Abstract
Consumer-brand engagement (CBE) is a recent concept in the marketing literature expanding the domain of relationship marketing. CBE has been seen by both academics and practitioners as a fundamental driver of the consumer decision-making process. Our study was aimed at drafting a first ecological foundation of the CBE construct. Our research aims were: (1) to identify the constitutive dimensions of CBE and how they relate with one another (i.e. social interactions; emotional and cognitive clues; brand-related behaviors) from a twofold consumers’ and practitioners’ perspective; (2) to detect the evolutionary phases of the CBE process. Our findings reveal that, to become “engaging” a brand should be carrier of a meaningful psychological bond thanks to the synergistic interlacement of four experiential dimensions: hedonic, existential, eudaimonic and interpersonal. These four experiential dimensions are crucial to allow for the building of a “covenant” between consumers and their brands that triggers a CBE bond. The nature and the emotional essence of this covenant seems to evolve with the time passing by and the increase in the touch-points between consumers and brands. More specifically, the CBE experience seems to develop in three subsequent phases, marked by the progressive synergistic intensification of the four experiential dimensions.
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Consumer-brand engagement (CBE) is a recent concept in the marketing literature expanding the domain of relationship marketing. CBE has been seen by both academics and practitioners as a fundamental driver of the consumer decision-making process. Our study was aimed at drafting a first ecological foundation of the CBE construct. Our research aims were: (1) to identify the constitutive dimensions of CBE and how they relate with one another (i.e. social interactions; emotional and cognitive clues; brand-related behaviors) from a twofold consumers’ and practitioners’ perspective; (2) to detect the evolutionary phases of the CBE process. Our findings reveal that, to become “engaging” a brand should be carrier of a meaningful psychological bond thanks to the synergistic interlacement of four experiential dimensions: hedonic, existential, eudaimonic and interpersonal. These four experiential dimensions are crucial to allow for the building of a “covenant” between consumers and their brands that triggers a CBE bond. The nature and the emotional essence of this covenant seems to evolve with the time passing by and the increase in the touch-points between consumers and brands. More specifically, the CBE experience seems to develop in three subsequent phases, marked by the progressive synergistic intensification of the four experiential dimensions.
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© 2016 Academy of Marketing Science
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Graffigna, G., Gambetti, R.C. (2016). Consumer-Brand Engagement: Toward a Comprehensive Theoretical Framework. In: Obal, M., Krey, N., Bushardt, C. (eds) Let’s Get Engaged! Crossing the Threshold of Marketing’s Engagement Era. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11815-4_128
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11815-4_128
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-319-11815-4
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