Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Conference Track

Social Media/ Internet/ Mobile/ Direct Marketing

Publication Date

2013

Abstract

This study examines online communities for two top brands: Apple iPhone and Blackberry smartphones. A number of online brand communities (online forums) such as the iPhone business affiliated website www.apple.com, iPhone consumers’ website www.everythingicafe.com, and the Blackberry consumers’ websites www.blackberry.com and www.crackberry.com were explored. This research extends the conceptual underpinnings of the existing consumer-brand relationship theory by incorporating the concept of sharing. This study offers insights for academia in the marketing and consumer behavior field as well as professionals in the high-technology industry.

About the Authors

May Aung (PhD) is an Associate Professor in the College of Management and Economics at the University of Guelph. She has supervised graduate students in the area of consumer culture and qualitative research methods. She has published extensively in academic journals and participated in both national and international conferences.

Kapil Gurbani is a fourth year business student at the University of Guelph-Humber. Gurbani has thoroughly enjoyed learning about various research methodologies throughout his research and looks forward to applying this knowledge in future leadership positions. He loves travelling and learning about different cultures, having been to over 70 cities in 20 countries, and one day hopes to leverage this breadth of knowledge to start his own business.

Samuel (Hip Seng) Lei is a fourth year student in the Family Community & Social Services (FCSS) program at the University of Guelph-Humber. Throughout his courses, he has excelled in research methods and quantitative methods for social science. He has applied his theoretical knowledge in a Research Assistant position supervised by May Aung.

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Digital Commons@Georgia Southern License

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Marketing Commons

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