Compatible quality of social media content: Conceptualization, measurement, and affordances

•This study introduces a new construct, Compatible Quality of Social Media Content (CQ).•CQ has four components: reflective, stimulated, practiced, & advocated quality.•Developed an instrument to tap the components and validation results are acceptable.•Affordances of CQ are continued interest, active confidence, and feedback openness. Building and maintaining favorable social media relationships with customers require that organizations produce quality content that fits customers’ needs. So far, little if any research has conceptualized and measured this kind of content quality in the context of social media. Therefore, this study proposes and empirically examines a new construct, compatible quality of social media content, which adds to knowledge by expanding prior online content quality research beyond the traditional focus on non-fit quality beliefs. The results of structural equation modeling of responses collected from a sample of active social media users reveal at least three worth noting findings. First, the study confirmed the multidimensionality of compatible quality of social media content, which encompasses reflective, stimulated, practiced, and advocated components. Second, there was equivalence in the measurements of the studied constructs and the structural weights of the proposed network of relationships across the different gender and experience subgroups. Third, compatible quality of social media content was found to influence continued interest, active confidence, and feedback openness. The practical and research implications of these results are discussed.