Analysis of the Factors Affecting Customer Experience Sharing in Online Brand Communities

The evolution of global markets has forced companies to turn to online brand communities; an environment wherein consumers are very enthusiastic and motivated to exchange, share and discuss their thoughts. As a result, strengthening the online brand community is one of the most effective ways to ensure the effectiveness of marketing plans. For this reason, in this research, the factors affecting the sharing of customer experience in online brand communities have been analyzed. For this purpose, the DigiClub site (DigiKala’s customer club) has been selected as the research subject. In terms of goal, this research is applied and in terms of data-collection method, it is descriptive-survey. Library and field methods were also used to collect the research data. The statistical population of this research includes those members of DigiClub who were available to the researcher in January, 2021. The statistical sample included 435 individuals who were selected as available. The validity of the questionnaire has been examined and confirmed using construct and content validity and the reliability of the questionnaire was examined and confirmed through Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Based on the results of this research, the factors affecting the sharing of customer experiences in online brand communities include: a sense of responsibility, trust, relationship building, self-expression, reward, accountability, emotional connection with the brand, mental engagement, entertainment, relational social capital, recognition, self-efficacy, and self-discovery.