Brand Community

This dissertation applies one of the most essential notions in sociology, community, to branding in order to guide an exploration of the socially situated nature of brands. Data were collected in two distinct spheres: face-to-face (FtF), and Computer Mediated Environments (CMEs). The findings of this dissertation support the assertion that communities coalesce around brands. A brand community is defined as a structured set of social relationships, among users of a brand, whose affinity, history and culture, are derived from the consumption of that brand. Brand communities shared many characteristics with more traditional and geographically based conceptualizations of communities. These characteristics included: a consciousness of kind among members, a sense of moral responsibility to other members of the community and to the community as a whole, a homogenous culture reflecting the shared beliefs and attitudes of members, rituals and traditions aimed at investing the brand with meaning, and symbols that celebrate the meaning of the brand. Brand communities are complex entities, reflecting the socially embedded nature of brands in the day-to-day lives of several key processes observed as well. These were identified in the contexts of community construction, expected behavior of its members, and their interactions with the brand and one another. These processes explained how these communities were defined and understood by members. They also explained how members were recruited and integrated into the community, as well as how these new members were retained.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Business Administration

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Date dc:date

10000-01-01

Author dc:creator

• Muniz, Albert Manuel, Jr

Contributors dc:contributor

• Thomas C. O'Guinn

• Sociology, Theory and Methods

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9834716

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/84593