The drivers of intimacy toward social media-based brand communities: perspective of attachment theory

Abstract

PurposeSocial media-based brand communities (SMBBCs) have emerged as one of the most significant marketing tools due to their ability to create and maintain close relationships between SMBBCs and consumers. However, past studies have ignored intimacy toward SMBBCs, particularly the role of individual variances in their development. Researchers have revealed the significant impacts of individual differences in attachment styles on the development of brand-consumer relationships based on attachment theory. Accordingly, this study aims to explore the drivers of intimacy toward SMBBCs from the perspective of attachment theory.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines a proposed model that integrates two attachment styles - attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety - self-disclosure on social media and intimacy toward SMBBCs through two samples in the context of brands' Facebook fan pages.FindingsThe results show that attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety have significantly negative and positive effects on self-disclosure on social media, respectively, which contribute to intimacy toward SMBBCs.Practical implicationsThe results offer brand managers significant implications for segmenting markets and developing relationship marketing strategies for their brand communities on social media.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to explore the driving factors of intimacy toward SMBBCs from the attachment theory perspective.