As online brand communities gain popularity, the demand for brand-related activities like finding and sharing product information increases. This can lead to consumer overwhelm, known as brand overload. To understand this phenomenon, we conducted a study using surveys from 409 American consumers. Our results show that consumer-generated content and social interaction quality drive information and social overload, which in turn leads to brand disloyalty. Our study contributes to the literature by introducing the concept of brand overload and providing insights for companies to strategically and efficiently use online brand communities.

Image courtesy of interviewee. December 14, 2023