The double-edged sword of incentivized referral: How invitation mechanisms undermine engagement in PDT-OBCs

Online Brand Communities (OBCs), a core operational model in the digital retail sector, have long been a focal point in both academia and industry due to the factors influencing user engagement. In recent years, the emergence of Private Domain Traffic-Online Brand Communities (PDT-OBCs) in China has opened up new avenues for community user growth, yet the issue of declining community user activity remains a pressing concern for the industry. To address this research gap, this study explores the differential impacts of various user acquisition sources on user engagement in PDT-OBCs Integrating cognitive dissonance theory and privacy information authentication, we adopt a mixed-method approach encompassing observational field study and laboratory experiments. Our findings reveal that users who join through the Incentivized Referral (IR) mechanism demonstrate significantly lower engagement behavior (willingness) than those who join via the Voluntary Registration (VR) mechanism. The root cause lies in the higher cognitive dissonance among IR users. Furthermore, privacy information authentication has to some extent exacerbated this cognitive dissonance, further reducing the engagement willingness of IR users. This study clarifies the intrinsic mechanism between user acquisition sources and engagement, as well as the boundary role of privacy information authentication, within the unique context of PDT-OBCs. Our findings offer practical implications for PDT-OBC retailers, including the implementation of user stratification management, the design of reasonable incentive schemes, and the development of privacy-friendly technologies to boost user engagement.