In Search of the Key Competencies of Brand Community Managers

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In Search of the Key Competencies

of Brand Community Managers

Master Thesis MSc Business Studies Marketing Track

Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam

July 2014

Author: Anne-Sophie Gaspersz, 10676325 First Supervisor: Drs. Frank Slisser Second Supervisor: Prof. Dr. J.H.J.P. Tettero

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Certification of authorship

I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this report and that I take responsibility for the content in this document. Any assistance I received is fully acknowledged and disclosed in the document. I declare that the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than mentioned in the text and the references have been used in creating it. Sources are cited according to accepted standards for professional publications. This document was created exclusively by me and specifically made for the master programme MSc Business Studies at the University of Amsterdam – Amsterdam Business School, The Netherlands.

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Acknowledgments

The Master thesis that is lying in front of you represents the culmination of the rich and valuable academic knowledge and experiences that I obtained during the MSc Business Studies programme at the Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam. Writing this thesis has been an invaluable experience, and a meaningful and rewarding journey of self-discovery. I have been able to deepen, challenge and stretch my intellectual capabilities and enrich my understanding of a new, complex, yet exciting area in the field of marketing.

The completion of this study would not have been possible without the knowledge, expertise, time, and generosity of several key contributors. First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest thanks to the brand community- managers and experts for their willingness to participate in this study. I acknowledge with appreciation the fruitful discussions I had about brand community management with Alison Michalk, Ronnie Munter, Bistra Ivanova, Joseph Derflinger, Matthew Kalman, Patrick Mulhern, Micael Camozzi, Nissim Alkobi, Inge de Munnik, Lisa White, Jennifer Sagala, Maarten Jansen and two others who preferred to remain anonymous. Their enthusiasm and commitment to this research project along with their energetic strive to contribute something meaningful, allowed me to bring this study to the next level and surpass my own vision and expectations about the outcome.

I would like to offer my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Drs. Frank Slisser, for his valuable guidance and support throughout the course of this research. At the most critical moments you were there to provide me with your support. Your thoughtful commentary on various drafts of my research, allowed me to extend and refine my writings and eventually deliver a piece of work that I feel satisfied about and that may add value to this relatively unexplored marketing domain.

Last but certainly not least, I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation for the people in my network who supported me in this journey with their motivational words, encouragement and love.

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Key words

Internet, Communities, Online Brand Community, Brand Community Manager, Community Management, Competencies, Customer Engagement, Marketing

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Note

In writing this thesis, I decided to adopt the "we" form. Though, it is important to note that I am the sole author of this report and that this research is exclusively conducted by me.

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List of figures

Figure 1: Data collection- strategy and procedure 47

Figure 2: The initial set of key competencies that brand community managers should possess 53 Figure 3: The initial framework of key competencies of a brand community manager 54 Figure 4: The final set of key competencies that brand community managers should possess 82 Figure 5: The final framework of key competencies of a brand community manager 83

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List of tables

Table 1: Competency 1: Nurture and sustain customer engagement 58

Table 2: Competency 2: Cultivate trust and safety with community members 61

Table 3: Competency 3: Foster and sustain knowledge sharing 64

Table 4: Competency 4: Act as a two-way conduit between the organization and customers 67

Table 5: Competency 5: Identify and manage key stakeholders 70

Table 6: Competency 6: Actively listen and observe the community’s activity 72

Table 7: Competency 7: Plan, organise and monitor the online community 74

Table 8: Reflection on the most important competency of a brand community manager 81

Appendix A Table A1: Online platforms that were used to select research participants 118

Appendix B Table B1: Detailed information about the participants of this study (part 1-3) 119

Table B2: Detailed information about the participants of this study (part 2-3) 120

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Abstract

‘We should spend some time profiling the artist holding this palette of colors. What are skills required to draw the picture? What attributes will help us put the right colors in the right place? What do you need to build a really great community?’

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Abstract

As more and more companies buy into the benefits of online brand communities (OBCs), community manager has been one of the growth job titles of late. The organizations that unlock the full power and potential of OBCs are the ones who carefully select skilled brand community managers who possess the right set of competencies that allow the community to thrive, flourish and prosper. Given the newness of this profession along with the complexity and dynamism of running OBCs, researchers and practitioners alike are keen to understand what it takes to be a brand community manager. The purpose of this paper is to explore this fundamental, yet unanswered question, from both a managerial and theoretical perspective. This study presents a synthesis of extant OBC literature and puts forth an empirical framework that advances our understanding of brand community management. Drawing on interviews with experienced practitioners in the field, this study identifies seven key competencies (nurture and sustain customer engagement, cultivate trust and safety with community members, foster and sustain knowledge sharing, act as a two-way conduit between the organization and the customers, identify and manage key stakeholders, actively listen and observe the community’s activity, and plan, organize and monitor the online community) that form the basis of the brand community manager role. The value and relevance of this framework, we propose, lies in the three levels that the model contains: competencies, actionable behaviours and concrete actions. Utilized individually and together, the constructs in our model can help organizations in a concrete, practical way. This study is the first to empirically investigate the full range of competencies that are most essential for community management, in the context of OBCs. In that sense, our research fills a much-needed gap in the current academic literature. Theoretical and managerial implications of our findings are addressed and several avenues for future research proposed. With our study, we hope to add new, in-depth meaning to the emerging and exciting field of brand community management.

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1 Introduction

‘Customers today have more  

ever. We need to make sure it is give and take - a two-sided conversation, with both parties having responsibilities in the interaction.’

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Chapter One: Introduction

The digital revolution has changed the way we live. Fueled by new technologies popping up everyday, it has fundamentally transformed the way we think, feel, behave and interact with the world around us. Our smartphones, tablets and laptop screens enable us to unite with like-minded people and share everything we like or dislike, at any time, whenever we want.

As consumers, we can go online and shop around the globe, but often not before finding out more about the product and brand we are dealing with. We connect with hundreds of thousands, if not millions of fellow customers to first hear about their thoughts and experiences. A firm’s reputation and brand image do no longer rest in the hands of smart marketers but at the fingertips of empowered customers who make buying decisions independently of marketing messages. With our tweets, updates and clicks, we play an increasingly influential role in affecting others’ brand considerations and purchase intent. Consumers are the ones in control of the business relationship – which can be a huge concern for marketers trying to survive in this period of unparalleled change (Fagan, 2012).

The digital age has reshaped the orthodoxies of marketing and is putting Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) constantly to the test. Companies have spent the last decade portraying an online presence and now proudly claim to have hundreds of likes and followers. Relatively few of them though, really exploit the power of the Web and fully understand how to provide value to empowered customers and citizens (Iwata, 2011). Most companies feel overwhelmed and unprepared to cope with the challenges they confront in this volatile,

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Adobe, Ducati etc.) have been able to look beyond the complexity of today’s massively interconnected and spotted unprecedented opportunities to engage with customers. They started to place customer intimacy and "getting connected" with customers on top of their priority list and completely redesigned their online strategies. With their innovative mindset and breakthrough thinking they forged ahead by building online brand communities, allowing them to set their organization apart from the crowd.

An online brand community (OBC) can be defined as ‘a dedicated group of members who are users of a particular brand or market, continuously in touch with the brand and each other, not only responding to company initiatives but also initiating and continuing conversations of their own about any aspect of the brand or business’ (Hall, 2010). By creating such an online platform, companies are offering customers the chance to get together, exchange their experiences and share their enthusiasm for the brand. In this way, OBCs enable companies to reinvent their customer relationships by deepening existing connections as well as creating profitable new ones (Palmisano, 2010).

In the last decennium, various researchers in the field of marketing, also started to recognize the enormous potential of OBCs in building and strengthening company-customer relationships (Brodin, 2000; McWilliam, 2000; Kapferer, 2006). According to Armstrong and Hagel (1996), OBCs can boost revenue; increase market penetration; create positive word-of-mouth; and ‘build customer loyalty to a degree that today’s marketers can only dream of’. Best practices of global top brands like Coca-Cola, Ferrero’s Nutella, Starbucks, Dell, Lego or Apple, corroborate that OBCs can create substantial value for companies as well as customers. Today, millions of people worldwide join OBCs and their numbers continue to grow, says Daniel Newman (2014). This movement completely ‘changed the outlook of businesses’ (Viburnix, 2014).

Looking ahead, the number of companies that will try to grasp the opportunities that OBCs can bring, will grow at an accelerating speed. Vala Asfar, co-author of The pursuit of Social Business Excellence, predicts that customer engagement will become increasingly important for companies and that online communities will be a meaningful and ‘mutually beneficial approach’ to achieve this. Mark Curtis, CEO of the online platform Branderati.com, even called 2014 ‘the year of advocacy’. He believes ‘companies need to look to other long-term and cost-effective solutions for connecting with customers. The solution? Brand advocates in niche communities’. Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, confirms this thought by saying: ‘There has never been a more important time to listen and interact with your customers’ (Paul, 2014). If OBCs are the future, how can companies best embrace its value? Getting ahead of the

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game requires a set of new, critical capabilities that organizations will need to develop or acquire externally. Certainly, an online platform can be build overnight, but to create, maintain and grow a thriving community that serves your business goals, can be a daunting and difficult task (Thomas, 2013). Luckily, the online brand community phenomenon has given rise to a new and booming profession: the community manager (Libre, 2014).

The task of the brand community manager is to cut through the complexity of running an OBC and master its full potential. But what should companies look for when hiring a brand community manager? Despite extensive research on factors that could determine the success of an OBC, far too little attention has been paid to the role of the community manager. Although researchers acknowledge and emphasize the relevance and importance of community managers, they have not been very precise and definite about the exact skill set necessary to run an OBC. This leaves managers who aim to successfully realize the potential of an OBC, dazzled and overwhelmed. If you ask random community managers how their first 6 months on the job went they are very likely to use words like "crazy", "bumpy", "messianic", "blind", "swimming upstream" or "looking for home" (Moffitt, 2013). Given the relative newness of this role it is no surprise that there has been an ongoing debate amongst practitioners regarding what community managers should do and why we need them (Cayem, 2012; Flanagan, 2011; Hinchcliffe, 2013; McKee, 2012).

Although scholars provide insightful suggestions on ways to encourage content-creation and boost engagement among community members, little guidance exist regarding other community efforts that should maximize success of the OBC. To the best of our knowledge, no existing empirical research addresses the blend of key competencies that are essential for brand community management. The purpose of this study is to reveal these and fill this gap in knowledge using an exploratory, insight-driven research approach. Our main research question therefore is: What are the key competencies that brand community managers should possess?

In conducting this study, we aim to provide community managers with a roadmap they can emulate when starting out with their OBC practices. For those who already have experience running OBCs, we strive to provide new approaches for increasing the impact of their online community efforts. Besides the managerial relevance of this study, our main intend is to fill a much-needed gap in the current academic literature.

Toward these goals, we herein present and illustrate a framework of seven key competencies that form the basis of the brand community manager role. In doing so, we provide an initial conceptualization of what the most important competencies of such a framework should include. In this study we define competencies as ‘the behaviours or actions

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that demonstrate the knowledge, abilities, or skills necessary for superior performance’ (Monterey Institute of International Studies, n.d.).

The framework of competencies that we offer aims to capture the complexity, the diversity and the multi-dimensional nature of brand community management. The value and relevance of this framework, we propose, lies in the three levels that the model contains: competencies, actionable behaviours (most important key practices in which the competency comes into expression) and concrete actions (examples on how these actionable behaviours can be carried out). Utilized individually and together, these components in the model can help brand community managers in a concrete, practical way. The multi-level framework that we present, reflects the level of depth and richness of data we were able to attain during the interviews that we conducted with experienced brand community managers in the field.

The scope of this study is limited a specific subset of community managers, namely, brand community managers. The findings of this study and the proposed framework of competencies can be generalized to different types of community managers and as such, this research also aims to contribute to the broader literature on community management. Nonetheless, we have to keep in mind that a couple of context-specific limitations do apply to such generalization.

Overall, this research aims to demonstrate that successfully managing OBCs no longer have to be learned and practiced by muddling through. The framework that we offer will foster the development of community management and help brand community managers around the globe get ready and well-prepared for the inevitable future of online brand communities.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: First, a review of relevant extant literature on online brand communities is given to provide the context for this research and identify the research gap in which the study is situated. This background is followed by a chapter that (1) presents an overview of the research design employed, (2) outlines the overall research process, (3) gives a detailed description of the methodological choices made in the study and, (4) outlines the data analysis strategy that was adopted. Chapter 4 provides a summary of the main empirical findings of this research. In chapter 5, we outline the main contributions and (theoretical and managerial) implications of this research. We also address the limitations of our study. Furthermore, conclusions are drawn and potential avenues for future research are canvassed. In the final section of this paper, the epilogue, an analysis is provided on what has been learned from this project.

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2 Literature review

‘More than ever, customer experience is the battleground for brands to differentiate themselves and to unlock the real power of social. To succeed brands must create trusted content and engage customers in conversation on their own websites to move their business forward.’

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Chapter Two: Literature review

In this chapter a review of relevant extant literature on online brand communities is given to provide the context for this research and identify the research gap in which the study is situated.

2.1 The changing digital marketing landscape

We live in world connected like never before. As we entered the 21st century, we witnessed how the Web 2.0 revolution dramatically redefined the way we communicate. The rapidly changing technologies accompanied by the social media phenomenon has allowed us to create, modify and discuss content and share it with the world in mere minutes. As consumers, we increasingly rely on the Internet to gather information that will help us make better purchase decisions (Shankar et al., 2003) and arrive quickly at what we feel is "the truth" about products, services and brands (Keller, 2010). This is especially true for the so-called Generation Y, which represent the first

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environment (Bolton et al., 2013).

On this new social playing field, organizations no longer exert full control over their carefully crafted brand messages. They are dealing with empowered customers who will, with or without firms’ permission, openly and honestly talk about brands and share their consumptions experiences and product opinions (Noble et al., 2012). As a result of these inevitable market developments, the rules of the branding game have changed. The companies that survive and excel in this digital jungle, are the ones who rethink – and sometimes fundamentally reshape – their branding policies and practices. Marketers increasingly realize that the claims they make can be heavily scrutinized, considered truthful or not, and shared by others right away (Keller, 2010). Today’s brand managers need a much broader and deeper skill set than ten or twenty years ago. They need to thoughtfully convey the right information and offer valuable experiences by means of the interactive, online platforms that are available. These platforms can create a space where the firm and the customers can freely exchange knowledge, help each other and arrive at mutually beneficial solutions (Keller, 2010).

Insights from a recent IBM Global Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) study reveal that social media along with the growing number of channels that customers can choose from, is perceived as one of the biggest headaches of marketers. Managing the "open box" of social media and the increasing transparency that it generates, is perceived as a big challenge causing a lot of anxiety among firms. CMOs feel that enhancing customer loyalty and advocacy should be the top priority in the digital era. The question remains: how do you create deeply engaged and loyal customers in this hyperconnected world? (Iwata, 2011).

To ease their pain, and strengthen their likelihood of success, the study recommends companies to take active steps in creating genuine connections with empowered customers. To foster lasting and meaningful relationships with customers, companies need to build online and offline communities focused around their brand. CMOs can no longer afford to focus on the mere transaction and primarily use online data to segment and sell. The most successful enterprises, are the ones committed to building a relationship, who capitalize on the new digital sources and ‘create customer tribes’ (Iwata, 2011).

The changing marketing landscape is shifting managers’ focus from the product or service offering to the consumer, and from customer acquisition to customer retention. The traditional marketing objective of market share, has been replaced by "share of wallet", or "share of heart" which goes beyond mere economic value but focuses on bonding with customers on an emotional level (Sheth, 2012). The changing marketing landscape has given rise to a new online marketing phenomenon: online brand communities.

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2.2 The rise of online brand communities

Relationship marketing has been scheduled to be the leading marketing strategy of the future (Andersen, 2005; Morgan and Hunt, 1994). Creating and maintaining meaningful dialogues with customers is clearly beneficial for establishing strong market relationships (Andersen, 2005; Varey, 2002). In this context, the Internet has emerged into a great new medium that facilitates the communication between customers and firms (Pitta and Fowler, 2005). The expansion of online tools (blogs, wikis, discussion forums, social media websites etc.) has provided the infrastructure for enhancing social interaction among people and, consequently, led to the development of so-called virtual communities.

2.2.1 Towards a definition of online brand community

The concept of virtual communities, often referred to as online communities, is not something new and so far, many definitions have been proposed in the literature. Howard Rheingold (1993), who coined the term, describes them as ‘social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace’. In line with this perspective, Hagel and Armstrong (1997) define online communities as ‘computer-mediated spaces where there is a potential for an integration of content and communication with an emphasis on member-generated content’.

Blanchard (2004) and Blanchard and Markus (2004) studied virtual communities from a ‘sense of community’ viewpoint and defined them as ‘groups of people who interact primarily through computer-mediated communication and who identify with and have developed feelings of belonging and attachment to each other’. In an attempt to build consensus among researchers, Lee et al. (2003) compared nine of the most widely accepted definitions and presented the conclusive definition of online communities: ‘cyberspaces supported by computer-based information technology, centered upon communication and interaction of participants to generate member-driven content, resulting in a relationship being built’. Later studies by Wasko et al. (2009) and Faraj et al. (2011) illustrate the complexity of finding a timeless definition for this rapidly growing phenomenon.

Researchers from various fields of study, advanced our understanding on the social aspects as well as the economic potential of online communities. Hagel and Armstrong (1997) recognized that online communities can help satisfy four types of consumer needs: establishing relationships, sharing resources and trading and living fantasies. Among all the other typologies

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that have been proposed in later studies, this study will focus on online brand communities. Consumer behaviourist Tom O’Guinn was the first to study the notion of online communities in the context of brands. ‘It is not just about the relationship to the marketer’, he said. ‘It is a triad between marketer, customer and customer’. He co-authored a paper with Albert Muniz, introducing the concept of brand communities to the marketing literature. They define a brand community as ‘a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relationships among admirers of a brand’. Muniz and O’Guinn (2001) suggest that a brand community is characterized by three components:

(1) Consciousness of kind: a ‘shared knowing of belonging’ (Weber, 1987) (2) The presence of shared rituals and traditions

(3) A sense of moral responsibility: feeling a sense duty to contribute to the community as a whole and its individual members

Although initially thought of as offline places, the global dispersion of Internet access and the massive adoption of web-based technologies have given rise to the proliferation of online brand communities (OBCs). Hall (2010) defines an online brand community as ‘a dedicated group of members who are users of a particular brand or market, continuously in touch with the brand and each other, not only responding to company initiatives but also initiating and continuing conversations of their own about any aspect of the brand or business’. In this study, we adopt Hall’s definition of online brand communities.

Even though the first OBCs emerged organically (i.e., initiated and managed independently of a firm for example by customers or brand enthusiasts), more and more companies have embraced them as extremely influential marketing tools. The last decade has seen a movement of firms proactively establishing OBCs, providing community members with the right resources to provide value for themselves (Wenger, 2004) while at the same time act in ways that are contributing to the company’s success (Porter et al., 2011). Community activity is recognized as ‘the biggest change in business in 100 years (Ahonen and Moore, 2005), and by 2012, already 50 percent of the top 100 global brands had launched an OBC (Manchanda et al., 2012). Accordingly, this study focuses on ‘custom-built managed online communities, set up by or on behalf of a business, brand or organization’ (Hall, 2010). Because surely, if OBCs are approached and used with the right mind-set and skills, their benefits are irrefutable (Fournier and Lee, 2009).

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The rise of these powerful online platforms has resulted in an extensive body of literature focusing on the value of online brand community practices from a marketing perspective. Once executed well, an OBC can be a highly effective tool to enhance brand commitment, build trust and gain insights into customers’ needs (Kim et al., 2008). Providing further empirical support to these relational benefits, Casalò et al. (2008) found that participation in an OBC has a positive influence on consumer’s affective commitment toward the brand. In turn, commitment has proven to play a crucial role in relationship marketing and can influence consumer’s buying behaviour in desirable ways (Morgan and Hunt, 1994). The premium brand King Arthur Flour recognized this value and succeeded in building a passionate community of fans around their brand. Their strategy is to foster ‘warm and human connections’ with anybody interested or passionate about baking. By means of their community, the brand aims at getting at a more intimate level with potential customers, earn their trust and provide them reasons to desire the products they are selling (Young, 2013). In this way, OBCs can have a direct positive impact on purchase intention (Blazevic et al., 2013); they spread positive word-of-mouth (Dholakia et al., 2004); and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty (Shankar et al., 2003).

McWilliam (2000) and De Valck (2005) state that OBCs mainly act as a rich source of information that can be valuable to the company in many ways. OBCs allow firms to unobtrusively monitor activity on their community and analyse member-generated content. This allows marketers to gain a deeper understanding on needs and desires of their consumers, as well as their perceptions and feelings towards the brand. In addition, when members register in the community, firms can get easy access to interesting consumer data such as demographics or specific interests (Peelen, 2006).

Algesheimer and Dholakia (2006) suggest that OBCs can also be powerful tools for co-creation and new product development. By creating collaborative relationships, engaged customers can feel a sense of ownership towards the brand and experience a desire to get deeply involved. Car manufacturer Audi captured this opportunity with their OBC called "Virtual Lab", on which 1,662 car enthusiasts are equipped with a user-based design tool to develop ideas for future infotainment systems (Füller et al., 2006). Another example of a best practice is the online platform "Niketalk", where passionate Nike fans are encouraged to think of new shoe features and develop their own shoe designs (Füller et al., 2007). Dell, Harley-Davison, Ducati and Starbucks are other well-known brands that are using the innovative potential of their OBCs for new product development (McAlexander et al., 2002; Verona et al., 2006). Ducati for example, considers their community, consisting of 160,000 registered brand fans, as a major asset of the

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company. Their OBC has allowed the company to increase the speed and persistence of rich customer engagement (Sawhney et al., 2005).

"Engagement", is a refrain we increasingly hear about and which is often used in the context of branding and relationship marketing (Appelbaum, 2001). Mollen and Wilson (2010) describe online consumer engagement as ‘the cognitive and affective commitment to an active relationship with the brand as personified by the website or other computer-mediated entities designed to communicate brand value’. Engagement in an OBC involves ‘specific interactive experience between consumers and the brand, and/or other members of the community’ (Brodie et al., 2013). According to Sedley (2008), customer engagement is seen as a strategic imperative for creating and sustaining a competitive advantage, as well as a reliable predictor of future business performance. More precisely, Voyleys (2007) suggests that customer engagement enhances profitability, and Neff (2007) believes it is the primary driver of sales growth.

According to Porter et al. (2011) most companies are aware that engaging customers through an OBC can create significant value. Fournier and Lee (2008) believe that any brand can benefit from a community strategy. The question remains: can every company pull one off?

2.3 The dynamic nature of online brand communities

While much literature is highlighting the wide range of benefits that community practices can offer, it is perceived as a tough strategic game to play. Most marketers still lack know-how on leveraging the full power of OBCs and reaping the value they promise to create. With no doubt, community practices require a significant commitment of people and dollars, and can take considerable time to pay off (Fournier and Lee, 2008). In response, researchers from various disciplines have been studying the dynamic nature of OBCs in order to deepen our understanding on conditions under which they succeed or fail.

2.3.1 The online community life cycle

Over the years, more and more researchers have recognized that communities evolve following distinctive lifecycle stages and that success is more or less dependent on the stage your community is in. Community building efforts must take into account that the needs of the online community and its members can change over time and therefore possibly vary at each stage (Andrews, 2002; Kling and Courtright, 2003; Malhotra et al., 1997; Preece 2000).

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Wenger et al. (2002) suggest that there are five stages in the process of developing online communities: potential, coalescing, maturing, stewardship, and transformation. Andrews (2002) identified only three stages: starting the online community, encouraging early online interaction, and moving to a self-sustaining interactive environment. The framework that has been most cited and also widely adopted by practitioners, is the one proposed by Iriberri and Leroy (2009). In their study, they state that online communities constantly flow into one or more of the following stages: inception, creation, growth, maturity, and death. The authors stress the importance of using different features, tools, and activities in each stage. They ascertain that choosing the right mechanisms will support and ensure success and must evolve to match a community’s growth and evolution. Millington (2013a) slightly refined this framework and pinpointed some of the most important community practices to focus on for each stage of the lifecycle. If companies achieve to progress their OBC through the lifecycle, they will maximize what their community can be, the value it can bring to their organization, and the benefits that consumers will gain.

2.3.2 The essential role of the community members

Another concept that has been widely addressed in the literature and that further illustrates the dynamic nature of OBCs, is the role of the community members. Fournier and Lee (2008) propose that managers who aim to build or strengthen their OBC, should recognize and nurture the different roles that community members will play. The researchers argue that most companies think their OBCs will be love fests for faithful brand advocates who will organize themselves in supportive harmony on their platform. This view, which assumes a very naïve notion of human psychology, fails to recognize that the diverse social roles of members can either support or completely mess up the community game you play.

In OBCs, customers become part of a tribe with other individuals who share the same interest in the brand. Just like offline communities, members will create a social universe with own rituals, vocabulary, values and hierarchy (Heinzen, 2012). The social interaction between these members will greatly influence consumers’ relationship with, and attitude towards the company (McAlexander et al., 2002). As OBCs are often highly interactive in nature, members often gain identity related benefits through interpersonal interactions with others. They experience a sense of achievement by earning recognition, reputation and respect within the community (Dholakia et al., 2004; Handley et al., 2006; Jeppesen and Frederiksen, 2006; Kastner and Stangl 2012; Wang and Chen 2012). But the needs that members will try to fulfill by participation in online communities can be conflicting. Some will have a need for status or

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approval, while others just seek enjoyment or fun (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2006; Kankanhalli et al., 2005; Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001). Generally, the psychological and social aspects of members’ needs and their desire to fulfill these needs are consistent with the view that most of them will try to achieve both communal (e.g. belongingness, helping others) and functional (e.g. information seeking, information sharing) goals (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2006; Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2002; Füller et al., 2008; Kankanhalli et al., 2005).

Most OBCs are designed to meet these varying needs and give consumers an active voice to openly talk about a brand, exchange ideas and share experiences and opinions (El Morr and Maret, 2012). These voices can be loud, strong and sometimes critical, causing negative sentiment towards a brand. Although satisfied consumers who connect together can serve as powerful allies, critical ones can wreak havoc on a brand (Fournier and Avery, 2011). The Internet has made criticizing brands easier, and the widely used web technologies help content of criticism travel fast, quickly and far (Pitt et al., 2002). A firm’s OBC can become a magnet for anti-brand comments and members can easily post negative information about products or services. In the minds of customers, an OBC is closely linked to the brand, and therefore, everything that happens in the community will be associated with the company (Wirtz, 2013). Consequently, if anti-brand comments take place in the OBC, the derived negative associations can result into brand equity dilution, which can be devastating for companies (Bunchanan et al., 1999). It can be a complex and delicate task to prevent or block such comments if you also want to encourage members to feel the freedom to express themselves (Wirtz, 2013).

To get a better grasp on these dimensions, numerous studies have attempted to classify the different roles that members can take on in the online community that they visit. The most frequently mentioned typology is the lurkers and posters dichotomy (Brown et al., 2002; Reid, 1993; Rheingold, 1993). This classification makes a distinction between members who create content, thereby actively contributing to the community (posters), and members who just read content while remaining silent and invisible (lurkers). The straightforward and broad applicability of this distinction, makes it an attractive typology for managers and academics to adopt (Hagel and Armstrong, 1997; Kollock and Smith, 1996; Rafaeli and Sudweeks, 1997; Rheingold, 1993; Schlosser, 2005). Although easily implemented, Kozinets (1999) believes the poster-lurker dichotomy has one major shortcoming: it might be far too simplistic. According to De Valck et. al (2009), ‘just taking into account who posts and who does not, does not tell the whole story of community participation. The question is: can we find other differences in members’ participation behaviour that bear significant meaning for marketers?’. In an attempt to do so, various scholars investigated what these important differences constitute.

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Kozinets (1999) distinguishes between community members according to two factors: members’ relationship with the consumption activity, and the intensity of social relationships that members have with others who join the community. In this respect, the study identifies the following four different member types: tourists, insiders, mingles and devotees. Insiders are the ones who possess the strongest ties with the brand and fellow community members, while tourists, barely engage in the community and merely show superficial or passing interest in the brand.

Kim (2000) takes another perspective and conceptualizes the manner in which community members differ as stemming from progressive stages of member involvement. The membership life cycle framework, which is proposed in this study, describes fives archetypical members roles based on progressive stages of members’ involvement in the community: visitors, novices, regulars, leaders, and elders. Ooi (2002) suggests that these different members types are not always dynamic and structurally confined. Instead, one might argue that the same member can take on the same role at various stages in their tribal career.

Looking at these varying typologies, it is clear that it can be a complex task to understand and address the diverse roles of community members in an accurate and timeless manner. According to Fournier and Lee (2008), regardless of what label you give members, marketers are well advised to think of ways on how these roles can be nurtured and supported. The strongest OBCs recognize the multiple roles and help members explore, evolve, or switch roles, without leaving the community behind. It is important to understand the community’s synergetic nature: everyone in the community plays an essential role. ‘Community is about building something sustainable and lasting: it’s about cultivating cultural bedrock in which everyone can find a role’ (Fournier and Lee, 2008).

2.4 Leveraging the power of online brand communities

What community efforts should companies undertake to create a successful OBC? Certainly, the community can be called a success if it served the organization’s intended goals, which undoubtedly vary per firm. But are there any generic practices that, regardless of the platform’s purpose, are needed to build and maintain a thriving online community? Over the years, various researchers have attempted to gain insight into this relatively unexplored area. As a result, several independent success factors have been proposed in the literature. Once executed well, these efforts should help harness the full power of OBCs.

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Central to discussion about OBCs is the use of the term customer engagement. Earlier in this paper, we already addressed this concept and showed how it is considered to be a primary driver of several favorable organizational outcomes. Customer engagement is, for example, seen as a vehicle for enhancing or creating valuable consumer relationships (Brodie et al., 2013). Yet, a study carried out by Deloitte (2009) revealed that getting customers engaged is the greatest obstacle to success for OBCs. Although customer engagement in OBC sometimes emerges organically, it must be amplified by proactive efforts undertaken by the firm. Firms should provide members with the right resources that will help them to create value for themselves as well as for the community as a whole (Wenger, 2004).

Porter et al. (2011) tapped into this and investigated how firms can successfully nurture and sustain customer engagement through their OBCs. The study proposes a three-stage process that managers can follow to help fulfill community members’ needs while at the same time encourage them to act in ways that are supportive for the brand.

First, the various needs of community members need to be identified, in order to understand what intrinsically motivates them to participate in the OBC. Value-based motivation for participation, something fundamental for customer engagement, is often ‘idiosyncratic, experiential, contextual, and meaning laden’, depending on member’s individual needs (Vargo and Lusch, 2008). It is therefore of utmost importance that managers target their actions according to the different needs of members. In this way, customer engagement within the OBC can be accelerated and amplified (Porter et al., 2011).

In the second stage, managers must actively promote members to participate within the community. In doing so, it is important that they keep in mind that people engage in social media and other online platforms, to satisfy certain intrinsic needs (Bagozzi and Dholakia, 2002; Dimmick et al., 2004; Flanagin and Metzger, 2001; Ko et al., 2005). Porter et al. (2011) findings propose three community efforts that are mainly effective in promoting customer participation within the community: ‘encouraging content creation, cultivating connections among members and between members and the community as whole; and creating enjoyable experiences’. Since each of these actions are aligned with members’ social and psychological needs, they could effectively trigger customer engagement.

In the final stage, when sufficient customer participation is garnered, managers can sustain engagement by motivating community members to work cooperatively while at the same time co-create value with the brand. In doing so, managers should be oriented towards empowering community members and creating a sense of embeddedness within the community. This can be accomplished by ‘mobilizing member leaders, inspiring ideas from members, and

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polling members for strategic insights’. The authors consider these three stages essential in creating and sustaining customer engagement within an OBC (Porter et al., 2011).

2.4.2 Cultivate trust with community members

Although customer engagement is widely acknowledged as a key determinant of OBC success, there are more factors that managers should consider. Several researchers have recognized that building trust with customers is an essential component of any successful online marketing strategy (Bart et al., 2005; Urban et al., 2000).

Porter and Donthu (2008) suggest that the potential value derived from an OBC depends upon the firm’s ability to cultivate trust with community members. In their study, they propose two specific community efforts that will have significant trust-building effects with members: providing access to quality content and fostering member embeddedness. According to Brown et al. (2002), it is important to provide access to quality content – especially content that is unbiased and controllable by customers’. The second practice is about giving customers a sense of attachment and fit with the community to an extent that leaving the group would be perceived as triggering negative emotions (Crossley et al., 2007; Grewal and Slotegraaf, 2007; Halbesleben and Wheeler, 2008; Mallol et al. 2007). This can be accomplished by granting community members exclusive access to certain privileges or information that nonmembers cannot enjoy.

The trust-based relationships resulting from effective implementation of these two practices, are expected to result in very favorable outcomes for the company. If customers trust the organization behind the OBC, they are more willing to share personal information. Trust also motivates customers to cooperate in new product development and show loyalty towards the firm. Overall, cultivating trust with community members promotes valuable forms of reciprocal behaviour on the part of customers (Porter and Donthu, 2008).

2.4.3 Foster and sustain knowledge sharing

Another key determinant of OBC success that has been recognized by many scholars is the notion of knowledge sharing. If there is no ongoing exchange of knowledge between members, the online community is doomed to fail to thrive (Ardichvili, 2008; Chiu et al., 2006; Fang and Chiu, 2010). Though, fostering and sustaining knowledge sharing is perceived as among the most difficult challenges of running an online community (Barab et al., 2004; Chiu et al., 2006; Fang and Chiu, 2010; Hsu et al., 2007; Lin et al., 2009; Prestridge, 2010).

A study conducted by Booth (2012) examined online community best practices to find out how knowledge sharing can most effectively be realized. The study supports earlier findings

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by Carr and Chambers (2006) and Jones and Preece (2006) who found that a clear purpose and a collective identity among community members are essential in creating a knowledge sharing environment. This can be accomplished by clearly identifying the target audience, and frequently reiterating the community’s purpose.

Consistent with prior research (e.g., Bourhis et al., 2005; Gairín-Sallán et al., 2010; Gray, 2004; Prestridge, 2010; Wenger et al., 2002) the study also highlights the importance of active community involvement of an experienced and credible moderator. The community moderator should possess outstanding online communication skills and be able to stay attuned to key issues, interests or concerns of the group. Effective moderators foster trust among members and find innovative ways to encourage them to get involved in rich forms of knowledge sharing.

A final implication of the study relates to the concept of expertise transparency. The study’s findings suggest that members who lack knowledge of each other’s unique identity, might be reluctant to actively share ideas. Offering members the opportunity to make detailed user profiles, is an effective way to avoid this and instead facilitate and sustain knowledge sharing (Booth, 2012).

2.5 Present study

Research efforts to date advanced our understanding on the dynamic nature of OBCs and the conditions under which they succeed, but far too little research attention has been paid to the moderating role of the brand community manager. Although it is widely recognized that the success or failure of an OBC depends, in part, on a firm’s commitment to dedicated community management (Young, 2013), the exact skills and expertise required remains obscure. Even after an extensive literature research, we have hardly found any scientific article focusing on this specific field.

This lack of theoretical knowledge is surprising since the ‘hottest job of the 21st_century might just be community manager’ (Neff, 2010). As more companies buy into the benefits of OBC development, community manager has been one of the growth job titles of late. On LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, the community management profession enjoys a 29% year-on-year growth (Caggiano and Kelly, 2013; Matthew, 2013). The organizations that thrive on this new digital frontier, are the ones who carefully select skilled professionals who possess a perfect blend of competencies that will bring the community to the desired level and help unlock its full potential (Neff, 2010).

In an attempt to shed light on this unexplored, yet growing profession, practitioners and bloggers in the field increasingly share their view on the skills and qualities that community

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managers should possess (e.g. Harper, 2013; Hutton, 2013; Jones, 2013; Lytle, 2013; Schulman, 2013). Yet, to our knowledge, there is no empirical literature addressing the key competencies that every brand community manager should have. As we addressed in the previous chapter, available research point towards three independent factors (nurture and sustain customer engagement (Porter et al., 2011), cultivate trust with community members (Porter and Donthu, 2008), and foster and sustain knowledge sharing (Booth, 2012)) that are necessary to build a vibrant OBC. As these factors emerged from separate studies, we still do not have a complete general framework to model the exact competencies required for brand community management. To help address this gap in knowledge and contribute to existing literature, this study aims to construct an empirically based, comprehensive framework of competencies that will serve as a blueprint to guide community managers in creating and maintaining an OBC. The rich insights gleaned from the qualitative data of this research will provide firms with valuable guidance on what competencies to look for in managers yearning to run the company’s online community. In doing so, it is important to first specify how we define competencies in this study.

Defining competencies

First of all we have to note that the concept of competencies has no commonly accepted single definition (Jubb and Rowbotham, 1997; Strebler et al., 1997). According to Hoffmann (1999) the concept is multi-faceted. The term is sometimes narrowly defined as a single aspect of human performance while other definitions maintain a much broader view including a spectrum of elements in performance. This has led to a lot of confusion about the construct and its application. Yet, there is a large degree of consensus that competencies have to be defined in terms of behaviours (HRSP, n.d.).

The definition that we decided to adopt in this study is therefore as follows: ‘competencies are the behaviours or actions that demonstrate the knowledge, abilities, or skills necessary for superior performance’ (Monterey Institute of International Studies, n.d.). Applied to our study, this means that we focus on identifying the behaviours that brand community managers need to perform in managing an OBC. We will search for related actionable behaviours that can indicate an overarching competency. We define them as actionable behaviours because in the case of brand community managers, these are behaviours resulting in concrete actions toward the online community. Further, in our model we therefore also specify the related concrete actions. Thus, this research goes beyond merely proposing the competencies that are needed to manage an OBC. This study offers a compelling set of actionable behaviours

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(most important key practices in which the competency comes into expression), and concrete actions (examples on how these actionable behaviours can be carried out) that will support the development of the brand community manager.

This study is centered around answering the following main research question:

What are the key competencies that brand community managers should possess?

The two sub questions related to this question are:

1. What are the related actionable behaviours in which these competencies come to an expression?

2. What are the concrete actions that can be taken to realise these actionable behaviours?

In the next chapter, we describe in detail what methodology and research design we employed to answer these research questions and meet our intended aims with this study.

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Chapter Three: Research Design and Methodology

Although an extensive body of literature exists on the rapidly growing phenomenon of online brand communities (OBCs), little research attention has been paid to the emerging role of the community manager. This study is aimed at filling this gap in knowledge by investigating how

‘The most powerful way a company can add value is to provide a place where prospects, customers and the company itself can interact.’

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this relatively new position can best being utilized to create online communities that serve organizations’ desired intentions and goals. In light of this purpose, this study seeks to answer the following question: What are the key competencies that brand community managers should possess?

In this chapter, we provide robust details regarding the research design we employed, the methodological choices we made, the research process that we followed, and the data analysis strategy that we performed to derive at a comprehensive understanding of this unexplored area in the field of online marketing.

3.1 Research paradigm

The philosophical assumptions underpinning this study come from the interpretive position. This implies a research philosophy that advocates the necessity to understand the social world of research subjects from their subjective point of view. This study will be guided by this perspective and will acknowledge the differences between humans in their role as social actors (Saunders and Lewis, 2012).

3.2 Case study design

Given the newness of the phenomenon that we study and the lack of sound scientific theoretical background covering the competencies required to manage OBCs, it seemed most appropriate to follow an inductive research approach. Since this study seeks to "illuminate" our understanding of a relatively unexplored area, an in-depth, comprehensive exploration from multiple perspectives in a "real life" context is needed. A single case study design serves this goal and allows for a rich description of the phenomenon of OBCs (Simons, 2009; Stark and Torrance, 2005).

To gain deeper insights into the process of managing communities we believe a thorough understanding of an individual actor’s perspective – in this case the perspective of an experienced brand community manager – is necessary and crucial. We believe that an exploratory, qualitative research approach best satisfies this intention and yields findings that are managerially relevant as well contributing to academic literature.

3.3 Sample

This study identifies the key competencies of brand community managers from the perspective of practitioners who are (or have been) directly involved with community management of an

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interested in their perspective at one point in time, a snapshot design has been employed.

A non-probability, purposive sampling technique has been used to select a sample of experienced and knowledgeable brand community managers whose practices are exemplary of brand community management. To derive exemplary knowledge from key case study subjects, the following three sample selection criteria have been used (participants had to strictly meet all of these criteria):

1. Respondents had to have at least 6 months years of experience with community management

2. Respondents had to be currently employed as a brand community manager running an online brand community that is initiated by an organization

3. Respondents had to run an online brand community with a size of at least 500 members Contact with subjects has been established through various online platforms (e.g. LinkedIn, Yahoo and Facebook groups) on which online community- managers and experts from around the globe gather to share experiences and knowledge concerning community management (see Appendix A, table A1 for the full list of online platforms that we used to select participants). Since most of these groups were restricted and accessible for members only, we first had to receive permission from the owners to join the groups. Once we were granted access to the groups, members on these platforms received a message requesting their participation. In the message, the broad aim of the study was briefly explained, the main themes of discussion were listed, and recipients were informed aboutissues regarding anonymity and confidentiality.

To enhance the generalizability and transferability of our findings we wanted to ensure that our sample was varied (in terms of e.g. country of residence, type of industry or years of experience) but that the male-female ratio was properly balanced. Though, it is important to note that here are, at this moment, no indications in the literature that these background characteristics have a significant influence on community management. It would be interesting for future research to test, with a larger sample, if these variables influence a (brand) community manager’s management style and required competencies. We will elaborate on this in chapter 5.5 where we provide recommendations for future research.

The resulting sample of 14 brand community managers was 43 percent female and 57 percent male. Our sample included respondents from 8 different countries: United States (n=5), Canada (n=1), Australia (n=1), United Kingdom (n=2), The Netherlands (n=2), Spain (n=1), Italy (n=1) and Israel (n=1). The companies where the brand community managers are currently working for represent a wide variety of industries including: financial services, cosmetics, computer games, insurance, broadcast media, government administration, internet, computer

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software, wholesale, leisure, travel and tourism. Almost all respondents (n=12) are currently managing an online brand community for a for-profit organization. In total, 35,8 percent of the respondents have been working in the field of community management for 0-4 years, 21,4 percent of them for 5-9 years, 21,4 percent for 10-14 years, and 21,4 percent for 15-18 years. In Appendix B table B2, B2 and B3 more detailed information about the respondents is presented including the types of communities that they currently manage and/or have managed in the past.

3.4 Data collection

3.4.1 Interviews

As this research is exploratory in nature, a semi-structured interview data collection method appeared particularly appropriate. This method allowed us to gather practitioners’ experiences by dialoguing with them, eliciting rich insights to achieve depth and roundedness of understanding in the necessary competencies for brand community management (Mason, 2002). During the semi-structured interviews, a predetermined set of themes (see chapter 4 for the exact themes) was discussed in a loosely guided manner. This allowed us to leave room for pursuing emerging themes and patterns, which were relevant and important for the purpose of this study (Gendron, 2009; Silverman, 2010). When necessary, probing questions were used to elicit and grasp more detailed, underlying and unexpected issues and insights (Barbour and Schostak, 2005).

Since geographical constraints limited our opportunity for in-person contact, interviews were held through a variety of channels depending on the possibilities and the participants’ preferences. The interviews took place between April and June 2014. Before each interview, participants were informed about the possibility to remain anonymous in this study. In that case, their name was promised not to be written in the research report or be kept in any other records. The interviewees were further told that their participation in the study is voluntary and that they could withdraw from the research if they preferred so or skip any question they do not feel like answering. They were also informed that our study intends to abide by all commonly acknowledged ethical codes.

After each interview, the data collected was summarized and then compared, related and linked to the findings of other respondents. This sometimes resulted in additional issues and questions being added to next interviews. This iterative process allowed us to probe emergent themes (Eisenhardt, 1989) and go beyond our initial scope of thinking (Zhang, 2008).

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The data collection- strategy and procedure that was used in this study consisted of three phases, with each phase focusing on a primary objective.

Data collection phase 1

The objective of phase one was to conceptualise and integrate existing scientific literature on brand community management.Based on insights and constructs obtained from extant scholarly works, a framework of competencies was constructed that already partly shapes the desired profile of a brand community manager.

The objective of phase two was to let practitioners in the field of community management assess and possibly extend our initially constructed framework. In this phase, we aimed to achieve more in-depth understanding and knowledge on the role of the brand community manager, with special emphasis on concrete practices and actions related to their job. In this phase, a semi-structured interview data collection method was employed. The empirical data collected during this phase was used to guide the interviews of the next phase.

The objective of phase three was to let our research participants refine and optimise the constructs and concepts that resulted from phase 2. This proceeding was driven by our intention to let experienced brand community managers, iteratively construct a final framework of competencies. In this phase, we again employed a semi-structured interview data collection method. An overview of our overall data collection- strategy and procedure is presented in figure 1 (see the next page).

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The insights gleaned from our multi-phase research approach allowed us to enrich our data and arrive at a conceptualization and illustration of a multi-level framework of key competencies that brand community managers should posses.

3.5 Data analysis strategy

This section outlines the data analysis strategy employed during the three phases of our data collection process.

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As mentioned in the previous section, the objective of phase one was to conceptualise and integrate existing scientific literature on online brand communities (OBCs), with special emphasis on community management. This was a challenging task since even after an extensive literature review, we found hardly any existing empirical research addressing the full range of competencies required for brand community management. Although limited resources and data were available, we were still able to meet our intention of offering an initial conceptualization of the desired profile of a brand community manager. This was achieved by using a combination of a within-study literature analysis and a between-study literature analysis, proposed by Onwuegbuzie et al. (2010). Guided by this approach, we extensively analysed the contents of specific scholarly works as well as compared and contrasted findings from two or more literature sources (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2012). The studies that we eventually selected for our study had to meet two criteria (1) the work should include insights about community management of brand communities in specific (2) the work had to address some concrete practices related to the key concepts proposed. This approach allowed us to derive the most essential constructs needed to develop an initial framework, which is presented and discussed in section 4.1.1 of the next chapter.

3.5.2 Data analysis phase 2

The objective of phase two was to let our research participants assess and possibly extend the initially constructed framework that emerged after phase 1. Once all the interviews of this phase were completed, a qualitative content analysis was conducted to discover overarching themes and subthemes (Cavana et al., 2001). The theoretical constructs presented in the initial framework (of phase 1) were used as a guideline to analyze the data gathered from the interviews (Yin, 2003). The transcription was tabulated and ordered partly in spreadsheet and partly in a mind map and categorized based on the interview questions. We analyzed the raw data line-by-line, labeled concepts and defined categories according to their properties and dimensions. This open coding technique allowed us to keep the categories true to the essence of the data. In examining the data, we remained open-minded and kept a vigilant eye for recurring themes, both concerning similarities and differences with our initial framework (Kalkstein-Silkes, 2007; Khandkar, 2009).

We used a combination of the deductive and inductive clustering approach. We sorted and matched the data to a number of "starter codes" that we defined on the basis of our initial (theoretical) framework. Depending on the emerging themes, we merged or separated codes or added completely new ones. We constantly compared the data according to the initial and the

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new concepts that we had drawn (Cavana et al., 2001; Grbich, 2007). We continued this process until a point of saturation was achieved and no new relevant theme emerged from the data (Yin, 2003).

Then, our analysis advanced from open coding to axial coding, which is the ‘process of reassembling or disaggregating data in way that draws attention to relationships between and within categories’ (Mills, 2010). This synthetic technique allowed us to make connections between the (sub) categories that emerged from out data and shape a more comprehensive scheme (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). The resulting themes and subthemes that were identified in this final stage of the data analysis process of phase 2 are presented in section 4.1.2 of the next chapter.

3.5.3 Data analysis phase 3

As mentioned earlier, the objective of phase three was to let our interviewees refine and optimise the constructs and concepts that resulted from phase 2. At this final stage of our data analysis, we aimed to derive at a stage of theoretical development regarding the nature and relationship of the most essential competencies (and relating practices) of brand community management. We therefore decided to employ the selective coding technique, which is the ‘process of selecting a central or core category, systematically relating it to other categories, validating those relationships, and filling in categories that need further refinement and development’ (Strauss and Corbin, 1990). With this technique, insights gained from interviewees’ subsequent responses were either allocated to existing clusters or added to a new cluster. Selective coding helped us to further define, refine and extend our previously identified core concepts and then bring them together to tell a larger story (Price, 2010). This extensive process allowed us to gain insightful additional knowledge that was relevant for our study. The new insights that we captured during this process enabled us to construct a final framework of competencies (Cavana et al. 2001), which is presented and discussed in section 4.1.3 of the next chapter.

3.5.4 Validity check

To minimize researcher bias and ensure the validity of our findings, we decided to use a widely recognized triangulation technique during the content analysis process: the use of multiple coders (Wallendorf and Belk, 1989). As Neuendorf (2002) states: ‘given that the goal of content analysis is to identify and record relatively objective (or at least intersubjective) characteristics of messages, reliability is paramount’. By using two coders in the coding process of phase 2 and 3, we could safeguard the plausibility of the interpretations, together with the adequacy and

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soundness of the approach in meeting the intended research objectives (Wallendorf and Belk, 1989). To ensure intercoder reliability, the two coders independently code all the data under the same condition (Lombard et al., 2002). After this procedure, both coders presented their thematic analysis including examples of raw data and quotes corresponding to each theme. The findings were compared and discussed and any disagreement concerning the discovery of themes was resolved. New themes were added to the scheme when necessary (Lee and Conroy, 2005). During this iterative process, the coders eventually reached consensus and a final framework was constructed.

In the next chapter, we discuss and present the empirical findings that resulted from this data analysis strategy.

In Search of the Key Competencies of Brand Community Managers