📈 economics

Virtual Customer Experience and Participation in SME-Managed Online Brand Communities: Engagement and Shopping Frequency

This study analyzes data from 470 Indonesian online shoppers to demonstrate that virtual customer experience drives participation in SME-managed online brand communities by fostering customer engagement, with online shopping frequency further influencing the intensity of these interactions.

Original authors: Tatik Suryani, Abu Amar Fauzi, Mochamad Nurhadi, Larasati Ayu Sekarsari

Published 2026-07-04

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CC BY 4.0

Original authors: Tatik Suryani, Abu Amar Fauzi, Mochamad Nurhadi, Larasati Ayu Sekarsari

Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ✨ This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer

Imagine a small business owner (an SME) trying to build a loyal fan club online. This paper is like a detective story that investigates what actually gets people to show up, chat, and help out in these online fan clubs, rather than just lurking in the shadows.

Here is the breakdown of the study using simple analogies:

The Main Characters

The Virtual Experience (The "Store Atmosphere"): This is how the online shop feels to the customer. Is it easy to navigate? Is it personalized? Is it fun? Think of this as the lighting, music, and friendly staff in a physical store, but in the digital world.
Customer Engagement (The "Spark"): This isn't just buying something; it's the feeling of connection. It's the excitement, the emotional bond, and the mental energy a customer feels toward the brand. Think of this as the "spark" in a person's eyes when they see something they love.
Customer Participation (The "Action"): This is what the customer actually does. It's writing a review, posting a photo, answering a question, or helping design a new product. This is the "action" taken after the spark.
Shopping Frequency (The "Practice"): This is how often the person shops online. A "frequent shopper" is like a seasoned athlete who knows the rules of the game, while a "rare shopper" is like a beginner who is still figuring out the basics.

The Big Discovery: The "Middleman"

The researchers wanted to know: Does a great online experience automatically make people participate?

The Surprising Answer: Not directly.

Think of the Virtual Experience as a firework display.
Think of Participation as the crowd cheering.

The study found that the fireworks (Virtual Experience) don't make the crowd cheer (Participation) immediately. Instead, the fireworks first have to create a feeling of awe and excitement (Customer Engagement).

The Path: Great Experience $\rightarrow$ Feeling Excited/Connected $\rightarrow$ Cheering/Participating.

If the experience is good but the customer doesn't feel emotionally "lit up" (engaged), they won't bother to participate. The "spark" (engagement) is the essential middleman that turns a good experience into action.

The Twist: The "Practice" Factor

The study also looked at how Shopping Frequency changes the rules.

For the "Seasoned Shoppers" (High Frequency): These are people who shop online all the time. For them, a great virtual experience works like a magnifying glass. It makes the "spark" of engagement much stronger, which leads to much more participation. They know how to use the digital tools, so they jump in and help out easily.
For the "Newbies" (Low Frequency): These are people who rarely shop online. Even if the virtual experience is amazing, it doesn't really get them to participate. They are like someone who has never played a sport; even if the stadium is beautiful, they might just sit in the stands and watch because they aren't used to the game yet.

What This Means for Small Businesses (The Takeaway)

Based only on what this paper found:

Don't just build a website; build an experience. It's not enough to just be online. You need to create a digital space that feels personal, flexible, and consistent. This creates the "spark" (engagement) that is necessary to get people moving.
Treat your shoppers differently.
- For your frequent shoppers: Keep giving them great experiences. They are ready to be your biggest fans and will actively help your brand grow.
- For your rare shoppers: They need a different approach. The paper suggests you might need to encourage them to shop more often first (perhaps with discounts or bundles) before they will feel comfortable enough to start participating in your community.

Summary

In short, a great online store doesn't automatically make customers talk and help out. It first has to make them feel connected. And this "feeling" turns into action much faster if the customer is already an experienced online shopper.

Technical Summary: Virtual Customer Experience and Participation in SME-Managed Online Brand Communities

Problem Statement and Research Gap
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly rely on online brand communities to cultivate customer relationships, support entrepreneurial marketing, and facilitate value co-creation. However, the mechanisms driving customer participation in SME-managed communities remain underexplored. Existing literature often treats digital platforms merely as communication channels, overlooking the quality of the virtual customer experience (VCE) itself. Furthermore, prior research frequently conflates "customer engagement" (an internal psychological state) with "customer participation" (an observable behavioral response), failing to delineate their conceptual boundaries. Finally, few studies examine context-specific conditional factors, such as how a consumer's accumulated online shopping experience (frequency) influences their response to virtual stimuli. This study addresses these gaps by examining how VCE shapes participation through engagement and how online shopping frequency moderates these relationships.

Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses
The study integrates the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) theory with behavioral learning theory.

S–O–R Framework: VCE is conceptualized as the environmental Stimulus. Customer Engagement (CE) represents the internal Organism (affective/cognitive state), and Online Customer Participation (CPN) is the behavioral Response.
Behavioral Learning Theory: Online shopping frequency is posited as a reinforcement mechanism. Repeated exposure and successful transactions are expected to strengthen the translation of stimuli into behavioral responses.

Based on this framework, the study proposes:

H1: VCE positively stimulates online customer participation.
H2: VCE positively stimulates customer engagement.
H3: Customer engagement positively drives online customer participation.
H4: Customer engagement mediates the relationship between VCE and participation.
H5a–c: Online shopping frequency (OSF) strengthens the positive effects of (a) VCE on participation, (b) VCE on engagement, and (c) engagement on participation.

Methodology

Data Collection: Data were collected from 470 active Indonesian online shoppers involved in SME brand communities. The sample was drawn from Jakarta and Surabaya using purposive non-probability sampling.
Instrument: A structured questionnaire was developed based on established scales (adapted from Salem & Alanadoly, 2024; Taheri et al., 2017), translated into Indonesian, and validated via focus group discussions and pilot testing.
Bias Control: The study employed multiple protocols to mitigate common method bias (e.g., marker variables, anonymity) and non-response bias (e.g., wave analysis).
Analysis: Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS. The analysis included assessments of reliability, validity (convergent and discriminant), structural path coefficients, mediation, and moderation effects. Robustness checks were conducted for normality, nonlinearity, endogeneity (Gaussian copula), and unobserved heterogeneity (FIMIX-PLS).

Key Results

Direct and Indirect Effects:
- H1 (Rejected): VCE does not have a significant direct effect on online customer participation ( $\beta = .01, p > .05$ ).
- H2 (Supported): VCE significantly and positively influences customer engagement ( $\beta = .36, p < .001$ ).
- H3 (Supported): Customer engagement significantly and positively drives online customer participation ( $\beta = .73, p < .001$ ).
- H4 (Supported): Customer engagement fully mediates the relationship between VCE and participation. The indirect effect is significant ( $\beta = .26, p < .001$ ).
Moderation Effects:
- H5a (Supported): Online shopping frequency (OSF) significantly moderates the relationship between VCE and participation ( $\beta = .08, p < .10$ ). The positive effect of VCE on participation is stronger for customers with high shopping frequency. For low-frequency shoppers, the relationship is non-significant.
- H5b & H5c (Rejected): OSF does not significantly moderate the paths from VCE to Engagement or from Engagement to Participation.
Model Fit: The structural model explains 47% of the variance in customer participation ( $R^2 = .47$ ) and demonstrates adequate predictive relevance ( $Q^2 = .22$ ).

Significance and Contributions
The paper claims three primary contributions to the literature on SME management and entrepreneurial marketing:

Reconceptualizing Digital Platforms: The study shifts the perspective from viewing digital platforms merely as channels to viewing Virtual Customer Experience as a strategic interaction capability. It demonstrates that mere presence is insufficient; SMEs must curate meaningful, immersive experiences to drive participation.
Clarifying Conceptual Boundaries: By utilizing the S–O–R framework, the study empirically distinguishes between Customer Engagement (an affective/psychological state) and Customer Participation (a behavioral response). It establishes engagement as the critical affective mechanism that translates virtual experiences into participatory behavior.
Integrating Theories for Heterogeneity: The study extends the S–O–R framework by integrating Behavioral Learning Theory. It posits that customer heterogeneity (specifically online shopping frequency) acts as a boundary condition. The findings suggest that accumulated experience (high frequency) reinforces the link between virtual experience and participation, a nuance not captured by S–O–R theory alone.

Practical Implications
The authors suggest SMEs should:

Design meaningful virtual experiences focusing on connectivity, integration, consistency, flexibility, and personalization.
Segment strategies based on shopping frequency. For frequent shoppers, leverage loyalty programs and personalization to reinforce positive experiences. For infrequent shoppers, use tactics (e.g., discounts, bundles) to lower barriers and increase purchase frequency, thereby building the "learning" necessary for future participation.

Limitations
The authors note that findings are specific to an emerging market context (Indonesia) and urban settings, cautioning against generalization to suburban or non-urban populations. Additionally, while the study controls for endogeneity, the potential for bidirectional causality between experience and participation remains a subject for future longitudinal or instrumental variable research.