G5 Doctoral dissertation (article)
Advancing the consumer engagement concept : insights into its definition, measurement, and relationships (2019)
Hepola, J. (2019). Advancing the consumer engagement concept : insights into its definition, measurement, and relationships [Doctoral dissertation]. Jyväskylän yliopisto. JYU dissertations, 94. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-7790-0
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Hepola, Janne
eISBN: 978-951-39-7790-0
Journal or series: JYU dissertations
eISSN: 2489-9003
Publication year: 2019
Number in series: 94
Number of pages in the book: 1 verkkoaineisto (76 sivua, 63 numeroimatonta sivua)
Publisher: Jyväskylän yliopisto
Place of Publication: Jyväskylä
Publication country: Finland
Publication language: English
Persistent website address: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-39-7790-0
Publication open access: Openly available
Publication channel open access: Open Access channel
Abstract
Although both managers and academics are becoming increasingly interested in consumer engagement (CE), significant confusion remains regarding its meaning, measurement, and relationships with other constructs. This dissertation aims to contribute to these three domains through an analysis of the results of four individual research papers. Paper I provides the first systematic literature review of customer engagement articles in top journals in marketing and related disciplines. This paper identifies four main customer engagement literature streams: 1) the behavioral stream, 2) the psychological stream, 3) the combined (i.e., behavioral and psychological) stream, and 4) the consumer trait stream. After providing a synopsis of the applied customer engagement measurement scales, the paper analyzes existing quantitative results and finds that customer engagement has a positive association with a variety of favorable customer-based constructs, such as attitude, brand equity, and behavioral intentions. However, a critical evaluation reveals that numerous definitions of engagement are neither explicit, logical, nor truly different from other marketing concepts, and that studies frequently apply alarming measurement practices. These issues make it challenging to interpret customer engagement relationships. The remaining three quantitative survey papers—Papers II, III, and IV—examine interaction- and trait-based antecedents and service- and brand-related consequences of CE. In these papers, the definition of CE is based on that given by Hollebeek et al. (2014), who characterize engagement as a positive cognitive, emotional, and behavioral activity that occurs during interaction with an engagement object. One of the most intriguing findings of these papers is that psychological engagement is a stronger driver of service continuance intention than either attitude or satisfaction when consumption is based on hedonic reasons. In contrast, attitude and satisfaction are stronger drivers when service use is based on utilitarian factors. In summary, this dissertation finds that CE is a theoretically and managerially relevant marketing concept and recognizes that much more research is needed in all three domains of CE.
Keywords: consumers; social inclusion; participation; committing oneself; brands; consumer behaviour; committing someone
Free keywords: consumer engagement; definition; measurement; relationship; nomological network; literature review; commitment
Contributing organizations
Ministry reporting: Yes
Reporting Year: 2019