Influence of Consumer Interaction and Community Relationships on Value Co-Creation Willingness: A Mediation Model of Chinese Sports Brands

Existing research reveals the significance of understanding consumer interactions as an increasingly important determinant of sports consumption behaviors; yet, few studies have focused on the virtual communities of sporting goods brands, particularly for the Chinese marketplace that is becoming the largest globally. This study aimed to examine the relationships among consumer interaction, brand-community relationship, and consumer value co-creation willingness in the sports virtual brand communities of China. Research participants (n = 445) were consumers participating in online community activities of two leading sporting goods brands in China, Li-NING and Anta Sports. A questionnaire survey study was conducted. Regression analyses revealed that three out of four consumer interaction factors—cultural identity behavior, experiential communication behavior, and community maintenance behavior—exert a significant and positive impact on consumer value co-creation willingness. The strength of community relationship played a mediating role in these relationships. The other one, member screening interaction, did not find support. This study extends knowledge of sports brand marketing and management of virtual brand communities and recognizes the effectiveness of consumer value co-creation aspirations by highlighting the importance and reliance of customer-to-customer interaction and the strength of brand-community relationships.