Exploring oppositional loyalty and satisfaction in firm-hosted communities in China: Effects of social capital and e-quality

An increasing number of companies have become aware of the considerable commercial potential of firm-hosted online communities (FOC) and initiated their own platform for different purposes. However, limited research has systematically explored oppositional loyalty and customer satisfaction in the context of FOC. By applying the expectation–confirmation model (ECM), the purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of oppositional loyalty and satisfaction from the perspective of social capital and e-quality.

A research model was tested by applying partial least squares technique, and data were collected from a survey of members (n=512) of two popular smartphone communities in China.

Results revealed that satisfaction, trust and shared language are the significant antecedents of oppositional loyalty. Benefits confirmation, information quality, service quality, trust and social tie exert strong effects on the formation of satisfaction.

This study is an original empirical research guided by several theories. It contributes to the information system usage literature and provides opinions regarding how users’ oppositional loyalty and satisfaction can be developed in the FOCs. This work also widens the application of ECM and provides an alternative theoretical framework for future research on oppositional brand loyalty.