Sense of community:
an exploratory study of US
consumers of financial services
Martin Fraering
School of Business, University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana, USA, and
Michael S. Minor
University of Texas – Pan American, Edinburg, Texas, USA
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this research is to develop and test a sense of consumption community
measurement scale. The concept is examined in an exploratory study in the context of the perceptions
of customers of financial services firms.
Design/methodology/approach – This research consults the marketing, banking, psychology, and
public policy literature. A sense of consumption community scale is tested for validity via exploratory
and confirmatory factor analysis. Scale reliability analysis is also conducted.
Findings – The result is a second-order construct composed of the first-order constructs, camaraderie
and communality, and social capital. The construct is found to be a means of measuring the strength of
consumers’ perceptions of consumption community. Additional evidence of its practical value is
demonstrated in four findings. First, partial support is found that men perceive a greater sense of
community than women. Second, there is a positive relationship between age and perceived sense of
community. Third, no significant relationship was found between the various types of financial
institutions and customers’ sense of consumption community. Fourth, an identical finding was
obtained for the relationship between sense of community and longevity. And fifth, this research also
documents limitations of the Sense of Consumption Community Construct due to the exploratory
nature of this research effort.
Originality/value – The scale formulated in this research is the first to measure a sense of
community among the customers of financial institutions.
Keywords Consumption, Consumer behaviour, Financial institutions
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Identification of consumption subcultures such as bikers (Schouten and McAlexander,
1995) caused a sea change in the study of consumer behavior. The notion that a
motorcycle could be much more than an alternative mode of transportation was not
fully appreciated, however, until the community of Harley-Davidson riders was
identified to be a source of unshakeable brand loyalty (Oliver, 1999). Suddenly the
implications for marketers of virtually all consumer goods and services became
obvious: fierce brand loyalty results in customer retention. Buzz among members of a
firm’s community of consumers contributes to market share growth, and the potential
for market domination. Hence enthusiasm for consumption communities as a research
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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This paper is an extension and elaboration of a study presented at the 2003 Frontiers in Services
Conference.
IJBM
24,5
284
Received July 2005
Revised December 2005
Accepted March 2006
International Journal of Bank
Marketing
Vol. 24 No. 5, 2006
pp. 284-306
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0265-2323
DOI 10.1108/02652320610681738