Global Journal of Management and Business Research, E: Marketing, Volume 22 Issue 3

Participation in SMBBC emerges when consumers receive content provided by both the brand and others chasing the same brand. Consumers can also participate by contributing ideas and developing new brand-related content (Langaro et al., 2019; Schivinski & Dabrowski, 2015). Due to their participation, people have more chances to determine the brand name, logo, and other brand features (Buil et al., 2013). Consumers are encouraged to participate actively and offer confirmation by liking, commenting, or providing new material. This enhanced opportunity for brand- consumer contact is anticipated to influence brand recognition (Buil et al., 2013; Langaro et al., 2019). Therefore, the following hypothesis is put forward: Brand image (BI) includes characteristics, amenities, sentiments, and consumer connections. BI is the collection of ideas that affect how customers perceive a brand, including aspects that distinguish it from competitors, its personality, and its promised advantages (Aulia & Briliana, 2017). BI also includes consumers' knowledge and beliefs about a brand's products and non-products (D. Lee et al., 2011). Brand © 2022 Global Journals Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue III Version I Year 2022 ( ) E 73 H1: Social Media Based Brand Community Participation (SMBBCP) positively correlates with Brand Association (BAs). H2 : Social Media Based Brand Community Participation (SMBBCP) positively correlates with Brand Awareness (BAw). Kusumasondjaja, 2018). It can reach more people than print, TV, and radio (Bowen, 2015). Influential brands utilize social media to develop, sustain, share, and communicate with potential users in the interactive marketplace (Bulearca & Bulearca, 2010; Severi & Ling, 2013). Customers may also express their opinions on products and services on social media (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Social media content may profoundly affect people (Poynter, 2008). Social identity theory has been applied in this research to shed light on how customers recognize and associate themselves in a Social Media Based Brand Community (SMBBC)(Hoang et al., 2019). According to this theory, Online Brand Communities are social organizations in which members can not only join and partake but also quit and denounce readily (Pournaris & Lee, 2016). Brand awareness is a crucial component of brand equity and influences customer brand knowledge (Chinomona & Maziriri, 2017; Enjelina & Dewi, 2021). It might be a central element of marketing (K. L. Keller, 1993). Brand awareness is the ability of prospective customers to recognize or recall a brand, which helps them associate items with brands (Aaker, 2009; Cheung et al., 2020). For a purchase, this competence must be sufficient (Aulia & Brilliana, 2017). Simply, brand awareness is connected to the strength of persistence and understanding of a brand in a consumer’s brain and mind(Hoang et al., 2019; Molinillo et al., 2017). Visibility, association, and powerful combinations with related offerings and purchasing knowledge create brand recognition (Severi & Ling, 2013). It also comes from consumers' repeated, memorable brand experiences (Kim et al., 2018). Brand name, tagline, packaging, and advertising produce this manifestation (Cheung et al., 2020; Datta et al., 2017). When consumers have had previous experience with the brand, they are better able to recognize it. This results in recognition of a brand. Customers' exact memories of a brand are part of its "brand recall." (K. L. Keller, 1993). b) Social Media-based Brand Community Participation and Brand Association (BAs) c) Social Media-based Brand Community Participation and Brand Awareness (BAw) d) Social Media-Based Brand Community Participation and Brand Image Brand association is regarded as one of the primary elements of brand equity (Zdravkovic & Till, 2012). The effectiveness of a brand's facilities is known as "brand association" (Chinomona & Maziriri, 2017; Enjelina & Dewi, 2021). Aaker (2009) states, "Brand association is something associated in memory with a brand." It aids consumers in processing, organizing, and retrieving product-selection-related information stored in memory (Dew & Kwon, 2010).A brand association consists of every concept, feeling, knowledge, image, expertise, trust, and action that revolves around the brand and is tied to the brand node (Aulia & Brilliana, 2017). Besides, brand associations serve as the foundation for developing brand loyalty and purchase decisions. It is based on the perception or understanding of products, product qualities, brand positioning, packaging, price, or user image (Zdravkovic & Till, 2012). Brand associations are essential for both marketers and consumers. Marketers deploy brand associations to differentiate, positioning, and extend the brand, to produce positive thoughts and emotions about brands, and to suggest the characteristics or benefits of purchasing or consuming an identifiable brand. Consumers who participate in Facebook brand pages gain access to brand-related information such as product variety, features, and benefits (Schivinski & Dabrowski, 2015). This information can be presented in written or graphical form and they can be provided by the firm or by other Facebook brand page members(Naylor et al., 2012). Such engagement leads to the progressive formation of utilitarian, emotional, community-based, and cognitive brand connections in the customers' thoughts (Langaro et al., 2019). Moreover, Bashir et al., (2020) demonstrate that brand community membership highly predicts brand association. Thus, it is reasonable to propose the following hypothesis: Impact of Social Media-Based Brand Community Participation on Brand Image in Bangladesh: Mediating Role of Brand Association and Brand Awareness