Online Brand Community and Consumer Attitude During Covid-19: Mediating Role of Perceived Usefulness

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of trust and informativeness on the consumer’s attitude toward online brand communities during COVID-19 and the mediating role of perceived usefulness between trust and informativeness and the consumer’s attitude towards online brand communities during COVID-19.  Using a cross-sectional design, data was collected from 200 Internet users during COVI-19 from major cities in Pakistan. Furthermore, to test the proposed hypothesis PLS-SEM technique was used. The findings revealed the complete mediator effect of perceived usefulness between trust and consumer attitude towards brand communities during COVID-19. However, partial mediation effect of between informativeness and consumer attitude towards brand communities during COVID-19. The results of this study extended knowledge in existing literature in terms of cultural and consumer characteristics especially in the context of developing country like Pakistan and provided practical implication for practitioners and managers.