GEN Z'S PATH TO BRAND LOYALTY IN PHOTO STUDIOS: THE INFLUENCE OF BRAND EXPERIENCE, COMMUNITY, AND ENGAGEMENT

The photography industry, particularly photo studios, is undergoing a significant transformation due to the development of digital technology and social media. Generation Z, as a digital generation, interacts with photography in unique ways, making brand community, brand experience and customer engagement increasingly relevant for building strong relationships with photo studios. This study aims to determine and analyze Generation Z's loyalty to photo studios, focusing on the mediating role of customer participation behavior and customer citizenship behavior. This study uses a quantitative approach using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the relationship between latent variables. Data was collected through questionnaires distributed to Generation Z consumers in Indonesia. The findings show that brand experience and customer engagement significantly increase customer participation and citizenship behavior, which in turn strengthen customer loyalty. However, brand community does not directly influence citizenship behavior or customer loyalty, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach in building customer loyalty. These results have important implications for photo studios, indicating that creating positive brand experiences and increasing customer engagement are critical to fostering customer loyalty, especially among Generation Z. Photo studios should focus on improving these areas to build a stronger and more loyal customer base.


INTRODUCTION
Photography, which is one of the creative sub-industries, has become one of the important pillars in Indonesia's economic growth and has become an inseparable part of modern society, along with the increasing awareness of the importance of visual documentation, both in the personal and professional realms (Fairus et al., 2023).In 2023-2024 it is projected that the number of Indonesian photographers, both professional and amateur, will grow by 9.52%.

Figure 1. Growth of Indonesia's creative economy subsectors in 2023-2024
Source: Kemenparekraf (2023) The photography industry is at an interesting crossroads.The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has opened up new opportunities while presenting challenges to the photography industry (Mustafa, 2023).One of the significant AI features disrupting the photography industry is that using only descriptive text arrays, users can generate human-characterized images with high image quality (Mishra & Jain, 2023).However, research respondents Mishra & Jain (2023) had mixed views on the authenticity of the images generated by the AI generator.Free AI images have limitations such as limited customization options, poor image quality, overuse of styles, and copyright issues.But Mishra & Jain (2023) concluded AI can help photographers in basic image editing, application of filters, resolution enhancement, and creation of product images or virtual backgrounds.However, AI also has the potential to threaten photographers' jobs with its ability to produce photos instantly.
Command Text: <lora:id photo:0.7>,blueid photo,1girl,necktie,solo,female faces,black hair,black necktie,shirt,jacket,looking at viewer,(black jacket:1.3),formal,whiteshirt,collared shirt,(suit:1.2),upperbody,short hair,(black suit:1.5),realistic,bluebackground,pure blue background,  2021) examined the impact of disruptive innovations, particularly digital technologies, on professional photographers in Australia.They found that these innovations have significantly changed the landscape of the photography industry, with photographers responding to these changes in various ways, including adaptation (e.g., diversifying services), resistance (e.g., refusing to lower prices), lowering expectations, or even exiting the industry.Disruptive innovations blur the boundaries between professional and amateur photographers, thereby threatening the identity and professional status of photographers (Williams et al., 2021).

Figure 3. Photographer's opinion report on business development
Source: zenfolio.com(2024) Take a look at figure 3 is an annual survey report conducted by Zenfolio (2024) The "State of the Photography Industry Survey 2024" of 7,646 photographer respondents, most of whom are based in North America, presents the results that 39.2% of photographers feel their business is slower than expected and not much different from the previous year in 2023.

Figure 4. Photographer Industry Report 2024
Source: getsproutstudio.com(2024) Another report presented from "THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S 2024 Industry Report" (see figure 4) surveying 1,000 professional photographers in 2023 revealed that 60% of photographers rated their business in the past 6 months as ranging from average to poor.In fact, 78% of photographers reported no business growth in the past 12 months.20% of photographers from the report emphasized the difficulty in managing growth, finding efficient workflows, dealing with increasing competition, and adjusting to changes in customer behavior, including last-minute bookings.(Sproutstudio, 2024).

Figure 4. Statistics Chart of Indonesian Social Media Users May 2024
Source: NapoleonCat.com (2024) Social media is becoming an important platform for the photography industry to interact with customers, take a look at Figure 5 statistics from NapoleonCat.com(2024) presenting information on Indonesian social media users in May 2024, Facebook was recorded as the largest user, reaching 174 million users.Report NapoleonCat.com(2024) identifies facebook, instagram, and linkedIn applications as all the most social media users they are aged between 18-34 years, those in that age range are the age group called generation Z. (Solomon & Russell, 2023).
Digitalization has changed the work process of the photography business, retaining customers not only focusing on the technical quality of photos but also on other aspects that can improve business competitiveness and are more oriented towards consumer and brand preferences.(Williams et al., 2021).Therefore, in such a situation, it is attributed to previous research by Hu et al. (2020) and Nguyen (2024) it is necessary to understand the factors that can increase customer loyalty by involving customers in the co-creation process, photo studios can gain valuable insights into customer preferences and needs, especially for generation Z who are an important target market because they are highly tech-savvy, active on social media, critical of quality, and expect unique and personalized experiences in consuming products and services, and value interaction and collaboration with the brands they love (Schiffman & Wisenblit, 2019).(Schiffman & Wisenblit, 2019).
Brand communities are becoming increasingly relevant in the context of generation Z who are highly active on social media, critical of quality, and expect unique and personalized experiences in consuming products and services, and value interaction and collaboration with the brands they love.(Schiffman & Wisenblit, 2019).Customers on social media are able to utilize features such as photo sharing, live stories, comment interactions and direct messages to facilitate co-creation behavior between photo studios and their customers, where customers actively participate in creating shared value, which is key in building a solid brand community.(Mohammad, 2020;Sanz-Blas et al., 2019)..
Positive, unique, and memorable brand experiences can increase the emotional attachment and loyalty of generation Z customers.(Fairus et al., 2023;Wang & Yang, 2024).. Customer participation behavior and customer citizenship behavior are two important dimensions of cocreation behavior that can enrich the brand experience according to Yi & Gong (2013) in Rahayu (2023).Rahayu (2023).CPB involves the active participation of customers in the production or service process, such as providing input or ideas.(Rahayu, 2023).Meanwhile, CCB includes customer behaviors that go beyond the transaction, such as leaving positive reviews, recommending the photo studio to others, or providing voluntary support.(Putra et al., 2020).
Customer engagement (CE) is key in increasing customer value co-creation behavior.(Rahayu, 2023;Yen et al., 2020).High CE reflects deep customer involvement with the brand, both emotionally and behaviorally.This can encourage customers to be more active in customer participation behavior and customer citizenship behavior, which in turn strengthens the brand community and increases loyalty.(Mohammad, 2020).
While there has been research examining the relationship between brand community, brand experience, customer engagement, and customer loyalty, research examining the mediating role of co-creation behavior from customer participation behavior and customer citizenship behavior is limited, especially specific to generation Z and the photography industry.
Based on the background description above, this study aims to determine and analyze Generation Z's loyalty to photo studios, focusing on the mediating role of customer participation behavior and customer citizenship behavior.The benefits of this research include providing valuable insights for photo studios on how to strengthen their relationships with Generation Z customers, increase customer loyalty, and improve overall business performance.By understanding the key factors that drive loyalty among this important demographic, photo studios can tailor their marketing strategies to better meet Generation Z's needs and preferences, ultimately leading to increased customer retention and long-term success in the competitive photography industry..

METHOD
This study uses a quantitative approach with the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method to test the cause-and-effect relationship between latent variables in the research model.The PLS-SEM method was chosen because of its ability to handle complex models with relatively small sample sizes, as well as its flexibility in accommodating various types of data and measurement scales (Hair et al., 2022).The research instrument used in this study was a questionnaire.This questionnaire was chosen because it allows efficient data collection from a large number of geographically dispersed respondents, which is characteristic of the target population of this study, namely Generation Z consumers in Indonesia.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Instrument Testing: Validity and Reliability

Reliability and Construct Validity
The following table presents the results of the reliability and construct validity tests for all constructs in the research model: Furthermore, construct reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (rho_A and rho_C).The recommended value for these two measures is above 0.70 (Hair et al., 2022).In the table above, all constructs have Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability values above 0.70, indicating that all constructs have good reliability.
Based on the results of the reliability and construct validity tests, it can be concluded that all indicators and constructs in this study are declared valid and reliable.This shows that the research instruments used have met the standards needed to produce accurate and consistent data, thus strengthening the validity of the overall research results.This HTMT value, which is close to or slightly above 0.90, indicates that there is little conceptual overlap between some of the constructs.However, this does not necessarily invalidate the overall discriminant validity.Hair et al. (2022) state that HTMT values up to 0.85 are still acceptable as evidence of discriminant validity, especially if there are only a few values that slightly exceed the threshold.
In the context of this research, the small conceptual overlap between some of these constructs is understandable given the theoretical linkages between them.For example, Customer Engagement and Customer Participation Behavior are expected to have a close relationship, as both are important aspects of customer involvement in the co-creation process.
Overall, the discriminant validity test results show that most of the constructs in this research model are conceptually and empirically distinct from each other.Some notes regarding the potential conceptual overlap between some constructs need to be considered in the interpretation of future research results, but in general they do not invalidate the overall discriminant validity of the model.Table 3 shows that the research model has a good ability to explain variations in the three dependent variables (CPB, CCB, and Loyalty).The R-square values of all variables are high as they are in the range of 0.50 to 0.75, indicating that most of the variance in the variables can be explained by the independent variables in the model.The adjusted R-square value which is also high confirms that the model still has good explanatory power even after considering the number of independent variables.Predictive Relevance (Q²) Testing Based on Table 5, it can be concluded that: a. Brand Experience (BE) shows a dominant influence in the model.Specifically, BE has a large influence on Customer Participation Behavior (f² = 0.733) and Customer Citizenship Behavior (f² = 0.939), suggesting that a positive brand experience significantly encourages customers' active participation and supportive behavior.The effect of BE on Loyalty is also significant, although it is in the medium category (f² = 0.112).b.Customer Engagement (CE) has varying influence.On Customer Participation Behavior, the influence is small (f² = 0.116), indicating that customer engagement contributes but not dominantly in driving their participation.The influence of CE on Customer Citizenship Behavior is also small (f² = 0.093).Meanwhile, its influence on Loyalty is very small and negligible (f² = 0.001).c. Brand Community (BC) showed very little effect on all endogenous variables, with an f² value of less than 0.05.This indicates that a sense of brand community, while possibly relevant, does not have a major impact on driving participation, citizenship behavior or customer loyalty in the context of this study.d.Customer Participation Behavior (CPB) has a small effect on Loyalty (f² = 0.057), indicating that although there is a relationship, customer participation does not substantially affect their loyalty.e. Customer Citizenship Behavior (CCB) has little effect on Loyalty (f² = 0.132).

Coefficient of Determination
The results of this effect size test confirm that Brand Experience is the most influential variable in explaining the variance of endogenous variables.Meanwhile, Brand Community and Customer Engagement, although statistically significant in the structural model, have a relatively small effect on endogenous variables.The results of this test indicate that most of the hypothesized relationships between the variables in this research model are supported by the data.This means that the proposed model is good enough in explaining how various factors influence the behavior and attitudes of Generation Z customers towards photo studio services.

Hypothesis Testing Direct Influence
From the research results, it can be explained that: a.A strong Brand Community encourages customers to participate more actively and also increases their loyalty.b.A positive Brand Experience has a strong impact in driving participation, good behavior, and customer loyalty.c.Customer Engagement also plays an important role in increasing customer participation and positive behavior.d.When customers actively participate and show good behavior, they tend to be more loyal to the photo studio.
However, the study also found that: a. Brand Community does not directly influence customers' good behavior towards the photo studio (such as giving feedback or helping other customers).b.Customer Engagement does not directly affect customer loyalty.
Overall, these findings provide a better understanding of how photo studios can build strong relationships with Generation Z customers and encourage them to become loyal customers.Indirect Effect a. Specific Indirect Effects Table 7 shows that CPB also mediates a small part of the effect of Customer Engagement on Loyalty (CE -> CPB -> Loyalty, p < 0.05).In addition, Customer Citizenship Behavior (CCB) is shown to mediate the effect of Brand Experience (BE -> CCB -> Loyalty, p < 0.001) and Customer Engagement (CE -> CCB -> Loyalty, p < 0.01) on Loyalty.However, CCB does not mediate the relationship between Brand Community and Loyalty (BC -> CCB -> Loyalty, p > 0.05).
All of the indirect effects mentioned above, except the effect of Brand Community on Loyalty through CCB, are statistically significant (p < 0.05).This suggests that this mediation path is supported by strong empirical evidence (Hair et al., 2022).
These  there is a positive influence of Brand Experience and Customer Engagement on Loyalty.On the other hand, Brand Community (BC) does not show a significant total effect on Loyalty, so the hypothesis that there is a positive influence of Brand Community on Loyalty is not supported.These findings suggest that companies need to focus on improving Brand Experience and Customer Engagement to increase customer loyalty.In addition, encouraging their Customer Participation Behavior and Customer Citizenship Behavior can also contribute to increased loyalty.

The Effect of Brand Community on Customer Participation Behavior and Customer Citizenship Behavior
Based on the results of the analysis using PLS-SEM, the following findings were obtained: H1 (BC -> CPB): Accepted.H2 (BC -> CCB): Rejected.
The results show that brand community plays an important role in encouraging customer participation behavior.This shows that when customers feel part of a strong brand community, they are more likely to be actively involved in various community activities, such as sharing information, providing feedback, or interacting with other members.However, an interesting finding is that brand community has no significant effect on customer citizenship behavior.This means that although customers feel connected to the brand community, they do not necessarily exhibit voluntary behaviors that go beyond expectations, such as providing positive recommendations or helping other customers.
The results of this study are partly in line with previous research.Several studies found that brand community can increase customer participation behavior through an increased sense of belonging, social identity, and norms of reciprocity within the community (Sanz-Blas et al., 2019;Martínez-López et al., 2021).However, the results related to customer citizenship behavior seem to contradict some studies that show a positive relationship between brand community and CCB.(Dholakia et al., 2004) for example, found that brand community can increase CCB through increased emotional attachment to the brand and prosocial norms in the community.This difference may be explained by several factors, such as the characteristics of the brand community studied, the type of industry, or cultural differences between respondents.
For photo studios, these findings demonstrate the importance of building and maintaining a strong brand community to drive active customer engagement.However, keep in mind that brand community alone may not be enough to encourage broader customer citizenship behaviors.Photo studios need to consider additional strategies to encourage CCB, such as: a) Build strong relationships with customers based on trust and satisfaction.b) Create a positive and memorable brand experience.c) Reward or recognize customers who demonstrate CCB.d) Promote prosocial norms within the community.
By combining these strategies, photo studios can create an environment that not only encourages customers' active participation, but also inspires them to become loyal brand advocates and contribute positively to the community.

The Effect of Brand Community on Customer Loyalty
Based on the results of the analysis using PLS-SEM, the following findings were obtained: H3 (BC -> Loyalty): Accepted.
The results showed that brand community (BC) has a positive and significant influence on customer loyalty.This indicates that the stronger the customer's involvement and feeling of belonging to a brand community, the greater their loyalty to the brand.This finding is consistent with various previous studies that have identified brand community as an important factor in the formation of customer loyalty.Martínez-López et al. ( 2017) explain that brand communities can facilitate interactions and emotional bonds between consumers and brands, which ultimately lead to increased loyalty.
Theoretically, the positive influence of brand community on loyalty can be explained through several perspectives.First, social identity theory states that individuals tend to exhibit behaviors that conform to the norms and values of the group with which they identify.In the context of brand community, when customers feel part of the community, they will be more likely to show loyalty to the brand as a form of social conformity.Second, brand communities can strengthen brand trust through interaction and information exchange between community members.High trust in the brand is an important factor in building customer loyalty (Martínez-López et al., 2021).Third, brand communities can increase customer engagement through various activities and interactions that occur in them.High customer engagement has been shown to have a positive influence on customer loyalty (Brodie et al., 2013).
For photo studios, these findings confirm the importance of building and managing an active and positive brand community.By providing a platform that facilitates interaction, collaboration and experience sharing among customers, photo studios can create an environment that encourages loyalty.Some strategies that can be implemented include: 1) Build an active presence on social media: Use social media platforms to interact with customers, share interesting content, and answer questions or comments.2) Organize regular community events or activities: Whether online or offline, these events can strengthen the bond between community members and increase their engagement with the brand.3) Reward or recognize active community members: This can increase customers' motivation to contribute to the community and strengthen their sense of belonging.4) Facilitate the value co-creation process: Involve customers in the development of new products or services, so they feel valued and have influence over the brand.By implementing these strategies, photo studios can build a solid brand community and increase customer loyalty, which will ultimately have a positive impact on long-term business success.

The Effect of Brand Experience on Customer Participation Behavior and Customer Citizenship Behavior
Based on the results of the analysis using PLS-SEM, the following findings were obtained: H4 (BE -> CPB): Accepted.H5 (BE -> CCB): Accepted.
The results showed that brand experience has a significant positive influence on both customer participation behavior (CPB) and customer citizenship behavior (CCB).That is, the more positive the experience customers feel towards the brand, the more likely they are to be actively involved in community activities and demonstrate behaviors that support the brand and help other customers.This finding is in line with previous research which shows that a positive brand experience can increase customer engagement and encourage them to contribute more to the brand (Akoglu & Ozbek, 2022;Mostafa & Kasamani, 2021).
Theoretically, these results can be explained through the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory, which states that environmental stimuli (in this case, brand experience) can affect individuals' internal states (such as emotions and attitudes), which in turn will affect their behavior (such as CPB and CCB).In addition, previous research also shows that brand experience can influence CCB through the mediation of brand relationship quality (Xie et al., 2017).In this context, a positive brand experience can strengthen the relationship between customers and brands, which in turn can encourage customers to exhibit greater citizenship behavior.
This finding confirms the importance of creating a positive and memorable brand experience for photo studio customers.By providing a satisfying experience and meeting customer expectations, photo studios can encourage them to engage more actively in the community, provide constructive feedback, recommend the studio to others, and even help other customers.
Some strategies that can be implemented to improve brand experience include: a) Provide quality and responsive customer service.b) Create a comfortable and fun studio atmosphere.c) Offer innovative and high-quality products or services.d) Using technology to improve customer experience, such as providing online booking services or mobile apps.e) Build positive personal interactions with customers.
By focusing on enhancing brand experience, photo studios can create customers who are not only loyal, but also become active brand advocates and contribute positively to the community.

The Effect of Brand Experience on Customer Loyalty
Based on the results of the analysis using PLS-SEM, the following findings were obtained: H6 (BE -> Loyalty): Accepted.
The results showed that brand experience (BE) has a significant positive effect on customer loyalty.This indicates that a positive and memorable brand experience will increase customer loyalty to the brand.
This finding is consistent with previous studies that have identified brand experience as an important factor in shaping customer loyalty.Garzaro et al (2021) show that a positive brand experience can increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.This is also supported by Akoglu and Ozbek's research (2022) which found that brand experience has a positive direct effect on brand loyalty.
Theoretically, the positive influence of brand experience on loyalty can be explained through several perspectives.First, the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory explains that environmental stimuli (brand experience) can affect the internal state of individuals (such as emotions and attitudes), which in turn will affect their behavior (such as loyalty).
Second, a positive brand experience can strengthen customer trust in the brand (Akoglu & Ozbek, 2022).High trust in the brand is an important factor in building customer loyalty.
Third, Mostafa and Kasamani's research (2021) shows that emotional brand attachment mediates the relationship between brand experience and brand loyalty.This finding confirms that creating a positive and memorable brand experience is essential for photo studios in building customer loyalty.By providing an experience that is pleasant, unique, and meets customer expectations, photo studios will not only encourage repeat purchases, but will also encourage customers to recommend the studio to others and become loyal brand advocates.
Several strategies can be implemented to improve brand experience: a) Recognize customer preferences and provide services that suit their needs and wants.b) Offer something different and unforgettable, such as a creative photo theme or concept.c) Ensure high-quality photos and friendly, responsive customer service.d) Use technology to enhance the experience: For example, offer a mobile app for easy booking and viewing of photo galleries.e) Build emotional interactions with customers by involving them in the photo-taking process, giving them personalized attention, and making them feel valued.By focusing on improving brand experience, photo studios can create customers who are not only loyal, but will also become brand advocates who will help promote the studio to others.

The Effect of Customer Engagement on Customer Participation Behavior and Customer Citizenship Behavior
Based on the results of the analysis using PLS-SEM, the following findings were obtained: H7 (CE -> CPB): Accepted H8 (CE -> CCB): Accepted The results clearly show that customer engagement has a significant positive impact on both customer participation behavior (CPB) and customer citizenship behavior (CCB).Simply put, the higher the level of customer engagement with the brand, the more likely they are to actively participate in various brand-related activities, such as seeking and sharing information, and exhibiting behaviors that are beneficial to the company and other customers, such as providing feedback, advocacy, helping, and tolerance.
This finding is consistent with previous studies.For example, Mohammad's (2020) research shows that customer engagement can drive brand community-related behaviors, such as visits and participation in community activities.In addition, Abdel-Aziz et al. ( 2023) also found that customer engagement has a positive effect on value co-creation, which involves active customer participation and citizenship behavior.
Theoretically, these results can be explained through social exchange theory, which states that individuals tend to reciprocate positive actions they receive.In this context, when customers feel engaged with the brand, they feel they have received benefits from the brand.In return, they will be more motivated to actively participate in the brand community and exhibit behaviors that support the brand.
This finding underscores the importance of improving customer engagement for photo studios.By increasing customer engagement, photo studios can not only encourage active participation in the brand community, but also inspire customers to exhibit behaviors that are more beneficial to the company and other customers.
Some strategies that can be implemented to increase customer engagement include: a) Creating content that is high-quality and relevant to customers' interests can capture their attention and encourage them to interact with the brand.
b) Respond actively to customer feedback and comments.This shows that the photo studio values customers' opinions and is willing to listen to them.c) Organize interesting contests or promotions.This can increase customer engagement and give them an incentive to interact with the brand.d) Personalize the customer experience by providing recommendations or special offers based on customer preferences and behavior.By improving customer engagement, photo studios can create a more active and loyal customer community, which will ultimately have a positive impact on business growth.

The Effect of Customer Engagement on Loyalty
Based on the results of the analysis using PLS-SEM, the following findings were obtained: H9 (CE -> Loyalty): Rejected.
The results show that customer engagement (CE) does not have a significant direct effect on customer loyalty.This result is quite interesting because it contradicts some previous studies which state that CE can increase customer loyalty directly.
The results of this study are not in line with several previous studies, such as Harrigan et al. ( 2017) who found that customer engagement has a direct influence on brand loyalty.However, this result is in accordance with the research of Li et al. ( 2020) who also found that customer engagement has no direct influence on brand loyalty in the context of social media tourism.
Li et al. ( 2020) explained that this may be due to the unique characteristics of tourism services, such as their lack of transparency and intangible nature, which may lead to high risk perception in customers.In such a situation, customers tend to rely more on other factors, such as brand attachment and trust, in forming their loyalty to the brand.
Although customer engagement does not directly influence customer loyalty, it does not mean that customer engagement is not important.Customer engagement is still an important factor in building strong relationships with customers and can influence loyalty indirectly through other variables, such as brand attachment and trust.
Therefore, photo studios still need to work on improving customer engagement through various strategies, such as: a) Create engaging and relevant content on social media.b) Respond actively to customer feedback and comments.c) Organize contests or attractive promotions.d) Personalize the customer experience.
In addition, photo studios need to strengthen brand attachment and customer trust, for example by: a) Conveying clear and consistent brand values.b) Create unique and memorable brand experiences.c) Establish transparent and honest communication with customers.d) Handle customer complaints and problems quickly and effectively.
As such, photo studios can build strong relationships with customers, which will ultimately lead to increased loyalty.

The Effect of Customer Participation Behavior and Customer Citizenship Behavior on Customer Loyalty
Based on the results of the analysis using PLS-SEM, the following findings were obtained: The results showed that although brand community can encourage customer citizenship behavior, CCB does not act as a significant mediator in the relationship between brand community and customer loyalty.This may indicate that there are other factors that are more instrumental in explaining the relationship between brand community and loyalty, or there may be limitations in the measurement of CCB variables in this study.
On the other hand, brand experience and customer engagement are shown to have a significant indirect effect on customer loyalty through CCB.This suggests that positive brand experience and high customer engagement can encourage citizenship behavior which in turn will increase customer loyalty.
This finding is partly in line with previous research.Some studies found that CCB can mediate the relationship between antecedents such as customer satisfaction, service quality, and trust in the brand with customer loyalty (Zeithaml et al., 1996;Dagger & Sweeney, 2006).However, other studies also show that the mediating effect of CCB is not always significant (Halim et al., 2020).
Theoretically, the mediating effect of CCB on loyalty can be explained through social exchange theory and fairness theory.When customers feel they are treated fairly and receive benefits from the brand (through positive brand experiences or high customer engagement), they will be more likely to reciprocate by exhibiting citizenship behaviors that benefit the company and other customers.These behaviors, in turn, can increase their loyalty to the brand.
For photo studios, these findings suggest that while building brand community is important, focusing on improving brand experience and customer engagement may be more effective in driving CCB and ultimately customer loyalty.
Some strategies that can be implemented include: a. Create a positive and memorable brand experience: Ensure that every customer interaction with the photo studio, from the first visit to after-sales service, leaves a positive and satisfying impression.b.Increase customer engagement: Engage customers in various activities, such as photo contests, workshops, or community events, to build closer relationships and increase their emotional attachment to the brand.c.Reward and recognize customer citizenship behavior: Reward customers who provide constructive feedback, recommend the studio to others, or help other customers.This can encourage similar behavior in the future and strengthen their loyalty.By implementing these strategies, photo studios can create a favorable environment for CCB, which in turn will increase customer loyalty and provide long-term benefits to the business.
The results clearly show that customer participation behavior (CPB) has a significant mediating role in the relationship between brand community (BC), brand experience (BE), and customer engagement (CE) with customer loyalty.Simply put, when customers are actively involved in the value co-creation process, this will strengthen the relationship between the three antecedents and customer loyalty.This finding is in line with various previous studies.Carlson et al.'s research (2018) shows that CP has a positive influence on various forms of value, including functional, emotional, relational, and entitative values, which in turn can improve brand relationship performance, including loyalty.
In addition, research by Mursid & Wu (2022) also found that although CPB does not have a direct influence on customer loyalty in the context of Umrah travel, CPB can increase loyalty indirectly through increased value co-creation and customer satisfaction.
Theoretically, the mediating role of CPB in influencing loyalty can be explained through several perspectives.First, service-dominant logic (SDL) theory emphasizes the importance of customer participation in the value co-creation process.When customers are actively involved in co-creating value with the company, they will feel more connected to the brand and are more likely to show loyalty.
Secondly, CPB can improve customer brand experience.A positive brand experience, in turn, can increase customer loyalty.Third, CPB can strengthen the relationship between customers and the brand community.A strong brand community can increase customers' emotional attachment to the brand, which in turn can increase loyalty.
For photo studios, this finding shows that customer participation behavior is a key factor in increasing customer loyalty.Therefore, photo studios should actively encourage customers to participate in various brand-related activities.
Some strategies that can be implemented include: 1. Provide platforms and opportunities for customers to actively participate: This could be an online forum, photo contest, or photography workshop.2. Encourage customers to provide feedback and suggestions: This will make customers feel valued and listened to, and provide valuable insights for the photo studio to improve their services.3. Facilitate collaboration and co-creation between customers and brands: Involve customers in the process of developing new products or services, or organize events where customers can share their creativity.By encouraging CPB, photo studios can enhance brand experience, strengthen relationships with the brand community, and ultimately increase customer loyalty.

CONCLUSION
This study has successfully revealed the significant role of brand community, brand experience, and customer engagement in shaping customer loyalty in photo studios, especially through the mediating role of customer participation behavior (CPB) and customer citizenship behavior (CCB).The results of this study provide empirical evidence supporting the importance of building strong brand communities, creating positive brand experiences, and increasing customer engagement to achieve sustainable loyalty, especially among Generation Z. Generation Z, as the main respondent group in this study, is a dynamic and evolving young generation.Their preferences and behaviors tend to change over time, so their loyalty to a brand can be influenced by various evolving factors.In addition, their income being at the minimum average range may also influence their purchasing decisions and engagement with brands, especially in the photography industry which is often considered a secondary or tertiary need.The findings of this study show that although Generation Z has unique characteristics, brand community, brand experience, and customer engagement still play an important role in shaping their loyalty to photo studios.This suggests that marketing strategies that focus on building community, creating positive experiences, and increasing engagement remain relevant and effective to attract and retain customers from this generation.However, it is important to remember that other factors, such as price, product innovation, and social trends, can also influence Generation Z's interest in photography and their loyalty to photo studios.Therefore, photo studios need to continuously monitor and adapt to the changing preferences and behaviors of Generation Z, as well as consider economic factors in developing their marketing strategies.By understanding the unique characteristics of Generation Z and the factors that influence their interest in photography, photo studios can create more relevant and meaningful experiences, thereby strengthening relationships with customers from this generation and achieving long-term business success.

Figure 2 .
Example of AI-generated photo pass with text Source: Civitai.com(2023) Williams et al. (

Figure 6 .
Figure 6.Research Model Framework SmartPLS Data processing The research model tested in this study (see Figure 6) consists of six latent constructs, namely Brand Community, Brand Experience, Customer Engagement, Customer Participation Behavior, Customer Citizenship Behavior, and Loyalty.The relationships between these constructs were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with the help of SmartPLS 4 software.(Ringle, Christian M., Wende, Sven, & Becker, 2024)..Reliability and Construct ValidityThe following table presents the results of the reliability and construct validity tests for all constructs in the research model:Table1.Construct Reliability and Validity

Variables Indicator Outer Loading Cronbach's alpha Composite reliability (rho_a) Composite reliability (rho_c) AVE
Table1presents the results of the reliability and construct validity tests.Outer loadings indicate how closely each question in the questionnaire (indicator) correlates with the construct it is supposed to measure.The recommended outer loadings value is above 0.708(Hair et al., 2022).In the table above, all indicators have outer loadings values above 0.70, indicating that all indicators have a strong relationship with their respective constructs.Thus, all indicators are declared valid.

Discriminant Validity Table 2. Discriminant validity matrix of HTMT data processing SmartPLS
Based onTable 16, the results of this study have good discriminant validity between most constructs, because most of the HTMT values are below the 0.90 threshold.Hair et al. (2022) suggest that the ideal HTMT value should be below 0.85 (or 0.90 for conceptually similar constructs) to indicate good discriminant validity.However, there are some construct pairs that have HTMT values close to or slightly above 0.90: a) Customer Engagement (CE) and Brand Community (BC): 0.880 b) Customer Citizenship Behavior (CCB) and Customer Participation Behavior (CPB): 0.878 c) Customer Citizenship Behavior (CCB) and Loyalty (L): 0.857

Table 4 . PLSpredict LV SmartPLS Data Processing
The Q² values from table 4, for the three endogenous variables (CPB = 0.715, CCB = 0.601, and Loyalty = 0.578) indicate that the research model has good to excellent predictive ability.This indicates that the model fits the data and is able to explain most of the variation in the reflective indicators of the three constructs.Thus, it can be concluded that this research model has strong predictive relevance and can be used to understand the factors that influence Customer Participation Behavior, Customer Citizenship Behavior, and Loyalty in Generation Z customers in the photo studio industry.

Indirect Effect Total Table 8. Total Indirect Effect
findings highlight the importance of CPB and CCB as mechanisms that explain how Brand Community, Brand Experience, and Customer Engagement influence Loyalty.b.

Table 8
presents the total indirect effect of the independent variables on Loyalty.Provides an overview of how the three independent variables affect Loyalty indirectly.Brand Experience has the largest total indirect effect, followed by Customer Engagement.While Brand Community does not have a significant indirect effect on Loyalty because p> 0.05 c