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J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2017) 45:294311 DOI 10.1007/s11747-016-0485-6
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Customer engagement: the construct, antecedents, and consequences
Anita Pansari1 & V. Kumar1
Received: 19 January 2016 /Accepted: 12 May 2016 /Published online: 11 June 2016 # Academy of Marketing Science 2016
Abstract In this study, we highlight the need and develop a framework for customer engagement (CE) by reviewing the marketing literature and analyzing popular press articles. By understanding the evolution of customer management, we develop the theory of engagement, arguing that when a relationship is satisfying and has emotional connectedness, the partners become engaged in their concern for each other. As a result, the components of customer engagement include both the direct and the indirect contributions of CE. Based on the theoretical support, our proposed framework elaborates on the components of CE as well as the antecedents (satisfaction and emotion) and consequences (tangible and intangible outcomes) of CE. We also discuss how convenience, nature of the firm (B2B vs. B2C), type of industry (service vs. product), value of the brand (high vs. low), and level of involvement (high vs. low) moderate the link
between satisfaction and direct contribution, and between emotions and indirect contribution of CE, respectively. Further, we show how customer engagement can be gained and how firm performance can be maximized by discussing relevant strategies.
Keywords Engagement theory . Customer engagement . Emotions . Satisfaction . Tangible and intangible performance
Managing customers has evolved over the years, and this is evident from the metrics used in the different phases of marketing focus (see Fig. 1). Until the 1990s, marketing was focused on customer transactions. The yardsticks used to measure the impact of these transactions on firm profitability were past customer value, share-of-wallet, and recency, frequency, and monetary value. The goals of organizations evolved with time, and this transaction-based perspective slowly evolved into relationship marketing (Morgan and Hunt 1994; Berry 1995) in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, where the core objective of firms was to establish positive relationships with customers and ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty via better products and services. Further, there is a detailed discussion in the literature of that era (Homburg and Geirging 2001; Shankar et al. 2003)...