The Influence Of Psychological Sense Of Community

1. OVERALL IDEA

Topic:

The influence of psychological sense of community on mobile game loyalty: a case study research

Why this topic:

Carlson et al. (2008) found that the existence of sense of community does not depend on either acknowledged group membership or social interaction. Instead, it is driven by 2 psychological factors: identification with the brand and identification with the group. Due to the psychological nature of sense of community, the researchers called this perceived feeling “psychological sense of community” (PSBC) and suggested classifying brand communities into 2 types: social brand communities (SBC) and psychological brand communities (PBC). Social brand communities represent “classic” brand communities where participants

The composite definition considers that brand loyalty always consists of consumers’ repeat purchase, favorable attitudes and intentions (Jacoby and Chestnut, 1978). Many researchers (for examples Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001; Rundle-Thiele and Bennett, 2001; Dick and Basu, 1994) took the composite approach and further described “true” brand loyalty as 1 construct of 2 dimensions: attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty.

Some other researchers (for example Oliver, 1999) suggested that loyalty evolves in 4 sequential stages, namely cognition, affect, conation and action. Loyalty, therefore, should be viewed as a continuum of varying intensities. According to Oliver’s (1999) definition, loyalty is “a deeply held commitment to rebuy or re-patronize a preferred product/service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behavior” (Oliver, 1999,

“It is more likely that the characteristics of the product and market drive and shape brand loyalty” (p.3) so theorists and practitioners need identify the market type they are operating in, then consider appropriate measures. Table 1 summaries common loyalty measures which have been developed and adapted in recent research in online game and relevant industries in particular.

[Insert table 1 here]

It may be true there is no “a cure-all panacea for measuring brand loyalty” (Bennett and Rundle-Thiele, 2001, p.3) and it depends on a particular situation to adapt or develop a suitable measure in academic. Reichheld (2003) argued there was still a need for practical, on-time and effective instruments to gauge critical concepts like loyalty in business management.

A closer look at tables 1, 2 and 3 suggests 2 points. First, consistent with Bennett and Rundle-Thiele’s (2001) argument, for different industries, researchers have took different approaches and developed different scales for their studies. Second, despite all that, “willingness to recommend” may be the most common item used in the loyalty