Brand Value Co-Creation in the Social Commerce Era: Empirical Evidence From Iran

Brand value co-creation occurs when customers provide informational input to brand owners, which can be used to develop, refine or extend brands. Brand co-creation is an attractive and inexpensive marketing strategy for firms entering new markets and developing new brand meanings. The upward trend in social media use has transformed e-commerce by adding social support and information sharing features, resulting in social commerce. This research tests a framework that examines the e-commerce opportunities for firms from a branding perspective. Using a survey of Iranian consumers, SEM- PLS was used to analyse the data. Results provide new insights for a strategic approach to social media use in relation to the firm’s value co-creation objective. The results confirm the research model and emphasise the importance of social commerce constructs, social support, and relationship quality in brand value co-creation. The theoretical and practical implications are provided.