Brand tribalism and the gamer: An examination of extreme brand enthusiasts within video game platform brand communities

Type of content
Theses / Dissertations
Publisher's DOI/URI
Thesis discipline
Marketing
Degree name
Master of Commerce
Publisher
University of Canterbury
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Language
English
Date
2018
Authors
Bishop, Cameron Scotland Vivian
Abstract

Brand tribalism is investigated in the context of video game platform brands, in order to both generate an understanding of video game platform brand tribes, as well as develop the literature on brand tribes as a whole. Significant work on brand community and brand tribalism by authors such as Muniz and O’guinn (2001), and Taute and Sierra (2014), is explored further, utilising an exploratory, qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with self-professed members of video game platform brand tribes, and thematic analysis was employed to produce findings not before uncovered in this area. This includes the possible relationship between individual maturity and brand tribe membership. Anecdotally, it would appear that individuals that are part of a brand tribe, at least in the present context of video game platform brands, grew out of their tribalism with time as they became older and more mature. The result of this is an individual who retains some key traits expected of brand tribe membership, whilst having other brand tribe specific traits diminish. This key finding, amongst a host of other themes, emerged as being prevalent and relevant to brand tribes in the context of video game platform brands. Accordingly, areas requiring further research are discussed, and an outline of this concludes the chapters.

Description
Citation
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Ngā upoko tukutuku/Māori subject headings
ANZSRC fields of research
Rights
All Rights Reserved