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Computers in Human Behavior 37 (2014) 152–161

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh

The roles of brand community and community engagement in building brand trust on social media
Mohammad Reza Habibi a, Michel Laroche a,⇑, Marie-Odile Richard b,1 a b

Department of Marketing, John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve West, Montréal, Québec H3G 1M8, Canada
Independent Researcher

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Available online 21 May 2014
Keywords:
Brand community
Social media
Community engagement
Brand trust
Consumer centric model
Facebook

a b s t r a c t
Brand communities and social media often overlap. Social media is an ideal environment for building brand communities. However, there is limited research about the benefits and consequences of brand communities established on social media platforms. This study addresses this issue by developing a model depicting how consumers’ relationship with the elements of a brand community based on social media (i.e. brand, product, company, and other consumers) influence brand trust. The findings include that three of the four relationships positively influence brand trust. However, customer-other customers’ relationships negatively influence brand trust, which is counter intuitive and interesting. The prominent role of engagement in a brand community is also investigated in the model. Community engagement amplifies the strength of the relationships consumers make with the elements of brand community and it has a moderating effect in translating the effects of such relationships on brand trust. Finally, theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
The emergence of social media has dramatically influenced marketing practices. The conventional well-established marketing practices are not highly influential anymore and in many cases can

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