Community-Driven Engagement Framework: Explaining the Path from Participation to Brand Advocacy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66203/Keywords:
community-driven engagement, brand advocacy, customer engagement, psychological ownership, service ecosystems, brand communitiesAbstract
The growing prominence of digital communities has transformed contemporary marketing by shifting value creation from firm-centered exchanges toward collaborative engagement ecosystems involving consumers, brands, and platforms. Despite extensive research on brand communities, customer engagement, value co-creation, and advocacy behavior, existing scholarship remains fragmented in explaining how ordinary community members evolve into committed brand advocates. This article addresses this theoretical gap by developing the Community-Driven Engagement Framework (CDEF), an integrative conceptual model that synthesizes Brand Community Theory, Social Identity Theory, Service-Dominant Logic, and Psychological Ownership Theory. Through a systematic conceptual synthesis of the relevant literature, the framework proposes a sequential transformation process in which shared values foster community interaction, interaction stimulates participation intensity, participation cultivates consumer engagement, engagement generates psychological ownership, and ownership ultimately drives brand advocacy. The framework advances current knowledge by positioning psychological ownership as a critical intervening mechanism linking engagement and advocacy, thereby offering a more comprehensive explanation of community-driven consumer transformation. The study contributes to marketing theory by integrating previously fragmented perspectives into a unified process-oriented framework and provides a foundation for future empirical research examining engagement ecosystems, digital communities, and advocacy formation in increasingly interconnected marketplace environments.
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