PurposeCustomers' continuous value creation (e.g. voice) is an important research issue for the success of brand virtual community (BVC) and new product development, while it is rarely studied from a firm perspective. The purpose of the present study is to investigate how firm attributes exert influences on continuous voice intention in brand virtual communities.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected through a survey in mobile brand virtual communities in China, and 291 valid responses for data analysis were included to test the research model by using partial least squares (PLSs).FindingsThe results show that intrinsic motivation to voice is positively associated with continuous voice intention. Furthermore, the impact of brand identification on intrinsic motivation is found to be fully mediated by community identification. Customer orientation has a positive effect on perceived openness, and both customer orientation and perceived openness positively affect customers' brand identification and community identification.Originality/valueAlthough prior studies have examined some variables relevant to voice behavior, few studies have recognized the influence of firm attributes toward the BVC on sustained voice intention. To fill this research gap, the authors propose a research model to shed light on the role of firm attributes by classifying them into brand- vs community-based firm attributes, which affect intrinsic motivation through two types of social identification, namely brand identification and community identification.

The question about why some brand virtual communities (BVCs) successfully motivate customers to engage in value creation (e.g., voice) while others do not is still an important but understudied research issue. To fill this research gap, we propose a research model to shed light on the antecedents of intrinsic motivation to voice by focusing on the role of perceived firm attributes. Specifically, we argue that firm attributes can be classified into brandgeneral versus innovation-specific attributes which affect intrinsic motivation through two types of social identification namely brand identification and community identification respectively. The links between these two types of perceptions are examined too. A field study of 291 BVC users was conducted to test the research model. The results show that customer orientation and perceived openness positively affect customers' brand identification and community identification respectively, and customer orientation has a positive effect on perceived openness. Furthermore, the impact of brand identification on intrinsic motivation is found to be fully mediated by community identification.