Building Resident Loyalty through Tribe Marketing: The Mediating Roles of Customer Engagement and Value Co-Creation in Housing Communities

Abstract

This study explores how tribe marketing fosters resident loyalty in clustered housing communities through the mediating roles of customer engagement and value co-creation. The research is grounded in Social Identity Theory and Service-Dominant Logic, emphasizing that loyalty in residential contexts emerges not only from satisfaction but also from social belonging and participatory collaboration. The purpose of this study is to examine the sequential relationships among tribe marketing, customer engagement, value co-creation, and customer loyalty within housing clusters in Makassar, Indonesia. A quantitative explanatory design was employed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) on data collected from 200 residents selected through purposive sampling. Measurement scales were adapted from validated constructs to ensure reliability and validity. The results indicate that tribe marketing significantly enhances customer engagement (β = 0.46, p < 0.001), which subsequently drives value co-creation (β = 0.52, p < 0.001) and leads to higher customer loyalty (β = 0.48, p < 0.001). The mediation tests confirm that engagement and co-creation jointly mediate the effect of tribe marketing on loyalty, reflecting a psychological and behavioral transformation process. The study concludes that loyalty in residential communities is co-created through shared identity, emotional involvement, and collaborative participation. Practically, the findings suggest that housing developers should cultivate a sense of belonging, facilitate meaningful engagement, and empower residents to co-create value, as these strategies strengthen long-term loyalty and advocacy within community based marketing environments