Towards a better understanding of brand-related user generated information processing on social media: A distributed cognition perspective

Adopting the distributed cognition approach this exploratory qualitative study examines how and what brand information is created and processed among consumers through social media. With the use of a case study method, this study systematically identifies the unique characteristics of the newly emerged types of brand information in social media that become important to consumers, and how they then promote more of interactive and coordinative communication which consequently reach desirable information transparency. The contributions are as follows. First, this research reveals that in the era of social media brand information is more an emergent property of interaction and coordination than a property of the top-down projection of a branded company. Second, this study highlights the view that the conventional information processing approach is less useful in informing brand information management. Finally, social media’s unique features initiate co-construction of brand knowledge and a holistic approach to brand information through critical inquiry, self-reflection, and a shift from passively receiving and consuming brand content towards proactive activities in pursuit of authenticity, which subsequently contributes to desirable brand transparency. This paper also proposes a brand information transparency framework incorporating findings in respect to the coordination and interaction in social media.