Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this article was to investigate consumer engagement in online customer communities and the influence of interactivity on it. A conceptual model linking different dimensions of interactivity and consumer engagement was proposed and tested.Rationale: The ability of managers to ensure high levels of consumer engagement depends on them gaining a good understanding of the concept, its manifestations in their context, as well as factors that influence it. This article aims at contributing to this understanding in the context of online customer communities.Methodology: The article followed a quantitative research approach. Data were collected from 303 members of online customer communities based in Gauteng, South Africa. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypotheses proposed in the article.Findings and implications: The results showed that system-related dimensions of interactivity and human interactivity are positively associated with consumer psychological engagement. Psychological engagement was in turn found to be positively associated with behavioural engagement. The findings point to the need for managers to pay attention to system and human related interactivity if they are to influence consumer engagement levels on their sites.Originality and value of research: Little research exists on consumer engagement, resulting in limited understanding of the concept as well as its antecedents. Focusing on online customer communities, this article contributes to addressing this gap in literature. Managers of online customer communities can use the findings to monitor levels of consumer engagement on their sites and find ways of enhancing it.
Highlights
The composite reliability (CR) coefficients in this article ranged from 0.814 to 0.884, with the lowest coefficient being for behavioural engagement and the highest being for human interactivity
According to Hair et al (2010:667), model fit is evidenced by Goodness of Fit Index (GFI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) and Normative Fit Index (NFI) values of ≥ 0.90 as well as PCLOSE values of ≤ 0.05 and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) values of ≥ 0.08
The results further show that psychological engagement is able to explain 30% of the variance in behavioural engagement, whilst the three dimensions of interactivity were able to collectively explain 51% of the variance in psychological engagement
Summary
The concept of ‘engagement’ is of significant interest to practitioners and researchers in many fields including education, business, political science and psychology (Brodie et al 2011:254). Dwivedi (2015:101) observed that whilst the notion of engagement has been investigated for some time in the domains of organisational psychology, it is only recently that the concept has emerged as one of great interest in the domain of marketing and consumer behaviour in particular. Brodie et al (2011:254) traced the initial use of engagement as a term in business practice to an article by Appelbaum (2001:5). Appelbaum (2001:5), writing in an industry business journal, pointed out that research by Gallup, the global consulting company, shows that customer engagement, unlike customer satisfaction, is a better predictor of customer loyalty. Cheung, Lee and Jin (2011:2) observed that in marketing, the concept of engagement has been of high interest amongst practitioners; most of what is written on the topic, is based on practice and not theory and is found in practitioner journals.The great interest shown by practitioners in understanding consumer engagement is driven by benefits associated with it. Sashi (2012:254) observed that customer engagement is critical to the success of any organisation as it helps to establish intimate bonds in relational exchanges between seller and customer. Sashi (2012:254) further noted that these bonds enable customers to continue relying on a seller in terms of transacting with the seller, and in value co-creation. The concept of ‘engagement’ is of significant interest to practitioners and researchers in many fields including education, business, political science and psychology (Brodie et al 2011:254). Dwivedi (2015:101) observed that whilst the notion of engagement has been investigated for some time in the domains of organisational psychology, it is only recently that the concept has emerged as one of great interest in the domain of marketing and consumer behaviour in particular. Commenting on customer value co-creation, Harwood and Garry (2015:533) remarked that contemporary marketing thinking recognises that customers are a source of significant resources, including time and knowledge resources which have direct and indirect effects on firms and other customers. Satisfaction of the diverse customer needs is critical to the development of competitive advantage
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