Conceptual organisation of customer engagement: Understanding the concept of engagement and considering the structure of customer engagement factors

Abstract

Customer engagement has been increasingly recognised as a measure of corporate performance. Several practitioners and researchers have proposed various customer engagement concepts. The concept of engagement has been discussed earlier in academic fields such as psychology and education before the notion of customer engagement became popular. However, researchers across disciplines have not reached a consensus on the implications, the factors that constitute engagement and the measures of engagement. Therefore, inconsistencies in the interpretations of engagement have complicated the use of the customer engagement concept to understand complex customer behaviours and to measure customer–company relationships. In this context, the present study summarises the differences in the interpretation of engagement concepts across disciplines, and identifies the sources of difficulty in interpreting engagement. The study develops a framework in terms of definitions, measurement methods and scales, research methods, and constructive concepts to better understand the concept of customer engagement.