THE IMPACT OF BRAND AUTHENTICITY AND BRAND COMMUNITY ON BRAND TRUST AND MSME GROWTH IN BUKALAPAK PARTNER APPLICATION USERS

Abstract

The massive growth of SMEs gave an opportunity to the tech
industry in creating innovations. Applications with advanced and
user-friendly features offered SMEs owners an opportunity to
enlarge their businesses. This study’s objective is to discuss the
impact of brand authenticity and brand community towards
brand trust and SME growth in case of users of Mitra Bukalapak
applications. This study uses bootstraping methods as the
framework of theory analysis. In data collection, the study is
using purposive sampling methtods to 362 community members
of Mitra Bukalapak users. The result of this study found that
brand consistency, brand customer orientation, brand community
has a positive impact on brand trust, and brand trust has a
positive impact on SME growth. Therefore, the study will
contribute to current knowledge in the tech industry to build the
brand and provide information on the impact of brand value
development for the SME owners.