A Review of Diversity, Customer Perceived Ethicality, and Seven Dimensions of Brand Equity in the perspective of Online Brand Community

In recent times, to emergence of multi-dimension viewpoints of decision-making and purchase processes which are based on diversification, customer value, and customer perception of ethicality have motivated companies to behave ethically to garner various benefits for their brands such as to remain competitive and improve their reputation. Interestingly in an online environment, different community members with characteristics behave differently in terms of exchanging information and making relations with each other. Thus, the present research attempts to review that in the presence of cultural, personality, and motivational diversity how customer perceived ethicality can lead to the formation of brand equity and its seven dimensions in the context of a social media-based community. From a conceptual point of view, the present research concludes that the ethical perception of a brand plays a key role in the generation of favorable results of brand equity and its seven different dimensions among consumers with different cultures, personalities and motivations in the social media-based community environment. Furthermore, in an online setting, the review also suggests that unethical perceptions of companies lead to the risk of sharing negative information which results in taking action against those companies. In addition, the study offers specific implications for academicians and practitioners.