الفهرس 
The Impact of both Customer-Community Identification and Customer-Company Identification on Brand Loyalty in Social Media Based Brand Communities
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Abstract
This thesis aims to investigate the degree of the positive relationship between consumer identification to brand community and brand owner, as independent variables, from one end, and the brand loyalty multi-dimensional dependent variable from the other end for a quota sample of individual consumers of one of the top social network-based brand communities in Egypt (Jeep Community).
Design/methodology/approach – Based on a review of the literature relating to customer- community identification and customer- company identification, loyalty, and potentially mediating brand-related constructs “brand trust and brand affect”, a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was carried out on the online brand community “Jeep Club Egypt”. Data collected from 272 respondents were analysed by structural equation modelling using Pass Analysis method, testing four main hypothesised based on causal links.
Findings – Brand loyalty is primarily influenced by identification with the brand community, through the mediating role of brand affect and brand trust. In addition, consumers engaged in social media brand communities may develop positive attitudes towards the brand.
Research limitations/implications – The findings require confirmation in other settings and industry sectors especially service industry before they can be generalised with confidence, but point to several fruitful research directions.
Practical implications – Brand strategists have new evidence to guide allocation of effort and resources to the effective cultivation and maintenance of brand loyalty.
Originality/value – The study makes an original contribution, in a real-world setting, to the understanding of how members of a brand community relate to the brand, and of how their brand loyalty is activated.