In the new digital age, the emergence of user-generated content enables consumers to enjoy greater freedom and control over their behavior on the internet and assume more active roles in sharing brand-related information with others. This research examines the role of brand engagement on consumer psychological ownership, purchase intention, electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and consumers’ willingness to defend the brand on social media. The findings provide evidence of consumer psychological process to demonstrate that companies can use social media to engage with consumers, so consumers are likely to spread positive WOM and be protective of the brand. It is important for marketing managers to assess the level of brand engagement on social media sites and develop tools and techniques to increase consumers’ participation such as using subliminal priming on brand image, with an aim to create a close consumer brand relationship.

Despite the recent promising findings on the influence of social media engagement on brand performance outcomes (e.g., De Vries & Carlson, 2014), researchers suggest that consumer engagement in social media sites requires a deeper understanding (Islam & Rahman, 2016). To respond to this call, we conducted this research to examine an important, yet under-researched, question on the underlying mechanism by which consumer engagement on social media drive improved brand performance. In this research, we develop and empirically test a conceptual model to investigate the relationships among consumer engagement, psychological brand ownership, brand loyalty, brand performance, and consumer’s word of mouth (WOM) in the context of social media. The findings suggest that consumer engagement influences brand outcomes through its indirect impact on consumers’ psychological ownership of the brand. When consumers engage themselves with the brand at social media sites, they tend to form bonds with the brand and develop a sense of community, of which they feel they are a part. Feelings of ownership motivate consumers to care for and nurture the growth of the brand, which manifests itself in terms of brand loyalty, positive word of mouth, and improved brand performance. The focus of consumer engagement in social media communities provides convincing evidence to support the benefits of using social media to connect with consumers. This research offers promising insights on how relationship with a brand can help create sense of community and feelings of ownership among consumers, which in turn drives better brand performance.