Do Users Mind the Brand Engagement? The Effect of Brand Engagement in Knowledge Sharing Virtual Community

Although previous studies have discussed antecedent mechanisms for user participation and the value it creates in the brand community. Few studies discuss the role of brands, communities, and users in the co-creation of value when virtual communities are established based on users\u27 interests or needs. This paper explored the effect of brand participation on user community engagement intentions/behaviors in virtual communities. Data was collected from China by online survey and empirical analysis was used for hypotheses testing. The result shows that when brands participate in virtual communities, the higher the user\u27s engagement intention, the easier it is for them to make knowledge contribution, which will promote the development and operation of virtual communities. What’s more, in the context of brand participation, brand interactivity will affect the user\u27s community engagement intention and thus the user\u27s knowledge contribution, which will prompt the development of a virtual community. These findings confirmed that virtual community can help to implement circle marketing, interact with consumers, improve consumers\u27 willingness to participate actively, and have positive practical significance for the government and firms