don‟t feel that I have customer loyalty.
I always compare when I go shopping.
The product itself rather than the brand is
important‟
Interviewee 2 „My customer loyalty only lies on
important stuff...For example; I feel
clothes‟ brands are the same. I don‟t care‟
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4.3 Producing a thematic map
Based on both the identified theory-driven and data-driven themes, the thematic map
was produced as follows. Motivations for using social media are classified as
self-information acquisition and social relationship. In terms of motivations for
self-information acquisition, the information depth and information half-life (which
are emphasised in the information itself) are appropriate to measure social media
behaviour. The specific self-information acquisition behaviours are
self-entertainment and self-improvement. The major factor that influences
self-information acquisition-driven behaviour is satisfaction, which plays a
significant role in the „no loyalty‟, „cognitive loyalty‟ and „conative loyalty‟ phases.
The criteria for measuring social relationship behaviour are social presence and
self-presence, which are centred on relationships through specified interaction and
exhibitionism behaviour. Trust is a critical factor that influences social
relationship-based behaviour; it works effectively on „affective loyalty‟ and „action
loyalty‟.
71
Figure 16 Thematic map showing motivations for using social media, criteria
of social media, reported behaviour, major factors and phases of customer
loyalty
The thematic map produced the essential themes. They are: self-information
acquisition, social relationships, satisfaction and trust. The arrows in the figure below
explicate the relationship between them.
Figure 17 Thematic map showing the four critical themes
Reason for using social media Theme of critical factor
Self-information
acquisition
Satisfaction
Trust Social
relationships
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Chapter 5: Discussion
5.1 Social relationships and self-information acquisitions as two
main themes of using social media
There are two major motivations for people to use social media. One is to maintain
social relationships and the other is to acquire information. The different motivations
affect people‟s selection of social media sites and behaviour accordingly. Meanwhile,
the different extents of relational orientations have an impact on marketer‟s strategies
to influence customer loyalty as well.
5.2 Social relationships
According to the existing literature, the fact that it is „relationship-based‟ is one of
the fundamental features of social media (Eyrich et al., 2008; Li and Bernoff, 2008).
This characteristic has been justified in this research. Many of the participants
claimed that their principal motivation for using social media was to maintain
relationships. This can be summarised from two aspects: interaction and
exhibitionism. Interaction denotes people‟s observing, sharing and commenting
behaviour on social media. In addition, this can be shown from the reliance of using
particular type of social media as well. One of the participants stated:
„I use Renren because most of my friends are there…This is the earliest social network I‟ve
used…It is written in Chinese. My Chinese friends are there who are easily contacted…‟ [4]
Concerning the participant‟s response, it is clear that relationships greatly encourage
people to use social media. As the majority of the participant‟s friends could be
73
contacted via Renren and the participant had developed relationships for a long time
using that platform, they inclined to use Renren so that their needs could be
successfully fulfilled.
Exhibitionism is another aspect of social relationships. It can be represented in
people‟s self-presentation behaviour, like creating, editing, tagging etc. One of the
participants responded:
„I only use a blog, I write the blog most of the time because I want to share emotions…When I
have something I want to express, I go to my blog…my audiences are my good friends. It‟s a
private blog, they need passwords to enter‟ [8]
Commonly, self-presentation is conducted through a self-disclosure process (Ellison
et al., 2006). Emotions, moods and feelings are personal and subjective. When
people reveal such personal information, they disclose their self-identity (Ellison et
al., 2006). However, this process depends on intimacy (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010).
To be precise, it is a gradual and reciprocal process: only after the expresser gains
positive, interpretative and convincing responses does their relationship go further
(Ellison et al., 2006). This is the reason that the respondent shares their blog with
intimate friends.
The classification criteria of social media proposed by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010),
i.e. social presence and self-presence, are appropriate to categorise people‟s
relationship-based behaviour. Social presence indicates using rich media that provide
multi-sensory information (such as acoustic and visual information) can reduce
ambiguity and the uncertainty of communication (Daft and Lengel, 1986; Kaplan and
Haenlein, 2010). Self-presentation implicates the extent of appropriateness to which
the different types of social media could be regarded as „self‟ media. It is clear that
74
social presence and self-presence originated from a „relationship‟ perspective and it
is thus beneficial to classify each type of social media according to their degree of
presence.
5.2.1 Self-information acquisition
However, for less relationship-driven behaviour, social presence and self-presence
cannot clearly represent the relationship. Hereby, self-information acquisition has
been identified from the research as the second fundamental motivation for using
social media. Specifically, people mainly use social media for self-entertainment (e.g.
watching fun videos, viewing interesting pictures, playing games, etc.) and
self-improvement (e.g. reading news, reading blogs, learning, etc.). One of the
participants expressed:
„I prefer Douban because of the classified topics there...Douban has predefined themes so that the
information quality is relatively high. Unlike Renren which does not have topics, you can say
anything on there, meaningful or meaningless‟ [5]
Another participant also shared the same view:
„The virtual community and Douban have keywords. Unlike Renren on which information is
dispersed, you can find anything…For example, if I want a horror movie, I can find it very easily
through Douban. Also people who like this film will discuss under that topic, information is very
focused‟ [2]
It can be concluded that information relevance has a crucial impact on people‟s
information acquisition behaviour. The more precisely a result is related to people‟s
expectations, the higher the preference would be for that social media. Furthermore,
75
some participants stated the importance of information immediacy:
„I like Weibo because information is rather brief and updated very quickly on there…I can
acquire the latest news…‟ [4]
Sina Weibo is a micro-blogging site that enables access via multiple devices, such as
mobile phones and personal computers, thus creating great convenience for users to
update information in a timely manner. Owing to the fact that information immediacy
is relatively high in terms of micro-blogging sites, such sites have recently been
increasingly used by news agencies to update information during emergencies and
disasters (Jansen and Zhang, 2009). As information immediacy can affect people‟s
speed and accessibility to acquire news, it is inferred that information immediacy is
another crucial factor for self-information acquisition behaviour.
On this basis, information quality (e.g. information relevance and information
capacity) and information immediacy play vital roles in self-information acquisition.
Thus, Weinberg and Pehlivan‟s (2011) social media classification criteria, i.e.,
information depth and half-life of information, emphasise the information itself as
useful to explicate the information acquisition behaviour.
The distinct motivation for using social media connotes different levels of relational
orientation. Social relationship-based behaviour represents higher relational
disposition than self-information acquisition behaviour. Thus, the marketing strategy
to influence customer loyalty is varied accordingly. Based on Garbarino and
Johnson‟s (1999) framework that studied customer loyalty from the relationship
marketing perspective and the present research‟s findings, the research claims that
satisfaction is a critical factor that influences weak customer relational
self-information acquisition. It further claims that trust is a critical factor that
76
influences social relationships behaviour, which has higher customer relational
orientation. Furthermore, the research proposes that each factor, i.e. satisfaction and
trust, has a different role in the loyalty phases (i.e. no loyalty, cognitive loyalty,
affective loyalty, conative loyalty and action loyalty).
It should be specified that „social‟ or „self‟ is a level of disposition and that the two
concepts cannot be separated completely. More specifically, people‟s main aims
when using social media could possibly be „social‟, but they cannot deny that they
also have „self‟ behaviour. The point lies in the extent of relational disposition.
5.3 Satisfaction is a critical factor to influence weak relational
customers
Based on the research findings, people who dominate self-information acquisition
behaviour on social media sites tend to be weak relational customers. They focus on
product information and seek out the functional values of the products. In other
words, they are more transactional, functional and informational. These weak
relational customers show higher individual fortitude. When they undergo the
decision-making process, they are more likely to depend on „self‟ than „social‟. To
illustrate, they prefer to make evaluative judgements on the cognitive information of
the products or based on an affective reaction of past self-experience in relation to a
product (Oliver, 1993). Thus, according to weak relational customers, the
transactional exchange of the commodity with little personal relationship mostly
takes place between them and firms (Garbarino and Johnson, 1999). The essence
(features, quality, aesthetics, etc.) of the product or service plays a critical role in
influencing weak relational customers. When asked what influenced their customer
loyalty, one of the participants expressed:
77
„I am accustomed to using ASUS… When you consume the brands, you know their quality.
Those brands guaranteed the quality so that you are much reassured. I always purchase ASUS,
because it never broke down…‟ [10]
The participant regarded that the quality of the product has an impact on their
purchase decision. According to the participant, when they are fulfilled by their last
purchase of ASUS, that is, the product did not have a quality problem, they would
buy it again next time. Their purchase decision is based on past self-experience of
consumption.
Another participant stated:
„It depends on the quality…or maybe the fundamental change of the product line. I don‟t have
loyalty. I buy many brands. When I conduct a purchase, if I find the brand is good then I buy
it…The features of a product and its specifications have a strong impact on me‟ [3]
This participant indicated that they do not have customer loyalty. However, the main
factors that influence their purchase decision are the features of the product. When
they conduct a purchase, they turn to neutral or cognitive information, e.g. the
product specification. Their purchase decision to a large extent is built on
self-information acquisition. In addition, they mentioned their purchasing process:
they meet the brand at the right time and then buy it. Thus it can be inferred that the
accessibility of the product can affect relatively low loyalty customers.
Based on the above analysis, it can be concluded that satisfaction is a crucial factor
of customer loyalty, especially for weak relational customers, i.e. „self‟ customers.
Hereby, satisfaction is defined as a fulfilment of customer needs in relation to
specific products or services. With regards to weak relational customers, past
78
consumption experience, cognitive information relating to the brand and the
accessibility of the brand construct satisfaction towards the brand.
As the „self‟ customers emphasised the functional value of the product, there is rather
low emotional link between the organisation and customers. Weak relational
customers are mainly influenced by the cognitive information, features and
accessibility of products. Thus their loyalty is to information and is
transactional-based, which pertains to a low level customer loyalty phase, i.e.
cognitive customer loyalty. In this phase of loyalty, customers are easily affected by
competitive features or prices (Oliver, 1999). This is represented by variety seeking
behaviour.
One of the participants responded:
„When I want to buy a product, I will compare it on the Internet. But the last decision is based on
the price and my past experience with that brand. I don‟t follow a brand on social media unless
my product‟s value would enhance after I purchase it just like stock‟ [4]
The „self‟ customers are looking for the value of the product. Thus, if the brand could
provide benefits after purchase, such as updates and vouchers, this could enhance the
satisfaction that „self‟ customers feel towards that brand. Furthermore, it is seen that
their loyalty is mainly built in the pre-purchase phase, which connotes that the
accessibility of information and enticing information, e.g. promotions and free
samples, are crucial for affecting „self‟ customers.
„Self‟ customers have two basic motivations for acquiring information: one is
self-entertainment and the other is self-improvement. Thus, if the brand could meet
such needs of this type of customers, this could enhance their loyalty. One of the
79
participants stated:
„I follow Motorola on Renren. It often releases some fun videos, new product information and
product updates‟ [10]
The participant demonstrated that their reason for following a brand on a social
media site is because the brand could offer valuable information, e.g. fun videos, new
product information and product updates. Therefore, if the brand could fulfil „self‟
customers‟ needs, it may enhance their loyalty towards that brand. According to the
research findings, relevancy, convenience, immediacy, entertainment and
trustworthiness are determining factors that affect self-information acquisition
behaviour. Thus, with information value (i.e. relevant, reliable and entertaining
information) provided in a timely manner through convenient channels, brand
satisfaction would be enhanced among transactional orientation customers.
5.4 Trust as a critical factor that influences high relational
customers
According to the research findings, people who dominate social media sites with
„social relationship‟ behaviour tend to be high relational customers. They are more
easily affected by the psychological aspects that are generated by the development of
a relationship, e.g. emotions, affect, moods and feelings. More specifically, in
contrast with „self‟ customers who are transactional-based and mainly affected by
cognitive information, high relational customers are affected more by attitudinal
information that is revealed, exchanged, constructed and strengthened through
two-way communication. This type of customer (i.e. „social‟ customers), in
accordance with the social exchange theory (Fox, 1974), relies on source credibility
insofar as trust is developed in a relation exchange (Hovland et al., 1953). This is in
80
accordance with how such „social‟ customers‟ behaviour on social media sites, i.e.
interaction and exhibitionism. According to self-presentation theory (Ellison et al.,
2006), people desire to control their self-image. The self-disclosure is affected by the
intimacy between the two communication partners. Through a gradual and reciprocal
process whereby people reveal personal information to others and the exchange party
gives positive responses (insofar as both sides develop, interpret and validate the
dialogue), their relationship is enhanced. It can be thus inferred that trust is defined
as „confidence in the trustworthy party‟s reliability‟, which is strengthened through
interaction and exhibitionism (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). One of the participants
demonstrated:
„I believe the brand will continuously satisfy me.‟ [2]
Another participant responded:
„A good brand like Apple represents spirit, I will buy it absolutely…Steve Jobs is a charming
person. I believe in him…‟ [5]
Both of the participants highlighted the importance of confidence. The
customer-company relationship requires trust (Berry and Parasuraman, 1991). As
trust is a high relational mediator, determined by an exchange partner‟s perceived
reliability (Morgan and Hunt, 1994), it strongly affects people‟s perceptions, i.e.
confidence in a brand. In terms of social media, the brand should exhibit and
communicate with customers in order to exchange its reliability and thus enhance
trust for those high relational customers. Effective communication that brings trust is
critical to influence their loyalty through social media. One of the participants stated:
„I once had an enquiry about a brand. Because my English is not good, I cannot directly phone
81
them. I chose to mail that brand. To my surprise, I got a reply about three days after my enquiry. I
feel good about them. I am just one of a multitude of customers that they have. And they have
replied to me. They are concerned with customers. I feel they are trustworthy…Interaction is
back and forth. It has an origin. Sometimes you send them an enquiry and they responded to you.
Then you reply accordingly. But sometimes they don‟t answer you regarding the previous
conversation. And your repeated explanation is meaningless, because they will forget‟ [6]
It can be seen that the significant role of communication could affect trust for brands
among those high relational customers. The communication firstly requires mutual
investment. Hereby, the participant emphasised the importance of reciprocity
concerning interaction. As the development of a relationship is a social exchange
process (Fox, 1974), it requires both sides to invest „social capital‟ during the
interaction. The response from the brand is perceived as „social capital‟ invested in
the relationship. Thus, when the customer actively interacts with an organisation, the
organisation should offer a positive response. According to the dialogue, the
participant indicated that he had uncertainty in relation to the brand, i.e. an enquiry.
The response that the brand extended helped the participant to resolve the uncertainty
so that the participant regarded the brand as trustworthy. As a consequence,
interaction through a reciprocal process can develop trust by assisting customers in
settling disputes, adjusting expectations, improving perceptions and minimising risks
(Anderson and Narus, 1990). Furthermore, relevant, timely, reliable and effective
communication enhances trust (Anderson and Narus, 1990). The participant
mentioned that although some firms respond, they fail to provide high quality
communication. As the relevance, immediacy and effectiveness of a response can
represent the organisation‟s responsibility and honesty, the organisation did not fulfil
such requirements and hardly fostered trust with its customers. Trust development
thus entails the firm investing high quality social capital into interactions.
82
It was noted that trust is fostered through a brand‟s exhibition and interaction with
customers; this relationship-driven approach highly influences psychological aspects
of customer loyalty. To be precise, positive interaction, honest exhibition, helpful
messages, responsible replies, competent solutions, etc. have great impacts on
people‟s feelings, emotions, moods and confidence associated with that brand. Thus,
trust can be regarded as a critical factor that influences higher phases of customer
loyalty, i.e. affective loyalty, conative loyalty and action loyalty. One of the
participants claimed:
„Whether this brand is reliable and trustworthy influences my affection of that brand.‟ [10]
Another participant noted:
„A good brand like Apple represents spirit, I will buy it absolutely…Steve Jobs is a charming
person. I believe in him…‟ [5]
It can be seen that trust affects customer feeling states. The participants used
„affection‟ and „spirit‟ to describe the influence, which reveals their strong attitude
towards that brand. Also, according to their statement, the second participant has
high behavioural intention to repurchase the brand. The willingness to act is the
outcome of trust (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). More specifically, trust reduces customer
decision-making uncertainty. As taking action involves risk, only people rely on the
brand will they certain to purchase the brand. On this basis, it is concluded that trust
is a critical factor that influences higher levels of customer loyalty, i.e. affective
loyalty, conative loyalty and action loyalty. In the context of social media,
organisations could affect relational-driven customers‟ loyalty through effective and
proactive interaction and exhibition, which is preferable behaviour in terms of social
media to high relational customers.
83
5.5 Implications for social media marketing
5.5.1 Social media mix
Not all social media are the same (Li and Bernoff, 2008). There are two major ways
of classifying social media. One is Kaplan‟s (2010) classification criteria, i.e. social
presence and self-presence, which were developed from a relational perspective. The
other way is Weinberg and Pehlivan‟s (2011) classification criteria, i.e. information
half-life and information depth, which were developed from an informational
perspective. The distinctiveness of social media requires marketers to make effective
use of them and their features. For example, micro-blogging involves relatively high
information immediacy, low information depth and high media richness; it is thus
suitable for news updates and interaction. Blogs contain fairly high information
depth, low information immediacy and medium media richness; they are thus
appropriate as public relation platforms to clarify the truth and to present the
product‟s features. Organisations should take advantage of social media according to
their functions and characteristics, thus creating the best value.
84
5.5.2 Focus on different types of customers
Different types of customers, i.e. transactional-orientated or relational-orientated,
differ in their behaviour, habits, requirements and desires in relation to social media.
As not all customers desire the same relationships, organisations should analyse the
positions of customers (Anderson and Narus, 1991) and include both transactional
and relational marketing strategies in social media marketing, thus delivering the
desired values to various type of customers in an effective and efficient manner. To
illustrate, as transactional-based customers care for the features and prices of
products, the marketers should increase information accessibility for them. As their
customer loyalty is rather low, incentives for transactional customers include benefits
like promotions, discounts, free samples, etc. In terms of relational-driven customers
who are concerned with relationships, marketers should develop good relationships
with them. Effective and positive interaction with relational customers fosters their
trust towards the organisation, which is critical to influence their customer loyalty.
5.5.3 EWOM as an effective way for social media to influence
customer loyalty
The research also witnessed the power of electronic word-of-mouth. EWOM is used
to help customers make purchase decisions in the pre-purchase phase. People view
EWOM as a reliable source by which to evaluate the brand. One of the participants
stated:
„Consumer created content is very useful… For example, I saw advertisements that claimed
many functions of a brand‟s heels. Some consumers may take photo of the heels from multiple
angles…Some consumers who have purchased painless heels dismantle the heels and measure
each part of the heel to check whether it is ergonomic. You feel such information is credible‟ [2]
85
People trust EWOM because the information source comes from consumers.
Marketers are perceived as sometimes using alluring information to convince
consumers to purchase products. However, as the source of EWOM is an equivalent
group of customers, their information is viewed as more credible, relevant and
unbiased. Also, as this participant stated, user-generated-content involves rich
information, which improves consumer knowledge regarding the products and thus
helps consumers to make better purchase decisions.
Social media enables the wide dissemination of WOM. Also, due to the Internet‟s
easy accessibility, asynchronous nature and information permanency, EWOM from a
multitude of consumers can have great implications for consumer purchase decisions.
Hence, organisations should not ignore the social contagion effect of WOM. Some
marketers have utilised opinion leaders to expand their WOM influence and some
have used verified identity to share positive WOM with customers. These approaches
are feasible in social media marketing.
5.5.4 Virtual community as an effective way for social media to
influence customer loyalty
Compared with EWOM, a virtual community plays a stronger role in affecting
people‟s attitudes towards a brand. EWOM is relatively informational; however, in a
virtual community, members are required to partake in closer cooperation and social
engagement, which results in deeper levels of emotion and passion. One of the
participants noted:
„The Nokia community is really fun. There is lots of interaction. I could interact with other
members meanwhile I can learn some skills. People help each other… The activities that Nokia
86
community hold make people crazy…I like Nokia better‟ [9]
According to the participant, Nokia has acted as a virtual glue to link consumers. In a
virtual community, there is intensive interaction; people are encouraged to engage in
dialogue. Also, the community engenders helping behaviour. The participant used the
term „crazy‟ to express their feelings towards that brand, from which we can see the
potential of virtual communities to arouse a sense of belonging among their members.
Nowadays, there are various applications of virtual communities: some brands form
a virtual community through a micro-blog, which promotes more extensive and
immediate interaction. The virtual community has evolved as a form applied in a
wealth of social media (rather than as fixed type of social media) that aggregates
people‟s enthusiasm and emotion towards a brand.
Word count: 18029
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Appendix A
Information Sheet
Introduction: I am Liangzi Li, majoring Msc Information systems management in
the University of Sheffield. I am conducting a research on exploring the relationship
between social media and customer loyalty in the context of China. I am going to
provide information about the research and invite you to be part of the research.
Before you make decision, please feel free to ask any questions about the research. I
am willing to answer you.
Purpose of the research: Social media has drawn a multitude of people‟s interest in
collaboration and participatory work. Organisations have noticed the promising
business opportunities underlying social media marketing. Thus, many of them have
made several moves on social media. As customer loyalty is always a key issue for
marketing, it is therefore crucial to study whether and how the customer loyalty
would be influenced by new media.
Type of Research Intervention: The research will conduct a focus group discussion
and will take about one hour.
Participant Selection: You are being invited to participate in this research because
you meet our selection measure: people who are Chinese aged between 18 and 34
and have social media experience.
Voluntary participation: You participation in the research is completely voluntary.
It is your decision whether to participate in the research.
Procedures: The research will be conducted in focus group discussion. If you accept
to participate in the research, you will take part in a discussion with 4-5 other people.
99
The discussion will be facilitated by Liangzi Li. Several pre-determined questions
will be used to stimulate the research. You will be asked about social media
experience and purchasing experience. The research will not inquire you about
personal belief and you do not have to share any knowledge that you feel not
comfortable. The research will be taken placed in group room of Information
Commons in 18th
July. The whole discussion will be recorded, but the research will
keep confidentiality of the data. No one could be identified by name from the
recorded data. And the data is only accessed by the researcher. The recorded data will
be destroyed after 8 weeks.
Duration: The research takes about one hour. The participants need to join in the
focus group discussion which will be held only once.
Risks: The research will be conducted in discussion. It will not include any personal
touch and sensitive issues. The participants will not be asked to share personal and
confidential information. If you feel the topic is uncomfortable, you have right not to
answer the question or withdraw the research at any time. The risk of the research is
relatively low.
Benefits: The research will provide snacks and drinks during focus group discussion.
Reimbursements: There are no reimbursements provided to take part in the
research.
Confidentiality: The research takes every measure to keep confidentiality of the
participants‟ information. First, the participants‟ data was anonymised; the
individuals are thus not identifiable. Second, the researcher conducted a rigorous
audit to identify the types of personal data acquired from the research, identifying
100
and listing all information repositories holding personal data. There were only two
information repositories: the researcher‟s laptop and the recording device. The
recording device was only a transient data repository. After transferring the data from
the recording device to the laptop, the data in the recording device was destroyed.
Third, Access to the data on the laptop was protected by password. Only the
researcher was allowed to acquire data.
Right to Refuse or Withdraw: You can withdraw the research at any stages of the
research without providing specific reasons.
Who to Contact: If you have any questions about the research, you can ask me
through any of the following contacting methods:
Name: Liangzi Li
Address: Flat 15B IQ Steel, 19 Pitt Street, Sheffield S1 4DQ
Mobile phone: 07411888163
E-mail: [email protected]
This research is supervised by Ms Pamela McKinney. You can contact her whose
e-mail address is [email protected].
101
Appendix B
Consent Form
Title of Research: How do social media influence customer loyalty? In case study of
China
I confirm that I understand the research purpose for the study.
I understand my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw the
research at any time without giving any reasons.
I can ask questions and had these answered satisfactorily.
I understand that my records are kept confidentiality and only researcher has
access to my records.
I agree to take part in the above research study.
Signature of participant: _______________
Date: _________________
Signature of Researcher: ______________
Date: _________________
102
Appendix C
Partial transcript
Interviewee 1:
„I use Facebook because people can publish social events but Renren does not have
such a function‟
„Hold social events‟
„Participate in social events‟
„Keep in touch with my friends‟
„I like Topman due to the good quality‟
„Good quality‟
„Check reviews and compare them to help me buy a product‟
„Some of their comments are useful‟
„Definitely influence my purchase decision‟
„Useful‟
„Too busy to follow a brand‟
„Free samples‟
„Help me to solve problems‟
„If they release discount information on social media sites, I will make the decision
to repurchase that brand immediately‟
Interviewee 2:
„I do not like Facebook and Weibo because of overloaded and miscellaneous
information‟
„Douban and Tieba present associated topics‟
„Weibo enables some strangers to follow you, I am worried that my personal
information would be utilised‟
103
„There is some false information on Weibo‟
„I never listen to other‟s comments about my loyal brand. I know it‟s good and I will
buy it‟
„Beautiful design‟
„I have consumed a brand‟
„I trust its quality‟
„Check reviews and compare them to help me buy a product‟
„Some of their comments are useful‟
„I have posted it and I gained bonuses‟
„I write reviews because of strong interest and affection towards that brand‟
„Real‟
„Definitely influence my purchase decision‟
„Useful‟
„Too busy to follow a brand‟
„Help me to solve problems‟
„Use celebrities to advertise your products‟
„Repeatable advertisements leave me with a strong impression regarding that brand‟
„I have consumed…I know they will continuously satisfy me…deliver desired value
to me‟
„I believe the brand will continuously satisfy me‟
„My customer loyalty only lies on important stuff...For example; I feel clothes‟
brands are the same. I don‟t care‟
„The virtual community and Douban have keywords. Unlike Renren on which
information is dispersed, you can find anything…For example, if I want a horror
movie, I can find it very easily through Douban. Also people who like this film will
discuss under that topic, information is very focused‟
„Consumer created content is very useful… For example, I saw advertisements that
claimed many functions of a brand‟s heels. Some consumers may take photo of the
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heels from multiple angles…Some consumers who have purchased painless heels
dismantle the heels and measure each part of the heel to check whether it is
ergonomic. You feel such information is credible‟
Interviewee 3:
„I like Weibo because I can follow celebrities‟
„Weibo has a power to drag people into it that forms a virtual society‟
„I could interact with celebrities via Weibo‟
„I like Weibo because information is rather brief and updated very quickly on there‟
„Celebrities show their true selves via Weibo‟
„Get celebrity news‟
„I don‟t remember any brand. When I purchase I compare every time‟
„Good quality‟
„The quality is changing, I have to ascertain the quality in person‟
„The WOM brand must be good‟
„People‟s feelings may influence my purchase decision‟
„Check reviews and compare them to help me buy a product‟
„Some of their comments are useful‟
„I write comments because of the bad quality and I want others to see it‟
„Lottery‟
„Free samples‟
„Free samples let me know that brand better, I feel that is good. Then I repurchase it‟
„I surely check others‟ reviews about a product. If they say that the product‟s quality
is bad, I will definitely be influenced‟
„It depends on the quality…or maybe the fundamental change of the product line. I
don‟t have loyalty. I buy many brands. When I conduct a purchase, if I find the brand
is good then I buy it…The features of a product and its specifications have a strong
impact on me‟
105
Interviewee 4:
„I prefer Renren because I started it very early‟
„I do not use Facebook because I have to find people by email addresses
„Share viewpoints‟
„Discuss political issues‟
„Read news‟
„The WOM brand leaves me with a good impression‟
„The WOM brand must be good‟
„Check reviews and compare them to help me buy a product‟
„Some of their comments are useful‟
„I have posted it and I gained bonuses‟
„I will if I can have some benefits‟
„Help me to know the product better‟
„I use Renren because most of my friends are there…This is the earliest social
network I‟ve used…It is written in Chinese. My Chinese friends are there who are
easily contacted…‟
„I like Weibo because information is rather brief and updated very quickly on
there…I can acquire the latest news…‟
„When I want to buy a product, I will compare it on the Internet. But the last decision
is based on the price and my past experience with that brand. I don‟t follow a brand
on social media unless my product‟s value would enhance after I purchase it just like
stock‟
Interviewee 5:
„I use Renren because of its better localisation than Facebook‟
„I prefer Douban because of the classified topics there...Douban has predefined
themes so that the information quality is relatively high. Unlike Renren which does
not have topics, you can say anything on there, meaningful or meaningless‟
106
„There is some false information on Weibo‟
„Celebrities fake themselves via Weibo‟
„Interact with other people‟
„Help me to solve problems‟
„Virtual communities have relevant topics. The information quality is high‟
„A good brand like Apple represents spirit, I will buy it absolutely…Steve Jobs is a
charming person. I believe in him…‟
Interviewee 6:
„Share photos with others‟
„Look for delicious food and fun places‟
„Beautiful design‟ (many people agree)
„I get information from the official website of a brand‟
„The WOM brand must be good‟
„Useful‟
„Gain some free software‟
„Expand my purchased products‟ function‟
„Update my product‟
„Bonus‟
„Interact with other people‟
„I repurchase that brand because of their timely and effective feedback‟
„I never buy the brand because they ignored my enquiry‟
„I never purchase that brand because they cannot answer my questions‟
„The creative product video increases my affection toward that brand‟
„Timely feedback enhances my feeling of that brand‟
„I go to Flickr to upload pictures‟
„I used to write a blog because I wanted to share my travelling experiences with
others, however I shut down it because there were no comments‟
107
„Useful, they create free apps for Android…I download many…when I need
something, I turn to the virtual community‟
„I once had an enquiry about a brand. Because my English is not good, I cannot
directly phone them. I chose to mail that brand. To my surprise, I got a reply about
three days after my enquiry. I feel good about them. I am just one of a multitude of
customers that they have. And they have replied to me. They are concerned with
customers. I feel they are trustworthy…Interaction is back and forth. It has an origin.
Sometimes you send them an enquiry and they responded to you. Then you reply
accordingly. But sometimes they don‟t answer you regarding the previous
conversation. And your repeated explanation is meaningless, because they will
forget‟
Interviewee 7:
„I like the pictures, videos and shared articles on Renren‟
„Look for fun videos‟
„Share fun content‟
„I don‟t have loyalty to any brand. If a product is cheap, I will buy it‟
„Fun‟
„Lottery‟
„Virtual money‟
„Increase my virtual popularity‟
„I will repurchase if they provide some benefits‟
„I like to turn to Renren to view pictures, videos and share contents‟
„I don‟t feel that I have customer loyalty. I always compare when I go shopping. The
product itself rather than the brand is important‟
Interviewee 8:
„Write down my thoughts‟
108
„Read blogs‟
„I have strong feelings toward a cosmetic brand. I like it very much. I don‟t use it
now because I can‟t buy it here‟
„Good quality‟ (most people agree)
„I have consumed a brand‟
„I will check a brand through its formal website‟
„The WOM brand must be good‟
„People‟s feelings may influence my purchase decision‟
„Interact with other people‟
„Timely feedback enhances my feeling of that brand‟
„I write a blog monthly, maybe. I stay on the blog for about one to two hours‟
„If my female friends asked me which cosmetics are good, I will recommend it to
them‟
„I have used that brand‟s cosmetics. They are good to use. I like that brand very much
and I will choose it in the future‟
„I only use a blog, I write the blog most of the time because I want to share
emotions…When I have something I want to express, I go to my blog…my
audiences are my good friends. It‟s a private blog, they need passwords to enter‟
Interviewee 9:
„I am addicted to Renren and want to find out what others do on Renren‟
„Look for interesting content‟
„Share fun content‟
„Learning‟
„Keep in touch with my friends‟
„Beautiful design‟
„I have consumed a brand‟
„I have posted it and I gained bonuses‟
109
„Useful‟
„Fun‟
„Learn things‟
„Gain some free software‟
„Expand my purchased products‟ function‟
„Update my product‟
„Bonus‟
„Interact with other people‟
„View fun videos‟
„I cannot resist freshening my Renren page‟
„The Nokia community is really fun. There is lots of interaction. I could interact with
other members meanwhile I can learn some skills. People help each other… The
activities that Nokia community hold make people crazy…I like Nokia better‟
Interviewee 10:
„Renren requires people to use their real names‟
„I lost my interest in Renren because people have low passion to interact‟
„I can use Weibo via my mobile phone‟
„Play games‟
„Keep in touch with my friends‟
„Good quality‟
„I have consumed a brand‟
„I am accustomed to using ASUS… When you consume the brands, you know their
quality. Those brands guaranteed the quality so that you are much reassured. I always
purchase ASUS, because it never broke down…‟
„Useful‟
„Learn things‟
„Bonus‟
110
„Interact with other people‟
„I feel happy to discover others‟ praise about my purchased product‟
„Easy to follow a brand via social media‟
„Credible and reliable‟
„I saw their released discounts shared by my friends a lot of times, finally I buy it‟
„I repurchase that brand because of their timely and effective feedback‟
„I know the product better‟
„Timely feedback enhances my feeling of that brand‟
„Some of them are naïve and emotional‟
„Whether this brand is reliable and trustworthy influences my affection towards that
brand‟
„I follow Motorola on Renren. It often releases some fun videos, new product
information and product updates‟