Take the pressure down: investigating the influence of peer pressure on participation desire in child-oriented brand communities

ABSTRACT

Given the connectedness modern technology provides for communication, peer pressure is becoming more prevalent amongst children, with children often pressured into using certain brands by their peers. Australian children participated in one of three experimental studies to assess the impact of peer pressure, fear of social exclusion, and age on brand community participation desire. Peer pressure had a significant effect on participation desire through influencing fear of social exclusion; however, the effect was dependent upon the child’s age. Children between six and 11 years were likely to participate due to peer pressure, with the effect attenuating for older children. This research presents useful insights for parents, academics, and practitioners regarding child-oriented brand communities and the implications of participation for young children. Brands can benefit from an understanding of how young consumers come to engage in brand communities so that monitoring efforts can be developed as safeguards for children and brands.

KEYWORDS:

• Brand communities
• children
• peer pressure
• fear of social exclusion
• participation desire

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).