Customer engagement in service

Abstract

We develop a framework to facilitate customer engagement in service (CES) based on the service-dominant (S-D) logic. A novel feature of this framework is its applicability and relevance for firms operating both in developed and emerging markets. First, we conduct a qualitative study involving service managers from multinational companies (MNCs) across the developed and emerging markets to understand the practitioner viewpoints. By integrating the insights from the interviews and the relevant academic literature, this framework explores how interaction orientation and omnichannel model can be used to create positive service experience. We also identify the factors that moderate the service experience, and categorize them as follows: offering-related, value-related, enabler-related, and market-related. Further, we also propose that perceived variation in service experience moderates the influence of service experience on satisfaction and emotional attachment, which ultimately impacts customer engagement (CE). From these factors, we advance research propositions that discuss the creation of positive service experience. One of the study’s key contributions is that MNCs can focus their attention on the moderators to ensure consistency in positive service experience, in an effort to enhance CE.