Gratifications sought versus gratifications achieved in online brand communities: satisfaction and motives of lurkers and posters

The purpose of this paper was to better understand lurkers’ and posters’ motivations sought and motivations achieved for lurking and posting within online brand communities and the resulting satisfaction levels of both groups within brand communities. Overall, results indicated that there were no significant negative differences between what members were hoping to receive and what they did receive from the community (i.e. people achieved all that they hoped to when they joined—and more). Lurkers received fewer gratifications, but they were also seeking less from the community at the outset than their more active counterparts. Furthermore, gratifications achieved explained more variance in engagement than gratifications sought—so what people actually get out of the community, rather than what they intended when they joined, is more impactful in determining engagement. By understanding the difference between gratifications sought and gratifications achieved, the current study helps practitioners to understand not only why people join and participate in these groups, but their level of satisfaction with the community while also adding predictive power to the uses and gratifications theory by utilizing the concept of satisfaction to explain behaviour regarding continued (or discontinued) use of a medium.