The role of online brand communities on building brand equity and loyalty through relational benefits

From a marketing perspective, companies use social media as a tool to establish relationships with customers. Thus, brand–customer relationships via social media are able to deliver different kinds of benefits for customers. This paper conducts empirical research in order to measure the effect of each type of relational benefit on Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) and customer loyalty. The findings show that social and exploration benefits affect CBBE and loyalty, while monetary and recognition benefits influence loyalty and CBBE, respectively. Results contribute to the existing literature by providing insights to the highly relevant phenomenon of social media across different industries.