How social media brand pages contribute to functional conflict: The central role of commitment

Although brand pages on social media platforms are burgeoning, companies frequently have difficulty in sustaining customer relationships on their brand pages. Consequently, this study focuses on how a social media brand page develops customer commitment and encourages them to perceive that future conflicts with the company can be resolved for their mutual benefit. On the basis of a review of the literature on customer value theory and commitment, this study develops an integrative model that explores the antecedents of functional conflict and the boundary condition under which brand page commitment enhances functional conflict. The model is tested using data collected from 293 followers of brand pages on a social networking site. The results demonstrate the salient roles of customer values and commitment in determining customer perceptions of future conflicts. By shifting scholarly attention from economic outcomes characterized by purchase intention to relationship outcomes characterized by functional conflict, the findings contribute to the research of the business implications of social networking sites.