Perceived values of branded mobile media, consumer engagement, business-consumer relationship quality and purchase intention: A study of WeChat in China

With the dominance of digital media, corporations increasingly attempt to engage their strategic stakeholders, especially consumers, on digital media for the purposes of interactive marketing and relationship management. Utilizing an online survey data of 272 Chinese users of WeChat, the most influential mobile social networking application in China, this study examined the relationships between perceived values of branded WeChat accounts, consumer engagement on the account, quality of business-consumer relationships, and purchase intention. Results showed that consumer engagement is driven by five perceived values. Consumer engagement affected relationship quality and overall purchase intention. It also mediated the effect of perceived values on both. Intention to purchase via WeChat, however, was predicated by perceived values (i.e. usefulness) only. Theoretical contributions to stakeholder engagement theory and practical implications for corporate mobile (WeChat) strategy are discussed.