Exploring the relation between consumer motivations & engagement with brands in Facebook

  • Sofia Coutinho Rebelo Branco Lopes (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

This thesis aims to explore the digital consumer behavior and proposes a conceptual framework that allows to comprehend the consumer’s Motivations and Engagement types to interact with brands in Facebook. Specifically, the research goal is to explore the relationship between the two and point out which Motivations better explain Engagement. Lastly, the analysis consists of segmenting Facebook users based on their Motivations and exploring their Engagement levels. The present research addresses the Portuguese Facebook users’ behavior based on Motivational and Engagement variables. Those were chosen with the intention of recognizing their importance in this context and exploring the connection between both. Scales from previous literatures were adapted and used to explore the Motivations, Enginkaya and Yilmaz (2014), and the Engagement, Malciute (2012). A quantitative and exploratory study was conducted and an online questionnaire was applied to a convenience sample of 350 Facebook users. Results indicated that the main Motivations to interact with brands in Facebook are Opportunity Seeking, Conversation and Entertainment. Moreover, the main Consumer Engagement dimension is Emotional. Further, there is a significant relation between Motivations and Engagement, and the Motivations that better help to predict Engagement are Brand Affiliation, Entertainment and Investigation. Moreover, three segments of Facebook users were identified and the main one presents the highest Engagement levels. The framework might serve as a tool for managers to better understand Facebook users’ behaviors regarding brands, thus enabling them to improve the allocation of digital resources, especially regarding Facebook and their marketing strategies with a suitable segmentation approach.
Date of Award15 Feb 2017
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorAna Carolina Baptista Afonso (Supervisor)

Designation

  • Mestrado em Gestão: Programa Internacional

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