The brand community theory draws mainly on two supporting themes: theories
about communitiesand subcultures of consumption.
Supporting theme: community theory
The word ‘community’ is comprehensible to everybody, but how it is to be under-
stood in the context of brand community requires a more accurate definition.
Community is a key concept in sociology characterized by having three markers –
three basic characteristics – transcending the countless shapes and forms of a
community. The three markers of a community are: consciousness of kind, shared
rituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility.
If these characteristics are present, a community does exist in theory. In the
traditional sense of the word, a community is a geographically bound entity. A
community may be geographically bound in a neighbourhood or at the premises of
a tennis club. In the same sense it can be formal (the tennis club requiring a
membership) or informal (the neighbourhood community feeling is simply there).
Supporting theme: subcultures of consumption
The brand community theory is also inspired and influenced by research into
subcultures of consumptions. Subcultures of consumption were first conceptu-
alized in 1995 by researchers Schouten and McAlexander after a three-year ethno-
graphic study of groups of Harley-Davidson bikers. The level of identification
between the Harley-Davidson bikes and their consumers facilitated the emergence
of subcultures. These findings added social interaction to concepts like consumer
loyalty, brand meaning, etc., and have inspired a whole new stream of research
into the social aspects of consumption. The difference between a subculture of
consumption and a brand community will be depicted at the end of this section.
Core theme: the brand community
Researchers Muñiz and O’Guinn pinpointed the existence of brand communities,
when they observed: ‘active and meaningful negotiation of the brand between
consumer collectives and market institutions’ (Muñiz and O’Guinn 2005, p. 252).
During the course of a two-year study of consumers and their social interaction
around three brands (Saab, Ford Bronco and Macintosh). Muñiz and O’Guinn
found proof of the existence of brand communities and defined them as ‘a
specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of
social relationships among users of a brand’ (2001, p. 421).
The research took place in both face-to-face settings and on websites relating to
the three brands of study. The three markers of community were displayed in both
kinds of environment. Muñiz and O’Guinn were hence able to introduce the brand
community notion to the academic world of brand management. Since the three
markers of community were displayed in both environments, the brand
community notion led to a dissolution of the geographical aspect of the original
The community approach 187