TY - JOUR T1 - Collective Value Creation and Empowerment in an Online Brand Community: A Netnographic Study on LEGO Builders JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2012 A1 - Hanna Kurikko A1 - Pekka Tuominen KW - netnography KW - online community KW - service brand KW - social media KW - value co-creation AB - Online communities are becoming “places” of belonging, information, and emotional support that people cannot do without. These social groups have a real existence for their participants, and thus have consequential effects on many aspects of behaviour. This article examines collective value creation and empowerment in an online brand community. It presents the main features of an online brand community, the process of value co-creation, and motivators for participating in online brand communities. These key factors jointly characterize collective value creation and empowerment. This netnographic study focuses on an online brand community called BrickBuilders, which is a meeting place for LEGO builders in Finland. BrickBuilders’ members feel a sense of belonging, they share similar motivations, and they create value together. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 2 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/563 IS - 6 U1 - University of Tampere Hanna Kurikko holds an MSc (Econ.) in Marketing from the School of Management at the University of Tampere, Finland. Online brand communities, branding, and services are her main research interests. U2 - University of Tampere Pekka Tuominen is Professor of Marketing at the University of Tampere, Finland. He is also a Docent at the University of Turku, Finland. His main research interests include strategic brand management, relationship marketing, and service marketing. He has attended several international conferences and his work has been published in many international journals. ER -