Is visual content modality a limiting factor for social capital? Examining user engagement within Instagram-based brand communities

The study investigates whether Instagram’s predominantly visual content modality constrains or enables the development of social capital in online brand communities (OBCs). Motivated by gaps in prior research that largely focused on text-centric platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, forums), the authors examine how visual communication shapes user engagement, social capital formation, and downstream loyalty to the community and brand. The context is consumer-initiated automotive OBCs on Instagram, where members co-create value through interactions centered on images and short videos. The authors posit that visual modality can effectively foster social interaction and collective resources (social capital), with implications for sense of belonging, network ties, and loyalty intentions. The study formulates hypotheses linking intrinsic motivations (information seeking, socializing, recreation) to collective social capital, and social capital to individual consequences (participative behavior, sense of belonging, network ties) and to brand/community loyalty.

The paper synthesizes literature on content modality in social media, emphasizing Instagram’s image-centric environment and image act theory, which posits that images can incite behaviors, convey cognitions and emotions, and prompt responses. Prior work suggests visuals provide heuristic, vivid, emotionally arousing cues that are processed quickly and perceived as authentic, enhancing engagement and persuasion relative to text. In OBC research, social capital has been conceptualized as relational (trust, reciprocity), cognitive (shared language, shared vision), and structural (network ties), or as bonding/bridging. Studies have examined antecedents and outcomes of social capital, but often in firm-hosted or text-oriented communities, with limited empirical work specific to Instagram and consumer-initiated OBCs. The authors adopt Meek et al.’s multidimensional framework of OBC social capital and integrate uses and gratifications perspectives, highlighting intrinsic motivations (information, social, recreational) as drivers of engagement and social capital. The review identifies gaps in consistent operationalization and measurement of social capital in OBCs, the underexplored role of visual modality, and differences between consumer- and firm-initiated communities that may influence information exchange, trust, and engagement.

Research context: Instagram-based, consumer-initiated automotive OBCs in Indonesia (a large, mobile-first Instagram market). Communities were included if they had ≥1,000 followers and had posted within the past 30 days. Pretest: Online survey (Alchemer) pretested with 34 OBC members; minor wording/layout adjustments were made. Data collection: Collaboration requests sent to community administrators; invitations posted via Stories and timeline; snowballing used. Final sample: 540 valid responses. Demographics: 95% male; age distribution concentrated in 30–40 years (46%); 54% undergraduate education; 42% membership length >2 years. Measures: All items on 5-point Likert scales using validated instruments. Intrinsic motivations: information seeking (Asghar, 2015), socializing (Lee & Ma, 2012), recreation (Agarwal & Karahanna, 2000). Social capital modeled as a second-order factor with four first-order components: shared language and shared vision (cognitive) from Chiu et al. (2006), social trust (relational) from Liao & Chou (2012), reciprocity (Mathwick et al., 2007; Liao & Chou, 2012). Consequences: sense of belonging (Chiu et al., 2006), participative behavior (Kamboj & Rahman, 2017), network ties (Liao & Chou, 2012). Terminal outcomes: brand loyalty intentions (purchase intention and eWOM; Algesheimer et al., 2005; Kaur et al., 2020; Goyette et al., 2010) and community loyalty (continuance and recommendation; Chen, 2007; Woisetschläger et al., 2008). Analysis: Maximum likelihood structural equation modeling using AMOS 24.0. Measurement model evaluated via CFA for reliability/validity; social capital specified as a second-order construct. Initial fit acceptable (χ²=1571.579; df=621; χ²/df=2.531; CFI=0.943; SRMR=0.041; RMSEA=0.053). Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha 0.795–0.937; CR>0.7; AVE>0.5. HTMT-0.85 indicated discriminant validity issues between information seeking and socializing, and among some social-capital consequence constructs. Theoretically justified merger of information seeking and socializing into a single “Informational” construct; participative behavior was dropped as a consequence (due to redundancy and its role in building collective social capital). Revised measurement model fit: χ²=1289.763; df=531; χ²/df=2.429 (reported ~2.229); CFI=0.950; SRMR=0.042; RMSEA=0.051; all constructs retained CA>0.7, CR>0.7, AVE>0.5; HTMT supported discriminant validity. Harman’s single-factor test explained 49.3% (<50%) of variance, suggesting CMB unlikely. Structural model fit: χ²=1709.449; df=542; χ²/df=3.154; CFI=0.922; NFI=0.891; RMSEA=0.063. Variance explained: Social capital (R²=0.72), sense of belonging (0.73), network ties (0.66), community loyalty (0.66), brand loyalty (0.42).

All hypothesized relationships in the revised model were supported (p<0.001). Key path estimates (standardized):

• Informational → Social capital: β=0.72; t=14.61.
• Recreational → Social capital: β=0.46; t=11.78.
• Social capital → Sense of belonging: β=0.86; t=15.71.
• Social capital → Network ties: β=0.82; t=14.96.
• Sense of belonging → Brand loyalty: β=0.31; t=4.49.
• Sense of belonging → Community loyalty: β=0.26; t=4.66.
• Network ties → Brand loyalty: β=0.39; t=5.50.
• Network ties → Community loyalty: β=0.61; t=9.61. Model fit: χ²/df=3.154; CFI=0.922; NFI=0.891; RMSEA=0.063. R²: Social capital 0.72; Sense of belonging 0.73; Network ties 0.66; Community loyalty 0.66; Brand loyalty 0.42. Findings indicate that both informational and recreational (hedonic) motivations on Instagram significantly build collective social capital, which in turn strongly enhances members’ sense of belonging and network ties; these structural outcomes significantly increase both brand and community loyalty intentions.

The results show that Instagram’s visual modality effectively catalyzes social capital formation in consumer-initiated OBCs. Visual content’s affective and heuristic cues prompt engagement, satisfying both informational and recreational motives, and foster cooperative interactions that accumulate collective resources (shared language, shared vision, reciprocity, trust). Contrary to concerns about limited textual depth, image-centric exchanges can still support effective communication, reduce perceived risk in knowledge adoption, and strengthen community cohesion. Social capital robustly increases sense of belonging and network ties, aligning with views of OBCs as networks of predominantly weak ties that can be strengthened via visual social presence. These social-capital outcomes translate into higher brand and community loyalty, highlighting a convergence between social capital and social identity processes: as members identify with the community, they exhibit supportive behaviors toward the brand and continued community participation. The study also demonstrates the utility of modeling social capital as a second-order construct, capturing its multidimensional nature while maintaining parsimony in analyzing engagement dynamics.

This study advances theory by (1) foregrounding the role of an image-dominant modality (Instagram) in the evolution of OBC social capital, an area previously centered on text-based platforms; (2) showing that both informational and hedonic motivations can drive active engagement in visual environments, thereby building collective social capital; and (3) validating a parsimonious second-order specification of social capital suitable for integrating with engagement and loyalty constructs. Practically, brands and community administrators should leverage affect-rich visuals to attract attention and prompt quick responses, while balancing affective appeal with sufficient information cues. Encouraging a shared jargon and common language can enhance cognitive alignment and communication efficiency. Tailoring content by membership tenure can synergize affective and cognitive appeals to deepen social capital and loyalty. Future research should extend the framework to other product categories and settings (including firm-initiated OBCs) and incorporate richer experiential dimensions.

The study focuses on a single domain (automotive) and consumer-initiated Instagram communities in Indonesia, which may limit generalizability due to the category’s mixed utilitarian-hedonic nature and market context. Experiential factors (e.g., sensory, affective, intellectual, behavioral experiences) were not modeled and could shape engagement and social capital. Future work should compare consumer- versus firm-initiated communities, examine diverse product types with different orientations, and include experiential constructs to assess how image modality supports value co-creation across contexts.