The Moderating Role of Uncertainty Avoidance on Consumer Brand Engagement and Band Loyalty in Virtual Brand Communities

. This study aims to investigate the role of consumer brand engagement (CBE) in virtual brand communities regarding loyalty attitudes and uncertainty avoidance. Data set of 750 responses was collected from the students of NTU who joined any brand community on Facebook or Instagram. SPSS was used for descriptive statistics and SmartPLS 4.0 for Structural Equation Modeling. The results revealed positive association of brand community iden-tiﬁcations and rewards on CBE, and a positive e ﬀ ect of CBE on brand loyalty. The results revealed partial mediating e ﬀ ect of CBE between brand community identiﬁcation, loyalty reward and brand loyalty. Moreover, results showed that culture is an important factor in deﬁning the moderating e ﬀ ect of uncertainty avoidance on brand loyalty. This paper is among the ﬁrst to provide empirical, and practical insights into the impact of uncertainty avoidance in virtual brand communities regarding consumer brand engagement and brand loyalty. The study is helpful for brand managers concerned about attitude of customers connected with online communities


Introduction
A study has revealed that technologically adept customers spend around six hours online activities out of this one-third time on social media. Marketers try to take maximum advantage of this development by grasping the attention of social media users. Web 2.0 (and beyond) plays an important role to provide a platform for two-way communication between brands and customers. As this becomes a very interesting and knowledgeable environment for customers, brands are getting not only their required information from concerned customers but also encouraging them to provide information related to future trends and their needs, which provides a higher level of interaction between both parties. In this rapidly changing world, Consumer brand engagement could be seen in terms of the involvement of a user with the brand. This engagement could be very beneficial for brands as well as for customers; sale increases due to customer's positive word-of-mouth thereby enhancing organizational profits While for customers, they get their desired product, design, quality, and most importantly satisfaction, thereby justifying their strategic importance. Because of their inherent interaction, virtual brand communities (VBCs) is an important arena for fostering or analyzing consumer brand participation. Studies define VBCs as "those special communities having no geographical boundaries, working online especially on social media, which represent a specific brand and provide a place for customers to share their thoughts about the brand with other community members [1]". Although organizations are investing in VBCs, but they still don't know the actual motivation of customers behind their engagement with brands, which could affect their future success. So, this issue enforces researchers to do additional research.
Additionally, in this study, the impact of consumer brand engagement on brand loyalty is also identified. Where CBE plays a role of mediating variable between brand community identification and loyalty reward on one side and brand loyalty on the other side. Moreover, the authors explored the impact of uncertainty avoidance (a dimension of culture) as a moderator between CBE and brand loyalty. Given the motivational character of CBE, brand community identification and reward were chosen as major uses-informed and social identitydriven CBE antecedents. The uses-and-gratifications and social identity perspective highlight consumer incentives for selecting certain media, including utilitarian or social/identity goals. In accordance with these ideas, we explore the influence of consumers' intrinsic brand community identification (i.e. social/identity) and extrinsic reward (i.e. functional) incentives for brand community-related investments. Likewise, we analyze the influence of CBE on their following brand loyalty to acquire a deeper knowledge of the dynamics of CBE in VBCs.
This study makes the following contributions by filling above mentioned gaps. First, despite gains in our understanding of CBE in VBCs, as this article empirically revealed that little knowledge was available about the influence of consumers' intrinsic community identification and extrinsic reward on VBC-related CBE [1] . Secondly, earlier studies investigated the direct effects of brand community identification and loyalty reward on brand loyalty, but in this research, we identified the role of CBE as a mediating variable. The current study emphasized this relation in perspective of Virtual brand communities by providing empirically derived facts in this dimension. Third, previous studies examined the direct effect of CBE on brand loyalty, but the current study is using uncertainty avoidance as a moderator. Fourth, based on our findings, we establish a series of practical implications for managers to improve their decision-making process related to consumer's engagement in virtual communities.
The research paper has been organized as follows; Section 2 covers the exiting studies for strengthening the present study, Section 3 explains the research methodology applied for conducting the presented study, Section 4 discussed the results, theoretical and managerial implications, and finally, Section 5 concluded the present study as a conclusion and future research directions.

Brand Community Identification
"Community identification" is defined as "customers' altruistic behaviors toward other members, dynamic engagement in joint activities, and voluntary acts in favour of communityendorsed efforts to create community value for oneself and others". Brand community identification (BCI) has been term as the Holy Grail of social media [2]. Identifying the brand community is necessary for understanding the dynamics of customer-community and customerbrand connections [3]. Brand community identification refers to the strength of the relationship between the community and its members. It expresses a feeling of relation with a brand community and distinguishes between in-group and out-group attitudes, feelings, and actions [4]. Extra-role actions, or acts that go beyond what is expected of community members, are facilitated by identification with a brand community [5]. Brand community identity is critical for the community's long-term viability and strategically boosting consumer value [6] just like BCI favorably improves brand usage intentions [7], increases participants' engagement in online brand communities (OBCs) [8], which result in the increase of collaboration of online community and better brand connections, which is vital for the community's survival and strategically boosting value for customers [2] .Considering all these findings, greater study on BCI requires scholarly attention. It has become critical to determine the effect of BCI to assist management in determining the aspects that would encourage consumer brand engagement.

Consumer Brand Engagement
To improve connections and develop consumer's loyalty in online brand communities, marketing managers need to generate and sustain participation of customers [9]. The topic of engagement has been studied under the sight of organizational psychology since a very long time. In recent years, the notion has been studied more and more in the context of consumer behavior. Consumer brand engagement has been defined academically as "the level of an individual customer's motivational, brand-related, and context-dependent state of mind characterized by specific levels of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral activity in direct brand interactions" and "the level of an individual customer's motivational, brand-related, and context-dependent state of mind characterized by specific levels of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral activity in direct brand interactions." [10]. Consumer engagement in virtual brand community can be described as the willingness of customers to spend personal resources in the brand in addition to those spent on the brand during purchase or consumption [11].

Brand Loyalty
Brand loyalty is an important variable in marketing literature [12]. One could describe it most simply as a customer's commitment to a specific brand and their inclination to make repeat purchases. Since brand-loyal customers directly affect the sales, brand loyalty is crucial for firms [10].

Culture
Customer's views and behavior are influenced by culture. While several studies have examined at the influence of culture on marketing mix, some of them also explored the impact of cultural values on people's willingness to stick to a brand. The impact of culture on people's stated brand loyalty were investigated by [13]. Consumers' attitudes and actions are influenced by culture, which affects their decision-making patterns and purchasing habits. Culture is described as " the group of people having same type of thoughts, values, rituals and priorities, which could be different from the other groups [13]. Uncertainty Avoidance is defined as the members of a culture are programmed to feel uncomfortable in unstructured circumstances like new, unfamiliar, shocking, and rare situations [14,15]. Those people who have higher uncertainty avoidance attitude they like to follow rules and regulations and are very curious about their choices while purchasing a product. Before taking a final decision to select a brand they keenly observe standard operating procedures.

Loyalty Reward
Customers are enticed to increase their consumption frequency through loyalty reward programs, which are characterized as an collaborative system-of-marketing activities [16]. Customer loyalty is described as "a firmly held commitment to purchase or patronize a chosen product or service provider in the future, regardless of situational considerations or rivals' marketing efforts" [17]. Behavioral intention is frequently used by researchers as a surrogate for consumer loyalty.

Hypothesis Development
(1) Brand community identifications and consumer brand engagement: In VBCs, brand community identification (BCI) is a useful metric of connection strength and quality. Those customers attached to a VBC, create a strong relation and feelings with that brand and for the community [18]. That's why BCI play an important role in VBCs to engage customers with brand and exhibits customer's mindset about online brand communities. In another study [5], it was also identified that individuals were more participative in online brand communities as compare to physical one. [5] discovered that community identity had a beneficial influence on community participation in the setting of vehicle clubs [19]. So, based on these studies, following hypothesis was developed: Hypothesis 1. VBC-based brand community identification positively affects consumer brand engagement.
(2)Effect of loyalty reward on Consumer brand engagement: In VBCs, when customers get reward from their favorite brand, this proves to be a strong engagement force between customer and brand for example [20] claim that hedonic Facebook material has a considerable impact on users' engagement levels. Furthermore, [21] recommend that marketers provide individualized rewards to attract their VBCs participants to encourage involvement. Previous studies has established the relevance of both hedonic and utilitarian reward, both of which are thought to improve CBE in VBCs [19]. Based on the above discussion, following hypothesis was formed: Hypothesis 2. VBC-based loyalty reward positively affects consumer brand engagement. (3)Impact of Consumer brand engagement on brand loyalty: Customer loyalty has a direct influence on future sales; hence consumer loyalty intentions are critical to a company's long-term financial growth. Furthermore, consumer brand involvement indicates a pleasant and gratifying experience for the customer [10]. Social judgmental theory posits that those customers, who are strongly connected with brands, spread positive word of mouth if they are getting information from brand according to their opinion [22]. It simply means that if consumers are strongly connected with their focused brand, they will have strong and positive opinion. Following hypothesis was developed based on above literature: Hypothesis 3. VBC-based consumer brand engagement positively affects with brand loyalty.
(4)Effect of brand community identification on brand loyalty: In the face of competition, every brand wish to make his customers more loyal with them to increase their repurchase. In a study, [23]clarifies, if a company successfully engage their customers in different brand related activities, it will enhance their direct and indirect relation. It will result not only in increased customer's repurchase but also customer will also recommend this brand to other fellows as well [23]. Therefore, following hypothesis was formed: Hypothesis 4. Brand community identification positively affects brand loyalty. (5)Effect of loyalty reward on brand loyalty: The reward programs enhance customer's loyalty with focused brand as well as enhance community sustainability [24]. When a virtual brand community becomes highly engaging, creative and pleasurable for community members it will provide utilitarian, hedonic and social advantages for customers. This in return increase customer engagement with community and he seems to be more involved in activities, as a result, brand loyalty increases [24]. So, based on these studies following hypothesis was developed: Hypothesis 5. Loyalty Reward positively affects brand loyalty in VBCs. (5)Moderating effect of Uncertainty avoidance: People from communities with higher UA ratings are more reluctant to change and avoid circumstances that are unclear [25]. This implies that these people will rely more on information signals, such as a company's reputation, to shape their views and behaviors. When people have a high UA, [26] indicate that brand credibility has a higher impact on brand choice. [27] found that the influence of consumer brand engagement on customer satisfaction is larger for higher UA-cultures than for lower UA-cultures. So, following hypothesis was formed: Hypothesis 6. Uncertainty avoidance moderates the relationship between CBE and Brand loyalty.
The figure 1 explains the variables relationship as IV, DV, Moderator and Mediator role in the presented study.

Study Sample
Adopting the positivistic research philosophy, a self-administered survey questionnaire was used to collect cross-sectional data. The study used convenience sampling technique to collect data from students at National Textile University Faisalabad, Pakistan. Respondents were given a brief introduction about virtual brand communities, customer's engagements through a 15 min presentation. A survey questionnaire was distributed among students who were the members of textile based VBCs on Facebook and Instagram; 900 were distributed, out of which 750 were found valid making a response rate of 83.3$. The demographic profile of the respondents has been displayed in table 1.

Variable Measures
The questionnaire used in this study comprise on two sections. First section contained respondent's demographic profile with screening question. Second portion consisted of the questions about variables. The study adopted previous established measurements of the constructs. To measure Brand community identification, a 6-item scale was adopted from [28] Loyalty Reward was gauged through 5-item scale adopted from [29]. Brand loyalty was measured through 6-item scale adopted from [30]. CBE was gauged by using 16-item scale adopted from [31]. The items were minor modified for current study requirement.

Results and Discussion
SPSS version 27.0 was used to find out descriptive statistics, and reliability analysis, and to explore the demographic profile of the data collected from the respondents. To go into the deep analysis, we used smartPLS 4.0 software to run a partial least square (PLS) analysis. We adopted two-stage testing for structural equation modeling (SEM). In the first stage, we tested the measurement model which consists of validity and reliability, and secondly, we tested the structural model. Then a bootstrapping analysis was used to find out the outer loading of constructs and to test the significance of the path coefficient. This method finds out the results of 5000 samples by multiplying the original sample set [32].

Measurement Model
The first step was to test convergent validity. To find out this we extracted factor (outer) loading, Average variance (AVE), and Composite reliability (CR). Table 2 showed all the values are accepted. In composite reliability, we measure the internal consistency of all items of one variable it should be more than 0.7, we have all reliabilities more than the limited value, so it indicates that all items are reliable. When I talk about my favourite brand community, I usually say "we" rather than "they".  After this, we checked discriminant validity, which elaborates that one variable is not like another variable. The results are shown in table 3 which shows that the square root of average variance extracted of every variable is bigger than its correlation with another variable which points out good discriminant validity [33]. Another alternative approach was identified to check discriminant validity; this approach is based on the heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) ratio of correlations [33]. So, we tested discriminant validity with the new method and the results are in table 4.

Structural Model
To check the structure model, we need to find out the R 2 , T-value, and beta (β) through bootstrapping procedure.  Table 6 shows path significance of the relationships. Brand community identification positively and significantly affect consumer brand engagement (β = 0.537; p < 0.01) and brand loyalty (β = 0.339; p < 0.01) table 6. so H1 and H4 both were supported. Similarly, table VI clarifies, that loyalty reward positively and significantly affects consumer brand engagement (β = 0.470; p < 0.01) and brand loyalty (β = 0.411; p < 0.01) which indicates H2 and H5 both were also supported. Table VI shows Consumer brand engagement also positively and significantly affects brand loyalty (β = 0.681; p < 0.01). So, H3 was also supported by the calculated data.
The study followed the guidelines of Cohen's (1988) for f 2 which indicate the standards of effects. Table 6 show the F-values which are interpreted as all the relationships having medium effects. To find out the mediation of consumer brand engagement we need to check the path significance of this model. As table VI shows, direct path of brand community identification and brand loyalty is significant (i.e H4) after this we need to check indirect path which is brand community identification to consumer brand engagement (i.e H1) and then consumer brand engagement to brand loyalty (i.e H3). These both baths are also significant. Based on above discussion, we can conclude that CBE partially mediates between BCI and brand loyalty. Similarly, this study finds out the mediation role of CBE between loyalty reward and brand loyalty. Table VI illustrate that direct path (i.e H5) is significant, whereas both indirect paths (loyalty reward to CBE and CBE to brand loyalty) are also significant. So, it allows us to conclude that partial mediation in the form of CBE exists between loyalty reward and brand loyalty.

Moderation Analysis
This study hypothesizes that uncertainty avoidance moderates the relationship between consumer brand engagement and brand loyalty. To find out the moderation effect researcher multiplied consumer brand engagement with uncertainty avoidance to create an interaction construct (consumer brand engagement × uncertainty avoidance) for the prediction of brand loyalty. The moderating effects could be seen in table VI, the effect is positive and significant (β = 0.498, P < 0.01). As moderation effect could be seen through slope analysis (figure 3) that for those people whose uncertainty avoidance is increasing (high); if consumer brand engagement increases then brand loyalty will also increase. Similarly, in the case of those cultures where uncertainty avoidance is decreasing (low); brand loyalty will decrease with the increase in consumer brand engagement. High uncertainty avoidance means less risk-taking appetite and, consequently, less willingness to switch brands that are previously adopted (figure 2). Previous literature highlights the crucial part that CBE plays in consumer-brand interactions (e.g. [7]; [28]). This study created a model and tested it to see how brand community identification and incentive affect CBE growth. According to our findings, brand community identification and loyalty rewards both significantly and favorably influence CBE, supporting earlier findings (e.g. [20]). When a customer identifies an interesting community of his favorite brand, he shows interest in it by actively participating in different activities by sharing his experience. In this way he engages himself with that brand [7]. Similarly, when a customer gets rewards as an appreciation from the brand, he always uses positive word of mouth and strongly engaged with that brand. Additionally, we discover that CBE mediates the relationships between rewards and brand loyalty as well as the associations between brand community identification and brand loyalty [22]. Moreover, we tested the role of uncertainty avoidance (a dimension of culture) as a moderator between CBE and brand loyalty. In this study, researcher identified a moderation-slop which explains that those customers who are very touchy and their uncertainty avoidance behavior is high; if their brand engagement increases, they will become loyal for that brand. Whereas, for those customers whose uncertainty avoidance behavior is low; if they get more and more engage to the brand they will start losing their loyalty.

Theoretical Implication
Our study has tried to enhance the literature of CBE in the following aspects: First, we provided a detailed explanation of unique intrinsic and extrinsic consumer reasons to interact inside virtual brand communities by combining brand community identification, loyalty reward, CBE, uncertainty avoidance, and brand loyalty in a conceptual model. Whereas the earlier studies have shown that brand identification and rewards are effective at increasing customer loyalty, little is still known about the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors, as well as CBE, from a social identity theory perspective. Secondly, we identified the role of culture (uncertainty avoidance) as a mediator between CBE and brand loyalty. Third, even though the majority of CBE research has been conducted in developed nations, our examination of the idea in a developing economy offers a new knowledge to the field of CBE. Fourth, the impact of uncertainty avoidance on the brand engagement and loyalty of a customer with brand was largely missed in previous studied as well as clarifies how those cultures which have high uncertainty avoidance are different from those culture where uncertainty avoidance is low and what impact both cultures have on CBE and loyalty.

Managerial Implication
This study also provides useful information for marketing professionals. First, virtual brand communities serve as crucial resources for forging individual-groups connections [7]. Customers can form social relationships with other community members in VBCs and they can view the neighborhood as a secure place to interact. Therefore, the study advises marketers to provide firm-hosted VBCs that encourage customer expression and the strengthening of organizational and brand ties. Virtual brand communities should, therefore, offer a social space where consumers can interact and support one another while sharing their experiences with the brand. For instance, businesses can use the "peer linking" technique to foster or support the growth of ties between community members and to foster a sense of belonging. It is anticipated that such brand identification will increase CBE and loyalty. Additionally, marketers should create offers that are specifically suited for certain VBC members, such as by messaging the appropriate VBC members privately to bring up themes that they are interested in. The creation of targeted content will help consumers feel more a part of and identify with the VBC, encouraging them to stay loyal to the brand. According to the social identity perspective, hedonic and utilitarian rewards may be used to meet users' emotive, cognitive, or social demands to promote community identity [7]. Examples of strategies to increase member participation and engagement include interactive quizzes, tournaments, gamification, and teasers. Marketers must rank the community members according to their respective VBC contributions and reward them appropriately. This is especially important for influencers and opinion leaders since they are more likely to draw new community members [21]. Brands might, for instance, utilize incentives like freebies or discounts, VIP status for users, or monetary rewards to encourage user contributions.

Conclusion and Future Research
The study examined the customer brand identification and engagement with online brand communities and their impact on brand loyalty creation. The study also investigated the moderation effect of uncertainty avoidance as a cultural aspect. The study found positive results that validate the previous research. The study provides useful information for marketing professionals. Customers should form social relationships with other community members in VBCs, so that they can view the neighborhood as a secure place to interact.
This study has certain limitation despite its contributions. First, we used a convenience sample to gather data, which may have limited the generalizability of our findings. To achieve more generalizable results, the future studies may use probability sampling techniques. Second, the suggested approach was examined in the unique setting of online brand communities. The framework should thus be examined in offline contexts, or its dynamics should be investigated in hybrid online/offline engagement platforms. Third, brand loyalty is the only effect of CBE that is examined in this study. However, additional dependent variables may also be the consumer's desire to pay more for certain products, brand loyalty, service innovation, and value co-creation. Finally, the suggested paradigm is restricted to the investigation of specific direct correlations. Therefore, the combination of pertinent moderating factors like gender and the remaining four cultural dimensions can produce new information or improve already available knowledge.