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Customer engagement: the construct, antecedents, and consequences

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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.

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  1. http://www.marketo.com/about/news/majority-of-marketers-believe-marketing-needs-to-undergo-dramatic-change/

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Acknowledgments

We thank the editor, the AE, and the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions during the revision of the manuscript. We thank Avishek Lahari and Bharat Rajan for their valuable suggestions. We thank Renu for copyediting the manuscript.

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  1. Center for Excellence in Brand and Customer Management, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University, 3348 Peachtree Rd, NE, Suite 204, Atlanta, GA, 30326, USA

    Anita Pansari & V. Kumar

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  1. Anita Pansari
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  2. V. Kumar
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Correspondence to V. Kumar.

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V. Kumar (VK) is the Regents Professor, Richard and Susan Lenny Distinguished Chair, & Professor in Marketing, and Executive Director of the Center for Excellence in Brand and Customer Management, and the Director of the PhD Program in Marketing at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University in Atlanta; the Chang Jiang Scholar at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China; the Lee Kong Chian Fellow at Singapore Management University in Singapore; and the ISB Senior Fellow, Indian School of Business, India.

Anita Pansari is a doctoral student at the Center for Excellence in Brand and Customer Management, Department of Marketing, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University

Mark Houston served as Area Editor for this article.

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Pansari, A., Kumar, V. Customer engagement: the construct, antecedents, and consequences. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 45, 294–311 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-016-0485-6

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