A Study On The Impact Of Customer Experience In Virtual Brand Communities On Overseas Consumers’ Country-of-origin Perceptions

With the advancement of economic globalization,China has established itself as the world’s leading manufacturing country.However,as an emerging economy,China frequently experiences disadvantages in the country of origin during the globalization process.It is therefore necessary to explore strategies for improving foreign consumers’ perception of Chinese brands country of origin and facilitating the "going global" process for Chinese brands.Virtual brand communities have emerged as a crucial marketing tool for the internationalization of Chinese brands and as a bridge between Chinese brands and overseas consumers.Virtual brand communities have the potential to provide consumers with an enhanced shopping and service experience while allowing companies to influence the perceptions of overseas consumers regarding the Made in China brand.This research paper is based on the social identity theory,self-consistency theory,and halo-Summary construct theory.It proposes a research model and corresponding hypotheses for international consumers participating in virtual communities of Chinese brands abroad.Relevant literature related to virtual brand community experience,brand image,self-brand connection,cultural distance,and brand origin country image were reviewed to establish a research framework.The virtual brand community experience was divided into three dimensions: information experience,entertainment experience,and interactive experience.The overseas consumers’ country-of-origin perception was the dependent variable,brand image and overseas consumers’ self-brand connection as mediating variables,and cultural distance as the moderating variable.A well-established scale was used to design the questionnaire,which was collected through relevant overseas professional platforms.The data collected from 213 participants was analyzed using SPSS23.0 and Smart PLS3.0 data analysis software to test the research framework and draw corresponding conclusions.The study’s primary findings include several key points.Firstly,there are differences in the effects of different dimensions of virtual brand community customer experiences on brand image and overseas consumers’ self-brand connection.Interactive and entertainment experiences have significant positive effects on overseas consumers’ selfbrand connection,while information and entertainment experiences have positive effects on brand image.Secondly,both brand image and overseas consumers’ self-brand connection have a significant positive effect on the perception of source country image.Thirdly,brand image and overseas consumers’ self-brand connection have a mediating effect between different dimensions of virtual brand community experience and source country image perception.Lastly,cultural distance negatively moderates the relationship between overseas consumers’ self-brand connection and source country image perception.Based on the study’s findings,feasible policies and recommendations for business managers and community managers are suggested in the paper.