Brand communities: A literature review and future research agendas using TCCM approach

Academic interest in brand community research has burgeoned in the past two decades. Despite its importance, there has been a paucity of effort in reviewing the growing research. Drawing on the Theory-Context-Characteristics-Methods (TCCM) review framework, this research provides a comprehensive understanding of the dominant theories, contexts (i.e., industries and countries), characteristics (i.e., key variables and their relationships), and methods (i.e., research approaches and analysis techniques) employed in brand community research over last two decades (2001–2020). A systematic analysis of 285 articles reveals a focus on consumer-specific theories and a scant application of multi-disciplinary theories. Though the literature covers an array of industries to understand brand communities, there is a need for more research in the B2B context and the service industries. Furthermore, we detect a need for more research on the influence of brand/marketer-related variables on brand communities, underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions for the key relationships in this area. This research presents four different stages of the evolution of brand community research over the years. Finally, we apply the TCCM framework to suggest fertile areas for future research.