Restaurant brand pages on Facebook - Emerald Insight

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Restaurant brand pages on Facebook Do active member participation and monetary sales promotions matter? Juhee Kang

Received 13 February 2014 Revised 14 September 2014 16 December 2014 Accepted 28 January 2015

Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA, and

Liang (Rebecca) Tang and Ann M. Fiore Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of members’ active participation in customer– brand relationships, considering brand trust and brand commitment in an online community context. It also investigates the moderating effect of monetary sales promotions in building and maintaining customer– brand relationships. Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on an online survey sent to Facebook users who have been engaging with restaurants’ brand pages on Facebook. The empirical data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling. Findings – Results revealed that members who actively participated in activities on restaurant, Facebook fan pages were likely to feel that the brands were trustworthy and developed commitment toward the brands. The moderating effect of monetary sales promotions between active participation and brand trust was supported. In particular, active participation was more likely to generate brand trust for members who had less interest in monetary sales promotions on restaurant Facebook fan pages. Practical implications – This study provides practical implications for restaurant marketers on the applications of Facebook as a branding tool. Marketers are advised to identify active members who can contribute to the maintenance of the community by encouraging active communication and engaging in marketing activities. As active participants are critical to the success of a restaurant Facebook page, marketers are encouraged to develop marketing strategies that can generate members’ interest and increase participation in a marketing campaign. Originality/value – Although Facebook has been widely used to improve customer– brand relationships in the food service industry, research on the effect of an online community scares. The study proposes a conceptual model to examine the role of active participation in customer– brand relationships and the role of monetary promotions in enhancing customer– brand relationships. Management and marketing strategies for practitioners in the food service industry are suggested. Keywords Brand trust, Brand commitment, Facebook page, Monetary sales promotion, Restaurant Paper type Research paper

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management Vol. 27 No. 7, 2015 pp. 1662-1684 © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0959-6119 DOI 10.1108/IJCHM-02-2014-0075

Introduction Many marketers perceive that developing a brand community is an important technique to generate and maintain customer bonds with a brand (McAlexander et al., 2002). A

brand community is defined as “a specialized, non-geographically bound community based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand” (Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001, p. 412). Members in an online brand community post messages, exchange ideas and influence members’ product purchases and adoption decisions (Inversini and Masiero, 2014). Previous studies have investigated the social function of brand communities in diverse industry sectors for niche or luxury brands such as Harley Davidson, Mercedes and Saab (McAlexander et al., 2002); Apple Macintosh (Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001); and Nutella (Cova and Pace, 2006). Many marketing scholars have agreed that Facebook fan pages for businesses can serve as the vehicle for brand communities. Since its emergence in 2004, Facebook has quickly become a popular marketing platform for connecting to existing and prospective customers (Hsu, 2012). Marketers in the food service industry have realized the enormous potential of Facebook to create and maintain customer– brand relationships (McCarthy et al., 2010). More than 600 restaurant brands have Facebook fan pages to entice customers and create buzz about their brands (Quinn, 2011). As of May 13, 2012, McDonald’s had an impressive 19.5 million “likes” on its Facebook page, followed by Chick-fil-A (5 million), Wendy’s (2.3 million) and Outback Steakhouse (2 million). Whereas scholars in hospitality and tourism have stated that member participation is the basis for building strong brand relationships with customers (Paris et al., 2010; Yoo and Gretzel, 2008), we have found only a few studies that investigated the importance of active member participation in a brand community for its prosperity (Shang et al., 2006; Tung et al., 2001). Companies may use a Facebook fan page for their brands to maintain relationships with existing customers and connect with potential customers (Facebook.com, 2011). Some customers in an online community are willing to provide suggestions and criticisms about a company’s performance, which are referred as “active participants” (Lee et al., 2010). Otherwise, the customers may be reluctant to engage with a brand community if they only intend to find advertisements and promotions for the company’s products, which are referred as “passive participants” (Ridings et al., 2006). Preece (2000) suggested that a brand community with a significant number of active participants can attract new members and entice existing members to visit the community more frequently or for longer periods. Despite the fact that many hospitality companies have adopted online communities to communicate with customers, their effectiveness in building customer– brand relationships has not been deeply investigated. The present study focused on active participations on Facebook fan pages as a key determinant of a successful online community. As a customer-based brand community, a Facebook fan page consists of information generated both by a business and its customers (McCarthy et al., 2010). The wide range of information offered on many fan pages may help customers make balanced and objective assessments about businesses and their products and services. If customers view a sufficient amount of positive information about a brand from other community members, they are more inclined to increase their confidence in brand performance and generate trust toward the specific brand (Garbarino and Johnson, 1999). Such trust may facilitate members’ attachment or affective bonds with the brand (Dholakia et al., 2004), which leads to brand commitment (Flavián and Guinaliu, 2006). This study investigated brand trust and brand commitment as two primary components of customer– brand relationships.

Restaurant brand pages

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Monetary sales promotions have been widely used to obtain immediate revenue increases (Luk and Yip, 2008). Such promotions include coupons, discounts and reward programs (Taylor and Neslin, 2005). The economic benefits customers obtain from sales promotions have significant influence on customer buying decisions such as brand choice and purchase quantity (Gilbert and Jackaria, 2002). For example, Seo (2005) found that customers frequently seek opportunities to obtain monetary benefits (i.e. discount coupons and free brand-related items) through being members of a brand community. Treadaway and Smith (2010) also revealed the role of economic value delivered on Facebook in developing customer relationships. They posited that customers tend to initiate new relationships with a business when sales promotions are available on the brand’s Facebook fan page. The present study investigated the moderating effect of monetary sales promotions on the relationships between active member participation and branding constructs (brand trust and brand commitment). Based on previous studies, the present research developed a theoretical model consisting of relationships between active participation, brand trust and brand commitment. The moderating effect of monetary sales promotions between active participation and brand trust and between active participation and brand commitment was introduced. Results of the present study will contribute to in-depth theoretical discussions about member participation levels and their influence on customer– brand relationships. In addition, the present study will validate the necessity of providing monetary sales promotions in the success of restaurant Facebook pages. Literature review Active participation on restaurant Facebook fan pages Social exchange theory explains an individual’s motivation to participate in an activity as a process of negotiated changes between individuals. Social exchange is defined as reciprocal interactions among people who expect to receive social approval, status and respect from others (Blau, 1964). Due to such expectations, social exchange contributes to generating concurrent rights and obligations between parties. Researchers emphasized the importance of reciprocity in maintaining stability and commitment within social systems (Kingshott and Pecotich, 2007; Zeithaml, 1988). Accordingly, social exchange suggests that all human relationships are formed by the use of subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives (Gouldner, 1960; Cropanzano and Mitchell, 2005). Zeithaml (1988) provided a similar view of this notion, “give-get” exchange in marketing context. In an online community, members provide useful information to the community (i.e. “give”) and expect to receive a commensurate return from others (i.e. “get”) (Ridings et al., 2006). Thus, social exchange theory supported that active participations in online communities can be encouraged through a higher level of member interactions (Blau, 1964) and that obligations and rewards associated with reciprocal actions generate psychological bonds among individuals (Gouldner, 1960). Member participation is seen as a prerequisite for the success of a brand community (Kim, 2000; Inversini and Masiero, 2014). Members’ voluntary participation in interactive marketing activities contributes to the prosperity and sustainability of a brand community (Hagel and Armstrong, 1997; Preece, 2000). Several studies have classified members into categories based on their level of community activities (Wang and Fesenmaier, 2004; Kozinets, 1999; Ridings et al., 2006). For example, Kozinets (1999)

sorted community members into four groups (tourist, mingler, devotee and insider) that categorize levels of social ties with other members. The tourist and insider groups represent the two extremes between weakest and strongest social ties, respectively. Similarly, Burnett (2000) differentiated between lurkers and posters based on member contributions to a brand community. Lurkers are the “free-riders”, whereas posters dynamically participate in posting messages. Participation levels in a brand community can be classified simply as passive or active (Ridings et al., 2006). Passive members take advantage of visiting a community but refrain from contributing. Such members are referred to as lurkers or free riders in Burnett’s (2000) aforementioned study. Lurkers generate traffic and increase Web site hits on a brand community; however, as they do not contribute to community activities, the existence of a large number of lurkers does not guarantee the success of a brand community (Ridings et al., 2006). In contrast, active members are highly motivated to participate in a brand community. Koh and Kim (2004) suggested that active participation is essential for a successful online community. Active members have a significant influence on others in a brand community because their considerable brand knowledge helps others to solve problems with product usage and to make purchase decisions (Flavián and Guinalíu, 2006; Casaló et al., 2007). Moreover, frequent interactions with a business and other customers strengthen members’ bonds with the brand. For this reason, Kozinets (1999) suggested that companies need to recognize the importance of converting lurkers to active participants in creating vital online communities. In light of the importance of member activity, the present study focused on active member participation on restaurant Facebook fan pages. Commitment-trust theory The fundamental foundation of this study is the commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing developed by Morgan and Hunt (1994). Commitment and trust are significant components for successful relationship marketing because they contribute to the cooperation with exchange partners for strong relationships, the resistance of attractive short-term alternatives and the assessment of potentially high-risk actions because of the belief that the companies’ partners will not act opportunistically (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). In the online community context, relationships are built when members participate and interact with each other long enough with sufficient emotions (Yen, 2009). Commitment to a relationship reflects an individual’s positive attitude toward social exchange and explains his/her motivation to continue the relationship. Thus, commitment is critical for the long-term development of an online community because of its social network functions (Huang et al., 2008). Highly committed members are more likely to depend on others and expect their relationships to become long term (Li et al., 2006). Trust is influenced by the communication between members (Yen, 2009). Frequent communication with high-quality information results in a high level of trust toward the community (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Additionally, trust can be formed when trusted parties keep their promises. In an online community, active members expect others to post messages and share experiences. If the community includes a large number of passive participants who take advantage of the community for free, trust and commitment of the community as a whole are likely to remain at a low level (Yen, 2009).


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Therefore, trust and commitment are proposed as the foundation of the present study because they are driven by members’ cooperation, such as engaging in community discussions, disseminating useful information and sharing experiences. Brand trust Pitta et al. (2006) defined brand trust as the belief that a brand will meet customer expectation on what the brand promises its performance. Trust is an essential component in reducing perceptions of risk and increasing perceptions of the competence of brands or products (Ha and Perks, 2005). When a brand successfully delivers products and services as promised, customers generate trust and are inclined to maintain a relationship with the brand (Butler and Cantrell, 1994). Without trust, interactions may not continue beyond a single occurrence (Gefen, 2000). Frequent participation in a brand community assists active members in gaining knowledge about a business and its products and services. Consequently, members experience increased confidence in the brand that generates brand trust (Flavian and Guinaliu, 2006; Ha and Perks, 2005). If a member’s actual consumption experiences exceed expectations, as generated through communication within the brand community, trust in the brand further increases and the member is likely to spread positive word of mouth in the community (Casaló et al., 2007). Based on the above discussions, we proposed the following hypothesis: H1. Active participation has a positive influence on brand trust. Brand commitment According to Raju et al. (2009), brand commitment is a strong psychological attachment by a customer to a particular brand. Beatty and Kahle (1988) suggested that brand commitment significantly influences brand selection processes. Customers who are committed to certain brands tend to present a biased attitude toward their favorite brands. They evaluate competing brands less positively and/or avoid considering competitors’ brands (Ahluwalia, 2000). They defend their favorable attitudes toward a brand even when receiving unfavorable information about their preferred brands or favorable information about competing brands (Chang, 2013). To some extent, committed customers are likely to believe evidence that their preferred brands are different from and better than other brands (Chaiken et al., 1989). As members frequently and actively participate in the brand community, they gain knowledge of the brand and develop expertise on its products and services (Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001). This familiarity creates emotional ties with the brand, facilitates members in maintaining positive attitudinal positions with the brand and, consequently, leads to brand commitment (Casaló et al., 2007; Raju et al., 2009). Thus, the following hypothesis was proposed: H2. Active participation has a positive influence on brand commitment. The influence of brand trust on brand commitment Trust has been identified as a strong predictor of customer commitment (Garbarino and Johnson, 1999; Morgan and Hunt, 1994; McCole, 2002). Chaudhuri and Holbrook (2001) indicated that customer commitment toward a brand is inspired by the continuous process of maintaining a valued relationship built on trust. Once brand trust is

generated, it further strengthens attachment and leads to favorable behavior toward the brand (Beatty and Kahle, 1988). In addition to the direct impact of brand trust on brand commitment, brand trust acts as a mediator of the relationship between active participation and brand commitment. Active participation invokes brand trust in various ways by facilitating customer– brand communication and information exchange among customers (Flavián and Guinalíu, 2006). For example, active participation helps members to obtain exclusive information such as the quality of restaurant products and services and other customers’ dining experiences, which they could not get from other sources. Such information in turn strengthens the confidence of members that restaurants would serve promised products and services, thus building commitment toward the restaurant brand (Pitta et al., 2006). Based on the above discussion, we proposed the following hypothesis, and specifically, the mediating effect of brand trust between active participation and brand commitment was investigated: H3. Brand trust has a positive influence on brand commitment. H3a. Brand trust mediates the relationship between active participation and brand commitment. Monetary sales promotions Monetary sales promotions entail economic advantages (e.g. discounts, reward programs and special price breaks) that customers pursue (Gwinner et al., 1998). They are also referred to as monetary benefits or economic benefits (Luk and Yip, 2008). In hospitality research, monetary sales promotions have been viewed as an aspect of special treatment or individualized service that a business offers to customers to fulfill their economic needs (Lee et al., 2008). Scholars agree that monetary sales promotions are a double-edged sword (Han and Kim, 2009; Jang and Mattila, 2005; Kwok and Uncles, 2005). Sales promotions provide customers with incentives or immediate transactional benefits and thus enhance customer purchase intentions (Chandon et al., 2000). Customers may switch brands if a competing brand offers monetary promotions (Luk and Yip 2008; Pauwels et al., 2002). While monetary promotions may convince customers to try a different brand’s products and services (Pauwels et al., 2002), Aaker (1996) and Keller (1998) argued that sales promotions may actually jeopardize branding by shifting customer attention away from brand quality to temporary financial incentives. To better understand the effectiveness of monetary promotions in attracting more customers to belong to online communities, the present study investigated the moderating effect of monetary sales promotions on the relationships between active participation and branding (brand trust and brand commitment). Kozinets (1999) extended the discussion of monetary promotions to the context of brand communities. He indicated that economic benefits can entice customers and impact their purchasing decisions. Treadaway and Smith (2010) also suggested that monetary sales promotions can attract the attention of new members and help businesses to maintain relationships with customers. Because customers seek monetary promotions, they tend to involve more interaction with other members or marketing activities. Brand trust toward the restaurant can be increased when customers see positive messages from others who used monetary coupons. Active members who have interacted with others are likely to


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enhance brand trust, especially when the message confirms that the restaurant provides promised services as promoted on its sales promotion (e.g. in terms of price, the quality of food and service, etc.). Active members may also enhance commitment toward the restaurant brand when they receive monetary coupons. The financial incentives offered by the restaurant Facebook page make them select the restaurant over others. The specific hypotheses were proposed as follows: H4. Monetary sales promotions moderate the relationship between active participation and brand trust. H5. Monetary sales promotions moderate the relationship between active participation and brand commitment. Proposed model Based on the previous literature, the present study proposed a conceptual model of the relationships between active participation, brand trust and brand commitment. In addition, the role of monetary sales promotion was investigated in building the relationships between active member participation and branding constructs (i.e. brand trust and brand commitment) (Figure 1). Methodology Measurement The questionnaire consisted of four sections: (1) active participation; (2) brand trust; (3) brand commitment; and (4) demographic information and Facebook experience. Four items were adapted from Casaló et al. (2007) to measure members’ participation levels. Five items were adapted to measure brand trust (Chiang and Jang, 2006; Monetary Sales Promotion (moderator)

H4

H5

Brand Trust H1

H3

Active Participation Figure 1. Conceptual model of relationships among active participation, brand trust and brand commitment

H2

Brand Commitment

Wilkins et al., 2010), while three items from Ahluwalia (2000) were adapted to measure brand commitment. Three items from Gwinner et al. (1998) and Lee et al. (2008) were adapted to measure the monetary benefits members pursue on restaurant Facebook fan pages. In the final section, respondents were asked to provide demographic information, such as their education level, gender and age. Respondents were also asked to answer two questions about their experiences/ habits with restaurant brand Facebook pages: Q1. How long have you been a member of this specific restaurant brand’s Facebook page? Q2. How long [hours per week], on average, do you participate on this specific restaurant brand’s Facebook page? The items for active participation, brand trust and brand commitment were measured with five-point Likert-type scales ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) (see Appendix AI for measurement items). Monetary sales promotions were measured using a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (not important at all) to 5 (extremely important). Data collection A preliminary questionnaire was reviewed by three faculty members in the hospitality management program of a major Midwestern University to ensure content validity. Based on feedback from the graduate students, minor wording changes were made to the questionnaire to ensure clarity. The target population of this study was individuals who had joined a restaurant’s Facebook page and participated in community activities (e.g. reading restaurant information, engaging with the company and other users). A screening question was asked at the beginning of the questionnaire to identify whether respondents were fans of a restaurant brand’s Facebook page. Respondents were asked to select one of four restaurant brands (Outback Steakhouse, Chili’s, Red Lobster or Cheesecake Factory) in the drop-down list or to fill in another brand name in the textbox. The four restaurant brands in the drop-down list were among the top ranking in Best Restaurant Facebook Fan Pages, a publication by Hilinsky Corp., a social media marketing consulting company (Best Restaurant, 2009). Only respondents who had been a fan of restaurant Facebook pages were invited to complete the questionnaire. The authors requested a list of 20,940 email addresses from the alumni foundation of the same university. The email addresses were those of either graduated alumni or current/registered students. Via an email invitation, respondents were asked to participate in a self-report online survey, which was available from June 7-28, 2011. A drawing contest for a $50 gift card was offered as a participation incentive. In total, 392 responses were received with the response rate of 1.9 per cent. After deleting 61 unusable questionnaires, a total of 331 responses were used for further analysis. Data analysis The present study followed Anderson and Gerbing’s (1988) two-step approach: (1) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test whether the underlying structure was a rational measurement model for the construct; and


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(2) structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the validity of the conceptual model and hypotheses. Amos 18.0 and SPSS 18.0 software were used in the data analysis process. The maximum likelihood (ML) method suggested that the ideal data sample show multivariate normal distribution (Lee et al., 2013). The data in this study were not strictly normally distributed, as Mardia’s standardized coefficient for the measurement model (38.44) is greater than the cutoff point of five (Byrne, 2006). However, datasets of many studies that adopted the ML approach did not fall into normal distribution (Barnes et al., 2001; Chou et al., 1991). Considering the robustness as an estimate technique, the study adopted ML estimation for parameter estimation in CFA and SEM (Kline, 2005). To test the moderating effect of monetary sales promotions, the authors classified the respondents into high and low monetary benefit-seeking groups. The mean of the three items of monetary sales promotions in each response was calculated, and the median (median value ⫽ 4.67) of the means among all responses was identified. If the average of the three items for a response was equal to or higher than 4.67, the respondent was included in the high monetary benefit-seeking group, whereas the remaining respondents constituted the low monetary benefit-seeking group. Results Descriptive statistics The results of the descriptive statistics are shown in Table I. The majority of respondents were female (70.3 per cent), and more than half of the respondents (53.4 per cent) were between 21 and 30 years of age. The majority of respondents were highly educated, completing either a bachelor’s degree (38.3 per cent) or a graduate degree (41.9 per cent). More than half of the respondents (a total of 331 respondents) reported that they had been members of restaurant brands’ Facebook pages for less than a year. The majority of respondents spent one to five hours per week (56.4 per cent) on a restaurant Facebook page and has been a fan of two to five restaurant brands’ Facebook pages (69.1 per cent). Confirmatory factor analysis Based on the CFA results, the overall model fit was satisfactory (␹2 ⫽ 146.05, df ⫽ 51, p ⬍ 0.001, TLI ⫽ 0.94, CFI ⫽ 0.95, RMSEA ⫽ 0.075). As shown in Table II, all of the factor loadings were higher than 0.50. Cronbach’s alpha estimates and composite reliability values were greater than 0.70, indicating that the multi-items for assessing each construct were highly reliable (Hair et al., 1998) and internally consistent (Nunnally, 1978). Convergent validity was satisfactory, as all factor loadings were significant at the 0.001 level (Table II) (Anderson and Gerbing, 1988), and the average variance extracted (AVE) for each construct exceeded the 0.50 threshold (Table III) (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988). The AVE values and the squared correlations between constructs were compared to determine discriminant validity for each construct (Fornell and Larcker, 1981). As shown in Table III, all of the squared correlations (R2) between pairs of constructs were less than the AVE for each construct; thus, discriminant validity was acceptable. These

Demographic characteristics

Frequency

(%)

Biological gender (n ⫽ 327) Male Female

97 230

29.7 70.3

Age (n ⫽ 326) 18-20 years old 21-30 31-40 41-55 Over 55

36 174 83 29 4

11.0 53.4 25.5 8.9 1.2

Education (n ⫽ 329) High school or less Associate degree Bachelor degree Graduate degree

49 15 126 138

14.9 4.6 38.3 41.9

Duration of membership (n ⫽ 324) Less than 12 months 12-24 months Over 25 months

212 84 28

65.4 25.9 8.6

Average hours spend per week on Facebook pages (n ⫽ 328) Less than 1 hour 185 1-5 hours 99 6-10 hours 34 More than 10 hours 10

56.4 30.2 10.4 3.0

Number of Facebook page memberships (n ⫽ 320) 1 membership 2-5 memberships 6-10 memberships More than 10 memberships

56 221 18 25

17.5 69.1 5.6 7.8

Brand profile Outback Steakhouse Chili’s Red Lobster The Cheesecake Factory Other brands

28 32 32 61 178

8.5 9.7 9.7 18.4 53.8

outcomes indicated that active participation, brand trust and brand commitment were three unique constructs. Structure equation modeling A structural model (depicted in Figure 1) was estimated to empirically assure the validity of the proposed model and hypotheses. The SEM results were found to be acceptable with a satisfactory model fit (␹2 ⫽ 146.05, df ⫽ 51, p ⬍ 0.001, TLI ⫽ 0.94, CFI ⫽ 0.95, RMSEA ⫽ 0.075). Figure 2 indicates the overall SEM results with the standardized coefficient of each theoretical path and t-values (see mediating model in Figure 3).


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Table I. Demographic characteristics of the respondents

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Table II. Item measurement properties

Construct Participation P1 P2 P3 P4

0.733 0.850 0.863 0.709

Brand trust BT1 BT2 BT3 BT4 BT5

0.645 0.592 0.836 0.942 0.903

Brand commitment BC1 BC2 BC3

0.559 0.827 0.559

Construct Participation Brand trust Brand commitment Table III. Latent variable correlation matrix

Standardized factor loadings

Composite reliabilities

Cronbach’s alpha

0.928

0.866

0.951

0.889

0.893

0.702

Participation

Brand trust

Brand commitment

0.89c 0.44b 0.55

0.19a 0.91 0.69

0.30 0.47 0.79

Notes: a Correlations are above the diagonal; b entries below the diagonal are the latent construct squared correlations (R2); c entries on the diagonal are the AVE

The mediating role of brand trust A mediator is a variable that specifies how the association occurs between an independent variable and a dependent variable (Baron and Kenny, 1986). Kenny (2008) suggested that the mediation analysis explains a causal relationship that discusses a sequence of effects between those variables. The mediating effect of brand trust was estimated by examining the indirect effect of active participation on brand commitment. As shown in Figure 3, the parameter estimate between community participation and brand commitment in the mediating model (␤participation to brand commitment ⫽ 0.22***, t ⫽ 0.049) had a lower level of significance than the parameter estimate in the constrained model (␤participation to brand commitment ⫽ 0.30***, t ⫽ 0.05). These results indicate that brand trust had a partial mediating role; the indirect effect through brand trust (0.08) was less than the direct effect (0.30). The moderating role of monetary benefits A moderator is an independent variable that influences the strength and/or direction of the association between another independent variable and a dependent variable (Baron and Kenny, 1986). In other words, the association between the independent

0.42

0.35

0.70

BT3

BT2

BT1 0.65

0.82

0.89

BT4

BT5


0.94

0.84

0.90

0.59

Brand Trust

1673

H1 0.193 (3.21)*** H3

Active Participation

0.73

0.85

0.86

0.430 (5.71)***

H2

0.71

Brand Commitment

0.217 (3.24)*** AP1 0.59

AP3

AP2 0.72

0.56

0.50

0.74


AP4

0.193 (3.21)***

Brand Trust

0.217 (3.24)***


0.83

0.56

BC1

BC2

BC3

0.31

0.68

0.31

0.204 (3.38)***

Figure 2. The SEM results of relationships among active participation, brand trust and brand commitment

Brand Trust

0.297 (4.05)*** 0.430 (5.71)***

Brand Commitment

Brand Commitment

Mediating model

Constrained model

Notes: ***p < 0.001; (1) numbers in parentheses are the t-values; (2) numbers outside of parentheses are the standardized path coefficients; (3) mediating model: χ2 = 146.053, df = 51; (4) constrained model: χ2 = 187.284, df = 52; (5) chi-square difference: χ2 = 41.231, df = 1

variable and the dependent variable varies at different levels of the moderator variable (Ro, 2012). The Chi-square difference test with one degree of freedom was conducted to examine the moderating effect of monetary benefits on the path between active participation and brand trust (Namkung and Jang, 2007). As shown in Table IV, the moderating effect of monetary benefits was fairly significant between active participation and brand trust at p-value 0.059 (p ⬍ 0.1). The results indicated that member participation had a greater impact on brand trust among members who were less interested in obtaining sales promotions (â ⫽ 0.21) than among members who were more interested in sales promotions (â ⫽ 0.19).

Figure 3. Relationships among active participation, brand trust and brand commitment

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Hypothesized path H4: Participation ¡ brand trust H5: Participation ¡ brand commitment

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Unconstrained ␹2 (df)

Constrained ␹2 (df)

⌬␹2 (df)

224.82 (102) 226.82 (102)

228.36 (103) 227.24 (103)

3.54a (1) 0.42 (1)

Low interests

Table IV. Standardized path coefficient: Participation ¡ brand trust 0.210 Moderating effects of Note: a p ⫽ 0.059 ⬍ 0.10, moderately significant at 90% confident level monetary benefits

High interests 0.193

Summary The results showed that active participation had a positive influence on both brand trust and brand commitment (acceptance of H1and H2) and that brand trust had a positive influence on brand commitment (acceptance of H3). Brand trust partially mediated the relationship between active participation and brand commitment. Monetary benefits moderated the path between active participation and brand trust (acceptance of H4), but failed to moderate the path between active participation and brand commitment (rejection of H5). Discussion and conclusion Previous studies have shown the positive links among active participation, brand trust and brand commitment (Casaló et al., 2007; Flavián and Guinaliu, 2006). The findings also identified members’ active participation as the key determinant of brand trust and brand commitment. As restaurant customers increase their participation on restaurant Facebook pages, for the purpose of information seeking and/or communication with other members, their trust and commitment toward restaurant brands are likely to be enhanced. These findings can be supported by subjective cost-benefit analysis in the social exchange theory, which explains that individuals will only maintain relationships where perceived benefits outweigh perceived costs (Dagger et al., 2011). Because members want to share information in online communities, they tend to participate more in lively online communities than inactive communities. In other words, members will actively engage in community activities when there are returns commensurate with their effort to help others. Furthermore, Scanzoni (1979) emphasized individuals’ interdependence for the maintenance of relationships. Relationships are retained when people provide help to each other and when people feel a moral obligation to reciprocate benefits derived. In an active community, members are likely to feel increased emotional bonds from the reciprocal performances and ultimately become committed to the community. Furthermore, the present study tested the mediating role of brand trust on the relationship between active participation and brand commitment. The results showed that the direct effect of active participation on brand commitment is greater than the indirect effect through brand trust (Figure 3). Because our sample population was comprised of experienced members of a restaurant Facebook page, active participation investigated in the present study is likely to occur primarily before and after the actual patronage to restaurants (Soderlund, 2002). McCarthy et al. (2010) emphasized that

online participation is an additional patronage of restaurants that customers may involve in their buying process and/or reviewing dining experience. Therefore, compared with the feelings of trust generated in the actual patronage experience, such feelings generated in participation on restaurant Facebook pages may be weaker, and thus only play a partial mediating effect. This confirmed the importance of active participation as a direct determinant of brand commitment, which is consistent with the findings of Tung et al. (2001). The interactive nature of Facebook may explain why members are likely to develop emotional ties and, consequently, generate brand commitment (Ahluwalia, 2000). The moderating effect of monetary sales promotions on the relationship between active participation and brand trust is fairly supported. For members who show less interest in monetary sales promotions on restaurant Facebook fan pages, their active participation was found to be more likely to generate brand trust. Most customers become fans of a brand Facebook page because they have favorable attitudes toward the brand (Casaló et al., 2007). When these members are motivated to be actively involved in the activities on restaurant Facebook pages and gain information about the brand, they are more likely to generate trust toward the brand (Ha and Perks, 2005). In contrast, members who primarily join a brand Facebook page to acquire coupons or discounts may engage with other members and contribute to the community to a lesser degree. Thus, these members may be less likely to build brand confidence and brand trust (Pitta et al., 2006). This study did not find support for the moderating effect of monetary sales promotions on the relationship between active participation and brand commitment. Morrison (2009) indicated that among the five components of the marketing mix (advertising, salespersons, promotions, merchandising and public relations), promotions may have the weakest power to change customers’ attitudes toward a brand. Sales promotions are very appealing to brand switchers, who flip between competing products based on which business offers the best deal at the time (Luk and Yip, 2008). However, promotions are not effective in helping customers generate emotional attachment or loyalty with a brand (Buil et al., 2011). Therefore, the monetary benefits offered on restaurant Facebook pages may have a limited impact on the relationship between active participation and brand commitment. Based on the results of moderating effects, it can be concluded that monetary sales promotions may not be as effective as companies expect. Kwok and Yu (2013) examined the type of messages that Facebook fans were the most interested in and revealed that messages containing restaurant information were more popular than the ones with promotional information. The results showed that online community members are inclined to search for useful information from a company and other customers, but choose to ignore promotional messages. Thus, overabundant promotional messages on Facebook are likely to prevent customers from actively participating in online community activities. Theoretical implications The present study is one of a few attempts to examine active participation on restaurant Facebook pages and its impact on brand relationship with customers. The findings of this study make important contributions to the theoretical development of social media marketing studies. First, the study supplements previous online community studies regarding members’ participation that had limited measurement scales such as log-in


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hours and frequency of visits to an online community. These measurements may not accurately assess the level of member participation. Authors recognized the difference between passive and active participation and addressed the importance of active involvement on restaurant Facebook fan pages in customer– brand relationships. Thus, this study stresses the importance of active participation in customer– brand relationships and indicates the need to accurately redefine the meaning of participation, either active or passive, and further adopt comprehensive measurement scales that can evaluate the level of member engagement. Second, the present study is also a pioneer in assessing the effect of monetary sales promotions on branding in the social media context. The outcome of this study adds to the body of knowledge about the effective use of monetary sales promotions in an online community. It may have been overestimated due to its potential in attracting new customers. Without any proven evidence, many hospitality firms focus on promoting such monetary promotions to members and creating buzz around online communities. Therefore, more research is needed to explore customers’ responses to temporary monetary promotions, as those promotions can affect customer– brand relationships. Third, the fact that community members are less influenced by monetary benefits may provide some additional explanations of why customers want to be involved in online brand communities. It may indicate what the customers really want is meaningful information related to a brand and emotional bonds with others who support the same brand. It is plausible that the brand’s Facebook page consists of potential and current customers, but companies may not identify their profitable customers. The findings of this study provide new insights into the typology of Facebook members who can effectively contribute to the success of online communities. Thus, future research should focus on the development of more specified typology of customers on Facebook. Managerial implications The findings of this study suggest practical implications for marketers on the applications of Facebook as a branding tool. Businesses should realize that large numbers of fans do not guarantee the success of Facebook as a marketing technique. Passive members are present primarily when they have specific goals in mind (i.e. getting coupons and discounts and seeking information) and are reluctant to devote time and effort to the development of the restaurant Facebook pages they visit. In contrast, active members help marketers by posting messages, disseminating information and providing technical support for other members. Such members can help convert passive members into active participants and can significantly contribute to the success of branding on Facebook. Moreover, many active members become loyal brand customers through participating in the interactive processes on Facebook fan pages. Marketing consultant companies (e.g. Hilinsky Corp. mentioned in the methodology section of the study) included active member participation in addition to the number of members when rating brands’ performance in social media marketing environment. Therefore, the authors suggest that marketers should be able to segment members to increase the number of active members within the community, based on the extent to which they have actively engaged in community activities. Because each group may display different levels of commitment to the restaurant brand and their participation can be

significantly different, marketers can develop best marketing strategies to convert passive members to active members who can be profitable customers. Because hospitality products are intangible and experiential, customers rely on information they gather from a company’s Web site, search engines and social media. For example, tourists who had used social media were found to be more active in seeking tourist information from social media as compared to other Web sources (Jacobsen and Munar, 2012). In this regard, restaurant marketers can assume that customers may participate in restaurants’ Facebook page to learn more about new products and services and share consumption experiences with others. Restaurants should consider effective communication techniques that can promote active participations on the Facebook pages. Personal messages sent to individual customers can stimulate their motivations to communicate with restaurants and increasingly build emotional connections, which ultimately lead to long-lasting relationships. In addition, when passive members observe personalized communications between other members and restaurants, their perceptions toward a restaurant’s Facebook page may positively change. Furthermore, marketers are also advised to give special attention to members’ communication within their brand Facebook pages. Individuals may engage in communication on the Facebook wall more if the topic relates to specific objects such as customer reviews for new menu items and a company’s commitment to the community. Analyzing members’ communication can help marketers understand how community members estimate their brands and further assist them in creating brand value with members. In today’s highly competitive online market, managerial attention needs to be given to the concept of brand relationships, which influences the development of customer retention and loyalty among established customer groups. Restaurants can build long-term relationships with their current and potential customers through trust established in their brand. Facebook marketers should be cautious about delivering brand-related information and promoting new products on Facebook if they use Facebook as a part of their advertising strategies. For example, marketers can use a mouthwatering picture to promote their new menu items. Members will expect the same quality of menu items as they are promoted on Facebook and become trust the restaurant brand. In addition, marketers are advised to encourage customers to share their consumption experiences at restaurants for the purpose of promoting their service. If potential customers see positive comments and satisfactory consumption experiences created by previous customers, they will be confident that their needs will be satisfied, and consequently, they generate commitment toward the brand. Another way of building trust can be using influencer marketing strategy, which focuses on individuals that specifically influence potential customers rather than the general customer group. As active participants are critical to the success of restaurant Facebook pages, marketers are advised to offer non-monetary incentives that can encourage members to contribute to the community. For example, virtual points can be awarded for informative postings to community members. The points can then be redeemed for rewards; the priority of being served when restaurants are busy. The authors suggest further classifying active members into categories based on the degrees of participation. Members at the premium level for community involvement can be invited to attend private events (i.e. launching parties of a new restaurant and exclusive launch/dinner


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parties hosted by the brand) and can be offered exclusive rewards (recognition as an opinion leader) and special privileges (early access to new menu items and extended operation hours). Monetary sales promotions have a moderate impact on the relationship between active participation and brand trust, but no significant influence on the relationship between active participation and brand community. Therefore, monetary benefits have a limited impact on customer– brand relationships on Facebook. Monetary sales promotions may temporarily enhance customer participation on restaurant Facebook pages, especially those who seek for monetary saving opportunities. Sales promotions on Facebook, like in any other traditional media, can temporarily entice some customers. However, when a promotion is over, these customers often switch to other brands. Furthermore, a restaurant that offers too many deals on Facebook runs the risk of having customers permanently undervalue the community and the brand, and evoking negative feedback from active members. Lastly, developing a sales promotion that contains restaurant information may stimulate customers’ interest and increase participation in a marketing campaign. Limitations and future research This study has several limitations. First, the scale items used may influence results related to the moderating effect of monetary sales promotions. It would be useful for future studies to use other measurement approaches, such as frequency of acquiring monetary benefits on restaurant Facebook pages. Second, the directions of relationships between participation, trust and commitment are controversy. Future research is advised to investigate different options. Third, scholars are advised to consider other variables that capture customer– brand relationships, such as brand loyalty, perceived brand value, brand image and others. Fourth, scholars could conduct a qualitative study to investigate customer reactions to sales promotions that provide insights of the impacts of companies’ marketing activities in online communities. Fifth, the survey asked respondents to consider any restaurant brand on which fan page they participate in. The types of restaurants (e.g. fast food or fine dining restaurants) may influence the results. Thus, future studies should focus on a specific type of restaurants. Sixth, the median value of monetary sales promotion was high, which may cause misinterpretation of the respondents’ interest in receiving sales promotion from restaurants’ Facebook page. Future studies could adopt different measurement items of monetary sales promotion to better categorize customer groups. Seventh, this study claimed for the bias of sample composition may have an impact on the assessment of the model, particularly with regard to brand trust and commitment. The sample may not represent the entire population that habitually visits restaurants. More than half of the respondents kept the status of “fans” of a restaurant Facebook page for less than a year. In addition, the sample consisted of all the American participants, and they were both alumni graduates and current/ registered students of a university, which represents a specific, highly-educated group of customers. Eighth, this study had relatively low responses during the process of data collection. Considering all these issues, future research should be directed toward using larger, more generalizable samples to validate these findings. Future studies can also consider income and the frequency of eating out in the present model. Experienced individuals may be more active in sharing their

consumption experience than inexperienced ones. Lastly, this study only utilized the extent to which members engage with others and how often they contribute to the Facebook page. The duration of being a restaurant fan can also influence members’ trust and commitment toward the brand. Future study should consider members’ duration when analyzing customer– brand relationship.


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Appendix (1) Active participation: • I take an active part in the restaurant brand’s Facebook page. • I frequently provide useful information to other members. • In general, I post messages and responses on the brand’s Facebook page with great enthusiasm and frequency. • I do my best to participate in activities offered on the brand’s Facebook page. (2) Brand trust: • What the Restaurant brand says about its products/service is true. • I feel I know what to expect from the restaurant brand. • The restaurant brand is very reliable. • The restaurant brand meets its promises. (3) Brand commitment: • If the restaurant brand had no available reservations, I would have no problem finding a different restaurant with which I would want to make reservations*. • I consider myself to be highly loyal to the restaurant brand. • When another brand has a special deal (e.g., discount price for meal), I generally visit that restaurant with the better deal (reverse coded items).


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(4) Monetary sales promotions: • Obtaining discounts or special deals that most consumers don’t get. • Obtaining better prices than other consumers. • Receiving free coupons for the restaurant brand by becoming a member of the Facebook page. Corresponding author Juhee Kang can be contacted at: [email protected]

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