CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT WITH BRANDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA: THE MODERATING ROLES OF SELF-QUANTIFICATION AND AWE

Author

Petru Dorin Micu, University of Rhode IslandFollow

Date of Award

2021

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration

Specialization

Marketing

Department

Business Administration

First Advisor

Christy Ashley

Abstract

Considering the benefits of consumer-brand engagement on social media, both companies and researchers are interested in finding what factors influence this engagement. Brand engagement antecedents are numerous, yet not fully explored. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to examine the effects of self-quantification (defined as one’s focus on different metrics, such as number of likes, shares, fitness goals) on consumer brand engagement.

Through a series of four studies, we establish validity for the concept of self-quantification on a brand’s social medial and examine its role on consumer-brand engagement. The first study shows that self-quantification on social media brand platforms is a distinct concept diverging from the concept of self-quantification on social media as a whole, as well as from other brand engagement antecedents identified in the literature. In addition, we shows that higher feelings of empowerment lead to an increased self-quantification tendency, which is turn results in increased levels of brand focus and self-focus. Study 2 further indicates a positive relationship (although not statistically significant) between empowerment and self-quantification. In Study 3, we show that self-quantification leads to higher levels of brand- and self-focus, and offer evidence that self-quantification positively affects brand engagement and behavioral intentions. In Study 4, we examine the role of awe in the relationship between self-quantification and brand engagement. We find that, when self-quantifiers are exposed to awe, they become more focused on their “self” than on the brand, which in turn results in lower brand engagement and behavioral intentions toward the brand.

There is a strong support that an effectively instilled sense of self-quantification in customers can help companies in engaging customers with their brands on social media. The dissertation ends with a discussion that highlights the positive and negative aspects of self-quantifiers’ engagement with brands, and that offers insights to marketers on how they can improve the return on their efforts to engage self-quantifier consumers on social media.

Recommended Citation

Micu, Petru Dorin, "CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT WITH BRANDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA: THE MODERATING ROLES OF SELF-QUANTIFICATION AND AWE" (2021). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 1250.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1250