Consumer engagement : theoretical foundations, conceptualizations and empirical validations

Abstract

Today‘s highly dynamic and digitizing environment is redefining the nature, roles and effects of consumer-firm interactions in the marketplace. Broadly labeled as Consumer Engagement (CE), the topic has gained intense interest among academics and practitioners. Yet, these intense interests have not resulted in systematic inquiries into the conceptualization, theoretical underpinning and empirical verifications of CE. The motivation of this thesis is to fill some of the gaps in the literature by conceptualizing, theorizing and verifying the nature and effects of CE. The first part of this thesis details the use of ‘engagement’ in multiple disciplines, including services marketing, psychology, organizational behaviors and media studies. Distinction between CE and other related concepts are discussed. Four commonalities derived from cross-referencing various engagement literatures help lay a foundation for developing a new CE model. This thesis continues with the exploration of the theoretical roots of CE using service-dominant logic and relationship marketing theory. Instead of investigating what CE is, this thesis takes a different approach in understanding how CE evolves. A three-stage process model coupled with antecedents and consequences is presented drawing on relationship evolution framework and social identification theories. As a pioneering attempt in verifying the concept of CE, I designed two studies to examine the validity of the proposed CE model. In the first study, I investigate how a brand creates interest and subsequent attraction from the consumers as it initiates a dialogue with them. Using a database from Weibo (a Chinese micro-blog platform) as the study context, I collated data from three independent sources to form a sample of 195 foreign and local consumer brands to test my hypotheses. The findings of this study indicate that both communication efforts and style are positively associated with consumer interest towards a brand. More significantly, consumer‘s willingness to remain connected highlights the volitional role of consumers in responding to brand‘s effort to form relationships with them. In the second study, I continue with the investigation of CE process by looking at how consumers can be transformed from attraction to identification with a firm. This is achieved by examining the effects of affective and behavioral embedment strategies in enhancing consumer identification. Using social identity theory as the overarching framework, I incorporate empathy literature and ‘gamification’ concept to add theoretical vigor towards the CE model. To test the postulates, I conducted two field experiments using actual consumers in a real service setting — the Hong Kong Wetland Park. Empirical findings show that higher firm attractiveness enhances consumer identification. Moreover, embedding consumers through empathy and game-playing can be effective mechanisms that facilitate the linkage between consumer attraction and identification. The robust findings from two experiments support CE‘s positive impacts on consumer extra-role behaviors. In the last chapter, I discuss the managerial and future research implications on what this thesis uncovers. Insights on how firms can design effective engagement programs are detailed. The research implications highlight a number of future research opportunities that will continue to expand the intellectual and theoretical richness of our understanding of Consumer Engagement.