Pansari, A. & V. Kumar (2017), Customer engagement: the construct, antecedents, and
consequences
A firm’s focus is shifting to personalizing interactions, delighting its audience, and understanding
customers’ unique challenges to make their lives better and involving them as spokespersons of the
firm.
< 1990: Marketing was focused on customer transactions – recency, frequency, monetary value
2000: Shift to relationship marketing, focus on loyalty – trust & commitment
Now: Engagement – satisfaction & emotion
Engagement: when a relationship is satisfied and has emotional bonding.
Customer involvement: A person’s perceived relevance of the object based on inherent needs,
values, and interests.
Customer experience: Customer’s cognitive, affective, emotional, social and physical responses to the
entity, product and service.
Customer satisfaction: A judgment that a product or service, or their feature, provided (or is
providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of under- or over
fulfillment. Customer loyalty: A favorable attitude toward a brand resulting in consistent purchase of
the brand over time.
Customer trust: Willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence.
Customer commitment: An enduring desire to maintain a valued relationship.
Customer brand value: The differential effect of a customer’s brand knowledge, brand attitude, brand
purchase intention, and brand behavior on his or her response to the marketing of a brand.
Customer engagement: The mechanics of a customer’s value addition to the firm, either through
direct or/and indirect contribution. It consists out of all the activities of the customer with the firm,
initiated either by the customer or the firm.
Commitment-trust theory: The core objective of firms is to establish positive relationships with
customers through developing commitment and trust with the customers.
Trust: a willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence
Commitment: an enduring desire to maintain a valued relationship
Relationship marketing: The core is to establish long-term relationships with the customer. These
should promote efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness.
Interdependence theory: focusses on the interaction between partners as the essence of close
relationships. Customers are contributing to the firm when they feel connected to the firm.
The two tenets of the engagement theory are satisfaction and emotion, since engagement occurs
only after a relationship is formed based on trust and commitment.
The quality of the firm-customer relationship depends on (1) the level of satisfaction derived from the
relationship and (2) the level of emotional connectedness of the customer toward this relationship.
Good engagement when a firm achieves trust, commitment and a satisfied & emotional relationship.
Firm initiated marketing activities > creating awareness > understand the offerings > makes a
purchase > purchase creates an experience > influence on customer satisfaction and emotions > (a)
satisfaction leads to a
repeat purchase > (b)
positive emotions leads to
indirect contribution
(WOM).
, Emotions: Mental states of readiness that arise from cognitive appraisals of events or thoughts.
Contribution: Customer contribution in the form of customer purchases, customer referrals,
customer influence, and customer knowledge.
Direct contribution: Customer purchases
Indirect contribution: Customer referrals, customer influence (outside own social network), customer knowledge
(feedback)
Customer satisfaction is based on the expectancy-disconfirmation theory: The consumer is satisfied
if the perceived performance exceeds consumer expectations (a positive disconfirmation).
Customer satisfaction has a measurable impact on purchase intentions, on customer retention and on
financial performance.
The impact of satisfaction on direct contribution will be enhanced in the service (vs. products)
industry.
The impact of satisfaction on direct contribution of the consumer will be enhanced for a B2B firm.
The impact of satisfaction on direct contribution of the customer will be enhanced for products with
low involvement, because of lower expectations.
The impact of satisfaction on direct contributions of the customer is enhanced by higher convenience
that the firm provides. Because convenience is valued as important nowadays.
Brands create value for the consumer by creating positive feelings, aiding self-expression, and
providing an overall feeling of having personal “good taste” in brand choice. These expressions are
more evident for brands with high value or for status brands.
Brand equity is the value that accrues to a product with its brand name compared to the
value that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. The higher the
brand equity, the more value the brand possesses and the more positive beliefs consumers
have about the brand.
The impact of satisfaction on direct contribution of the customer will be enhanced for a firm with low
brand value, because of a lower quality expectation.
Emotions affect decision making, and the positive or negative outcome of a decision can profoundly
affect the decision maker’s feelings. Emotions most effect word-of-mouth, purchase intentions are
only limited influenced by emotions, but more by satisfaction.
Because of the heterogeneity in the service industry, emotions plays a big roll there.
Also more in the B2C market, because B2B decisions are not made with emotions.
High levels of involvement strengthen the experience of emotions. Lower involvement products
require minimal thought, and there is a tendency among customers to form a buying habit with these
products.
The impact of emotions on indirect contribution of the consumer will be enhanced for a firm with
higher brand value.
The impact of emotions on indirect contributions of the customer is enhanced by the higher level of
convenience that the firm provides.
The contributions of customers can have multiple benefits.
- Tangible: Firm performance – Higher profits, revenue, market share
- Intangible: Permission marketing, privacy sharing, ability for relevant marketing messages,
heightened trust
consequences
A firm’s focus is shifting to personalizing interactions, delighting its audience, and understanding
customers’ unique challenges to make their lives better and involving them as spokespersons of the
firm.
< 1990: Marketing was focused on customer transactions – recency, frequency, monetary value
2000: Shift to relationship marketing, focus on loyalty – trust & commitment
Now: Engagement – satisfaction & emotion
Engagement: when a relationship is satisfied and has emotional bonding.
Customer involvement: A person’s perceived relevance of the object based on inherent needs,
values, and interests.
Customer experience: Customer’s cognitive, affective, emotional, social and physical responses to the
entity, product and service.
Customer satisfaction: A judgment that a product or service, or their feature, provided (or is
providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of under- or over
fulfillment. Customer loyalty: A favorable attitude toward a brand resulting in consistent purchase of
the brand over time.
Customer trust: Willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence.
Customer commitment: An enduring desire to maintain a valued relationship.
Customer brand value: The differential effect of a customer’s brand knowledge, brand attitude, brand
purchase intention, and brand behavior on his or her response to the marketing of a brand.
Customer engagement: The mechanics of a customer’s value addition to the firm, either through
direct or/and indirect contribution. It consists out of all the activities of the customer with the firm,
initiated either by the customer or the firm.
Commitment-trust theory: The core objective of firms is to establish positive relationships with
customers through developing commitment and trust with the customers.
Trust: a willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence
Commitment: an enduring desire to maintain a valued relationship
Relationship marketing: The core is to establish long-term relationships with the customer. These
should promote efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness.
Interdependence theory: focusses on the interaction between partners as the essence of close
relationships. Customers are contributing to the firm when they feel connected to the firm.
The two tenets of the engagement theory are satisfaction and emotion, since engagement occurs
only after a relationship is formed based on trust and commitment.
The quality of the firm-customer relationship depends on (1) the level of satisfaction derived from the
relationship and (2) the level of emotional connectedness of the customer toward this relationship.
Good engagement when a firm achieves trust, commitment and a satisfied & emotional relationship.
Firm initiated marketing activities > creating awareness > understand the offerings > makes a
purchase > purchase creates an experience > influence on customer satisfaction and emotions > (a)
satisfaction leads to a
repeat purchase > (b)
positive emotions leads to
indirect contribution
(WOM).
, Emotions: Mental states of readiness that arise from cognitive appraisals of events or thoughts.
Contribution: Customer contribution in the form of customer purchases, customer referrals,
customer influence, and customer knowledge.
Direct contribution: Customer purchases
Indirect contribution: Customer referrals, customer influence (outside own social network), customer knowledge
(feedback)
Customer satisfaction is based on the expectancy-disconfirmation theory: The consumer is satisfied
if the perceived performance exceeds consumer expectations (a positive disconfirmation).
Customer satisfaction has a measurable impact on purchase intentions, on customer retention and on
financial performance.
The impact of satisfaction on direct contribution will be enhanced in the service (vs. products)
industry.
The impact of satisfaction on direct contribution of the consumer will be enhanced for a B2B firm.
The impact of satisfaction on direct contribution of the customer will be enhanced for products with
low involvement, because of lower expectations.
The impact of satisfaction on direct contributions of the customer is enhanced by higher convenience
that the firm provides. Because convenience is valued as important nowadays.
Brands create value for the consumer by creating positive feelings, aiding self-expression, and
providing an overall feeling of having personal “good taste” in brand choice. These expressions are
more evident for brands with high value or for status brands.
Brand equity is the value that accrues to a product with its brand name compared to the
value that would accrue if the same product did not have the brand name. The higher the
brand equity, the more value the brand possesses and the more positive beliefs consumers
have about the brand.
The impact of satisfaction on direct contribution of the customer will be enhanced for a firm with low
brand value, because of a lower quality expectation.
Emotions affect decision making, and the positive or negative outcome of a decision can profoundly
affect the decision maker’s feelings. Emotions most effect word-of-mouth, purchase intentions are
only limited influenced by emotions, but more by satisfaction.
Because of the heterogeneity in the service industry, emotions plays a big roll there.
Also more in the B2C market, because B2B decisions are not made with emotions.
High levels of involvement strengthen the experience of emotions. Lower involvement products
require minimal thought, and there is a tendency among customers to form a buying habit with these
products.
The impact of emotions on indirect contribution of the consumer will be enhanced for a firm with
higher brand value.
The impact of emotions on indirect contributions of the customer is enhanced by the higher level of
convenience that the firm provides.
The contributions of customers can have multiple benefits.
- Tangible: Firm performance – Higher profits, revenue, market share
- Intangible: Permission marketing, privacy sharing, ability for relevant marketing messages,
heightened trust
