The drivers of intimacy toward social media-based brand communities: perspective of attachment theory
基于依恋理论，研究了依恋回避和依恋焦虑如何通过社交媒体自我表露影响消费者对品牌社区的亲密感，对品牌管理者有市场细分和关系营销的启示。
Purpose Social media-based brand communities (SMBBCs) have emerged as one of the most significant marketing tools due to their ability to create and maintain close relationships between SMBBCs and consumers. However, past studies have ignored intimacy toward SMBBCs, particularly the role of individual variances in their development. Researchers have revealed the significant impacts of individual differences in attachment styles on the development of brand–consumer relationships based on attachment theory. Accordingly, this study aims to explore the drivers of intimacy toward SMBBCs from the perspective of attachment theory. Design/methodology/approach This study examines a proposed model that integrates two attachment styles – attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety – self-disclosure on social media and intimacy toward SMBBCs through two samples in the context of brands’ Facebook fan pages. Findings The results show that attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety have significantly negative and positive effects on self-disclosure on social media, respectively, which contribute to intimacy toward SMBBCs. Practical implications The results offer brand managers significant implications for segmenting markets and developing relationship marketing strategies for their brand communities on social media. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to explore the driving factors of intimacy toward SMBBCs from the attachment theory perspective.