Short answer
Design engagement strategies that acknowledge and leverage the active, multifaceted roles consumers play in shaping brand identity and value.
- Field
- Innovation & Design
- Source
- Dublin City University Open Access Institutional Repository (Dublin City University) (2012)
- Method
- Grounded Theory and Netnography
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
Consumers actively shape brand culture and value through distinct co-creative roles, extending beyond traditional responses like exit or voice. This innovation & design research insight is drawn from a 2012 study published in Dublin City University Open Access Institutional Repository (Dublin City University). Using Grounded theory and netnography, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Design engagement strategies that acknowledge and leverage the active, multifaceted roles consumers play in shaping brand identity and value.
Consumer Roles in Brand Culture Co-creation: A Typology of Seven Co-creative Actions
Consumers actively shape brand culture and value through distinct co-creative roles, extending beyond traditional responses like exit or voice.
Dublin City University Open Access Institutional Repository (Dublin City University) · 2012
Key Findings
- 01Consumers engage in seven distinct co-creative roles: exit, voice, loyalty, twist, entry, re-entry, and non-entry.
- 02Brand culture and value are continuously co-created by fans, often independently of direct brand engagement ('Coincidental Co-creation').
- 03Enhanced online engagement can foster more dialogical relationships between brands and consumers.
Application
Design takeaway
Design engagement strategies that acknowledge and leverage the active, multifaceted roles consumers play in shaping brand identity and value.
How to apply
Map the identified consumer roles onto your target audience and assess how your brand currently interacts with or supports these roles. Develop new engagement strategies to foster desired co-creative behaviors.
Project actions
- 01When researching user behavior, look for patterns of interaction that go beyond simple consumption.
- 02Consider how users might be 'co-creating' the meaning or value of your design, even unintentionally.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Utilizes a robust qualitative methodology (Grounded Theory and Netnography) for in-depth understanding.
- +Develops a novel typology of consumer roles, offering a new framework for analysis.
Limitations
The specific online community studied might have unique characteristics that influence fan behavior.
Reliability & validity
The study's validity is enhanced by its grounded theory approach, which allows findings to emerge directly from data, and netnography, which provides rich, contextual insights. Reliability is addressed through systematic coding and theoretical sampling.
Think critically
To what extent can 'Coincidental Co-creation' be leveraged by brands, and what are the ethical considerations of attempting to influence this organic process?
Design Principles
"Embrace emergent consumer roles to foster authentic brand community co-creation."
Understanding these diverse consumer roles allows organizations to move beyond passive marketing and engage in more dynamic, collaborative relationships with their audience. This insight is crucial for fostering deeper brand loyalty and co-developing meaningful brand experiences.
What This Means for Your Design
People don't just buy things; they help create what a brand means and what value it has, especially online. There are different ways they do this, like joining in, speaking up, or even just being there.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use the typology of consumer roles to analyze user engagement with your design concept or prototype.
- 2.Discuss how your design might facilitate or be influenced by these co-creative roles.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
This research highlights that consumers are not passive recipients but active participants in shaping brand culture and value through various co-creative roles, such as 'entry', 'voice', and 'loyalty'. Understanding these roles is crucial for designing effective engagement strategies that foster deeper connections and collaborative value creation.
Source
Dublin City University Open Access Institutional Repository (Dublin City University)
A grounded theory of football fan community identity and co-production: Consumer roles in brand culture, meaning, and value co-creation in virtual communities
journal · 2012
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about consumer roles in brand culture co-creation: a typology of seven co-creative actions?
- Design engagement strategies that acknowledge and leverage the active, multifaceted roles consumers play in shaping brand identity and value. Evidence: Dublin City University Open Access Institutional Repository (Dublin City University) (2012).
- Why does "Consumer Roles in Brand Culture Co-creation: A Typology of Seven Co-creative Actions" matter for design?
- Understanding these diverse consumer roles allows organizations to move beyond passive marketing and engage in more dynamic, collaborative relationships with their audience. This insight is crucial for fostering deeper brand loyalty and co-developing meaningful brand experiences.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Design engagement strategies that acknowledge and leverage the active, multifaceted roles consumers play in shaping brand identity and value.
- What were the main findings?
- Consumers engage in seven distinct co-creative roles: exit, voice, loyalty, twist, entry, re-entry, and non-entry.. Brand culture and value are continuously co-created by fans, often independently of direct brand engagement ('Coincidental Co-creation').. Enhanced online engagement can foster more dialogical relationships between brands and consumers.
- What research method was used?
- Grounded Theory and Netnography.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2012 journal from Dublin City University Open Access Institutional Repository (Dublin City University).
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- Map the identified consumer roles onto your target audience and assess how your brand currently interacts with or supports these roles. Develop new engagement strategies to foster desired co-creative behaviors.
- What are the limitations?
- Findings are context-specific to the studied online fan community and may not be universally applicable to all brand-consumer interactions.