Company Managed Virtual Communities in Global
GLOBAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS RESEARCH ♦ VOLUME 4 ♦ NUMBER 2 ♦ 2010 COMPANY MANAGED VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES IN GLOBAL BRAND STRATEGY Laurent Arnone, University of Mons Olivier Colot, University of Mons Mélanie Croquet, University of Mons Angy Geerts, University of Mons Laetitia Pozniak, University of Mons ABSTRACT Nowadays, many international businesses are experimenting with virtual communities of consumers in order to foster relationships between them and their customers. However, analysis of their strategies has rarely been considered in the existing literature. In this framework, our paper aims at providing a better understanding of the creation process and the management of these kinds of communities at an international level. To this aim, in the first part of the article, we propose a typology making it possible to distinguish between three types of international community strategies. After that, we follow a case study research design (DSA) and set the focus on the analysis of the creation process of two virtual communities coordinated by an international brand and implemented in the UK and in France. This allows us to highlight the strategic reflection, the tools and the roles of the people involved in the implementation of a community strategy. These elements are then considered under the lens of international marketing theories. JEL : M31 KEYWORDS: virtual communities, international strategy, DSA, consumption communities INTRODUCTION ince the mid ’90s, marketers have developed an interest in virtual communities, both in terms of psycho-sociological factors linked to the participation of internauts in these groupings (Bagozzi and SDholakia, 2002; Dholakia et al., 2004) and their marketing implications (Algesheimer and Dholakia, 2006; Armstrong and Hagel, 1996; Kozinets, 1999; Brodin, 2000; Cova and Cova, 2001).
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