Outcomes of cyber-victimization and bystander reactions in online brand communities

Ounvorawong, N., Breitsohl, J. , Lowe, B. and Laffey, D. (2022) Outcomes of cyber-victimization and bystander reactions in online brand communities. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 26(2), pp. 200-221. (doi: 10.1080/10864415.2022.2050582)

Abstract

Online brand communities such as Facebook fan pages show an increasing level of cyber-victimization, which is where a community member is bullied by another member. Based on the cyber-victimization literature in psychology, we designed an experiment that explores how cyber-victimization affects three commercial outcomes, namely, a victim’s positive word-of-mouth intentions, community satisfaction, and community following intentions. Using a survey of 387 community members with past cyber-victimization experiences, our results show that outcomes differ significantly in relation to the severity of cyber-victimization (severe vs. mild) and the reactions (defending vs. reinforcing vs. pretending) from bystanders (i.e., uninvolved community members who witness the cyber-victimization incident). Our findings offer brand managers a better understanding of the undesirable effects of cyber-victimization in online brand communities, and of the type of reactions from bystanders that they may wish to encourage.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Breitsohl, Dr Jan
• Authors: Ounvorawong, N., Breitsohl, J., Lowe, B., and Laffey, D.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Journal Name: International Journal of Electronic Commerce
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 1086-4415
• ISSN (Online): 1557-9301
• Published Online: 02 May 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
• First Published: First published in International Journal of Electronic Commerce 26(2):200-221
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy