Exploring strategies utilised for managing and sustaining online communities in a retail business environment

Abstract

The rise of ever-digital spaces has resulted in vibrant online communities, which business organisations utilise for different reasons. However, management of online communities by business organisations has remained a grey area for some time. This study investigated the management of online communities among three retail businesses in South Africa. The study adopted the qualitative approach guided by interpretivism. Data was collected from a purposive sample of nine participants from three retail businesses, also purposively selected. Semi-structured interviews were used solicit data from the participants. The data was analysed using a thematic data analysis method, resulting in recognisable themes that were coded from interviews. Data was generated using semi-structured interviews with the online tool Google Meet and analysed using Nvivo. The study found that online communities play a critical role in shaping purchasing behaviour, fostering brand loyalty, and encouraging peer-to-peer product recommendations. The study also highlights that when businesses actively engage in discussions and value-added content sparks sustainability in vibrant online communities. The management of online communities remains a complex process; retail businesses are increasingly identifying effective ways to leverage these platforms to strengthen customer relationships and support business growth. The strategies that emerged from this study included the use of implementing and enforcing clear community guidelines, as well as the use of AI-driven moderation tools for online engagement. These strategies form part of an envisaged norm for all businesses that use online communities. The study concluded that retail businesses should gamify the content to improve user interactions, and the use of competitions adds value to user retention. The study's limitations included the scarcity of existing literature on online community management within the South African retail sector. Most prior studies have been conducted in developed countries, which limits the availability of contextualised theoretical and empirical evidence to support local analysis. It was recommended that the extended research should be applied across industry contexts, such as hardware retail in South Africa, and examine the implications of emerging AI-driven tools for online community management.