Research on the Impact Mechanism of Customer Participation Style on Corporate Brand Equityfrom the Perspective of Relationship Connection

LI Jing1，ZHANG Xin-sheng2 and LI Xian-guo1 （1.Renmin University of China，Beijing100872，China；2.State Grid Energy Research Institute，Beijing102209，China）

Abstract：As mobile internet technology promotes the rapid development of the virtual economy，the virtual brand community has become an important window for consumers to participate in corporate activities and communicate with enterprises. It has played an increasingly important role in brand marketing，and has become an important tool for enterprises and consumers to establish the sustainable and harmonious relationship；and it is also an important carrier and means for the promotion of corporate brand equity. Customer participation in the virtual product brand community can be divided into taskbased participation， social- based participation， and contribution- based participation based on the perspective of style characteristics. Customer engagement in the three styles is an important pre-factor for the formation and promotion of corporate brand equity；it can also have impact on corporate brand equity through the intermediary mechanism of relationship connection. Task- based，social- based，and contribution- based customer participation will have positive impact on enterprises’brand popularity，customer perceived quality and customer loyalty；relationship connection will play the intermediary role in the relation between customer participation style and enterprises’brand equity，the absolute intermediary role in the relation between task- based customer participation and brand equity，and the partial intermediary role in the relation between social- based participation，and contribution- based customer participation and brand equity；community awareness will play the different intermediary role in different relation between customer participation style and relationship connection，it will have positive impact on the relation between financial connection and task- based and social- based customer participation ，and the positive impact on the relation between social connection and social- based and contribution- based customer participation；and competition intensity will play the negative intermediary role in the impact of relationship connection on brand equity，namely， when the industrial competition intensity has been improved，the positive impact of relationship connection on brand equity will be weakened. Therefore，the enterprises should actively guide，control and regulate the participation of customers of different styles through the virtual brand community platform，and expand out-of-organization approaches to enhance corporate value.

Key words：customer participation style；brand equity；relationship connection；community awareness；competition intensity