Brand cocreation and immersion : the link between sense of brand community and attitude toward a brand

Purpose: The current study aims to develop a comprehensive model of cocreation and immersion/engagement for café brands as well as their antecedent and consequences in a café brand context. Inherently involving highly socially involving consumption settings, cafés are particularly conducive to brand cocreation. Design/methodology/approach: The current study tested a model of these relationships by analyzing data from customers of a local café and those of a global café, Starbucks, situated in the same town, Karakoy, in Istanbul, Turkey. Data from 241 respondents were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the model of the study. Findings: Results show that sense of brand community is a powerful predictor of cocreation and brand immersion, which are also important antecedents of attitude toward a brand including, cognitive, affective and conative dimensions. Results also revealed slight differences between the local and global brands in terms of brand cocreation's influence on brand trust and loyalty. Research limitations/implications: The study is conducted with a limited number of customers of two cafés in a city in Turkey. Future research with the customers from other locations of these cafés, especially the multinational customers of the international café brand is needed to retest the model for its validity. Practical implications: The significant differences between ratings of local and global café brands are positive news for local and traditional cafés that are losing considerable market share to their global competitors. Strategic cocreation implementations can be used to instill special and robust relationships with consumers. Originality/value: The study provides evidence that in highly socially dynamic brand contexts, such as café brands, brand community is a critical predictor of cocreation and brand immersion, which then affect attitude toward a brand with cognitive, affective and conative dimensions, reflected in brand trust, brand love, satisfaction with the brand, brand commitment and brand loyalty.