The Impact of Theatre Visitors' Social Capital on Revisit Intention: A Study of Theatre Online Communities

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanism of social capital in the context of theater online communities based on traditional social capital and brand relationship theories. It aims to explore how theater community members achieve connectivity and revisit intention in the age of social media. Methodology: This study combines exploratory case study of secondary sources and questionnaire survey to examine members' perceptions and evaluations of social capital in the online communities of three representative theaters in the St. Petersburg region of Russia: Alexandrinksy Theater, Mariinsky Theater and Mikhailovasky Theater, and to analyze the impact of the perceptions and evaluations on members' attitudes and behaviors. Findings: The empirical results indicate an indirect influence of theater online community social capital on its members revisit intention. It is demonstrated that social capital of theater online community affects revisit intention of online community members through theater community identity and theater brand identity. The impact of different factors within theater online community social capital on revisit intention is uneven, and the role of the mediating variables of this process varies. Value: Based on empirical findings, the reasons why online community social capital has become a marketing entry point in the digital age are analyzed. Practical suggestions on how to facilitate the transformation of theater community social capital are provided. Some perspectives and insights are offered for building theater-brand relationships. Keywords: Social capital, Theater, Online brand community, Revisit intentions