How Do Customers Engage in Social Media-Based Brand Communities : The Moderator Role of the Brand's Country of Origin

Across the globe, companies increasingly use social media-based brand communities (SMBBC) to facilitate customer engagement (CE). This study clarifies the relationship between brand trust and CE in SMBBC, which is often inconsistent in previous literature. Drawing on the uses and gratifications theory, we examine the motivations that drive customers’ active and passive engagement behaviours. Additionally, this study employs multi-group analysis to compare the differences in the customer engagement process because of the brand's country of origin. The empirical results demonstrate that brand trust is an antecedent to customer engagement in a long-term relationship. Brand affiliation, entertainment, and investigation prompt customers' active and passive engagement behaviours; the opportunity-seeking only encourages the passive engagement, but the motivation of conversation prompts neither active nor passive. Notably, there is no longer a significant difference in Chinese customer engagement between domestic and foreign brands on Sina Weibo. The research enriches the understanding of customer engagement in SMBBC and provides valuable insights for international brands that keep an eye on the Chinese market