Understanding Customer Engagement and Loyalty: A Case of Mobile Devices for Shopping

This study aims at developing and validating a measurement model for customer engagement with specific focus on mobile devices for shopping. Further, role of customer engagement in building customer loyalty is explored. The research in this investigation used three studies for developing customer engagement scale and validating the proposed model. The study involved data collection from experts and users through varied methods including in-depth interviews, and surveys. Further structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings of this study include development and validation of customer engagement as second order construct arising out of six different customer experiences - social-facilitation, self-connect, intrinsic enjoyment, time-filler, utilitarian and monetary evaluation experiences. Further, the study established significant role of customer engagement in predicting customer loyalty in addition to existing constructs of satisfaction and convenience. This study contributes to evolving scholarly research on customer engagement. This study further provides a framework to retailers for devising matrices to track experiences and engagement of customers on mobile devices for shopping. Further, retailers may be able to use customer engagement to differentiate themselves from competition in attracting merchants and advertisers.     

Loyalty or lethargy? Keeping sellers committed,not entrenched

While business sellers frequently enjoy long-term relationships with their buyers, not every extended association is based on a genuine sense of customer loyalty. Many organizations remain in relationships with providers for too long; while the seller has stopped providing value, the buyer sticks to the routine. Building from empirical research and theory on buyer-seller relationships, this research extends our understanding of customer complacency and seller entrenchment and introduces the concept of customer lethargy. Synthesizing theory from multiple domains with exploratory interviews conducted with business customers, this article offers insight into the functioning of organizational buying centers, the evolution of business exchanges over time, and how some exchanges can be undermined by various forms of relational dysfunction. I define customer lethargy, explore its root causes and offer business buyers a strategy which aims to help them self-audit their loyalty, avoid complacency and lethargy, and keep sellers committed, not entrenched.     

Informal interorganizational business relationships and customer loyalty: Comparing Guanxi,Yongo, and Wasta

Based on social exchange theory, this research explores if informal interorganizational business relationships in China (guanxi), South Korea (yongo), and Egypt/Jordan (wasta) affect customer loyalty in a business to business context. A conceptual model hypothesizes interrelationships among three underlying dimensions of informal relationships, reciprocity, affect, and trustworthiness, and with customer loyalty. The hypotheses were tested using survey data gathered from manufacturing companies in China, South Korea, Jordan, and Egypt. Structural equation modeling shows that guanxi, yongo, and wasta are positively related to customer loyalty across all four countries. However, there are some differences in the relationships among the three dimensions. Although reciprocity is positively related to affect in guanxi and yongo, this relationship is not statistically significant in wasta. Further, the items measuring the dimensions of trustworthiness and reciprocity are the same in guanxi and yongo, but these differ from wasta. Thus, managers need to be aware of subtle differences in how informal interorganizational relationships are developed and used in international business to business relationships.     

Consumer brand engagement and its social side on brand-hosted social media: how do they contribute to brand loyalty?

ABSTRACT

Social media offer brands new opportunities to interact with their customers. This paper focuses on consumer brand engagement (CBE) and its social facet in the context of brand-hosted social media. It highlights that CBE (consumer–brand interactions encompassing cognitive, affective and behavioural dimensions) and brand-based consumer–consumer interactions (social brand engagement (SBE)) lead to brand loyalty intentions. Brand customers were surveyed about their favourite brands on Facebook. Results indicate that self-brand connections and SBE are two drivers of CBE, and that CBE is the key element in inducing brand loyalty. In addition, configural analysis shows that high brand loyalty can be achieved through several combinations of social and CBE with various levels of cognitive, affective and behavioural engagement.     

品牌忠诚度研究

随着市场经济的发展,企业间的竞争越来越激烈,同类产品之间的差别也越来越小。所以,顾客也开始了解品牌的概念,品牌管理开始成为提高企业间竞争力的重要工具。品牌忠诚度关系到企业的未来,企业建设品牌必须注意到品牌忠诚度的建设。所以,加强对品牌忠诚度的研究是十分必要的。     

How special rewards in loyalty programs enrich consumer–brand relationships: The role of self-expansion

Although brands offer different kinds of rewards through their loyalty programs, little is known about how they can impact consumer–brand relationships and brand attitude. How do loyalty program rewards influence the consumer–brand relationship? And which kinds of rewards establish or maintain closer relationships between consumers and brands than others? To answer these questions, the present research makes use of self-expansion theory (Aron & Aron, 1986) and two experiments that manipulate the extraordinary character of rewards offered to consumers. Our findings show that special rewards produce higher self-expansion than mundane rewards. Moreover, the positive effect of the rewards’ extraordinary character on brand evaluation, recommendation, and identification is sequentially and fully mediated by self-brand inclusion and self-expansion. Finally, we show that consumer satisfaction moderates the impact of special and mundane rewards on self-brand inclusion.     

The influence of customer loyalty program design on the relationship between customer motives and value perception

Despite the strong use in marketing practice, the effectiveness of loyalty programs is still heavily questioned among researchers. In our study we present an empirically tested framework that views customer loyalty programs (CLPs) with their differing designs as a moderating tool in a means-end relationship between customer motives and value. By disentangling customer value perceptions of loyalty programs we contribute to the remaining question of the efficacy of CLPs and set the road for further research. Our results support the argument that CLPs can be an effective tool and are not only something that adds to the value of a product or service, but rather creates value by itself. However, this is only the case for programs that target prevailing customer motives and hence provide a higher level of perceived value.