When Does a Virtual Brand Community Matter? The Effect of Regulatory Focus on Customer Citizenship Behavior
(A2019-7979)

AUTHORS

Li Wang, Tongji University; Mototaka Sakashita, Keio University

KEYWORDS

regulatory focus; customer citizenship behavior; online self-presentation

ABSTRACT

Customer citizenship behavior (CCB) in virtual brand communities has become a popular issue in recent years, because such behavior can help enterprises improve their marketing abilities. Prior research on this topic, however, has primarily explored the influence of the external environment while ignoring the impact of customers’ internal regulation. Drawing on self-presentation theory and regulatory fit theory, we show how regulatory focus influences CCB, and how this relationship is mediated by the desire for online self-presentation. The empirical results of our experimental study (N=175) show: (1) a promotion focus exerts a positive influence on CCB, while a prevention focus exerts a negative influence; (2) the desire for online self-presentation has a complete mediating influence between promotion focus and CCB, as well as between prevention focus and CCB. The research enriches the CCB theory providing important implications for practitioners.