Firm-established brand communities enable companies to increase the brand loyalty and word-of-mouth communication of their customers. Furthermore they represent an adequate organisational form for companies to integrate consumers into their innovation processes. Philipp Wiegandt empirically analyzes the effects the creation of a firm-established brand community has on the brand loyalty and word-of-mouth communication of its members over time. He finds that establishing a firm-established brand community creates value for both – the company and their customers.

Parallel to his employment as project manager in the automobile industry, Dr. Philipp Wiegandt obtained his doctorate under the guidance of Prof. Dietmar Harhoff, Ph.D., at the Institute for Innovation Research, Technology Management and Entrepreneurship, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich.