While the importance of customer engagement has been widely acknowledged a gap remains in terms of our understanding of how customers engage with products and services delivered online. Addressing this gap is important given the increasing proportion of time spent interacting with companies online and the key role of customer engagement in delivering an effective customer experience. This paper seeks to address this gap through developing a theoretical framework of online customer engagement anchored in twenty-eight semistructured interviews with members of social media brand communities. This study's contribution to the customer engagement literature is twofold. Firstly, the study will bring new insights regarding personality traits as an antecedent of online customer engagement (OCE) and, secondly, customer-perceived value emerges as a novel consequence of OCE.Understanding what personality traits drive customers to engage online and what value they perceive to receive in this digital age can help managers to better segment and evaluate their customers' online engagement. Online brand communities can be improved accordingly.
Purpose Despite growing recognition of the importance of consumer engagement with new technologies, a gap remains in terms of understanding the antecedents, consequences and moderators of online consumer engagement (OCE). This paper aims to address this gap by exploring the relationship between personality traits, OCE, perceived value and the moderating role of personal values. Design/methodology/approach A theoretical framework anchored in the extant OCE literature is tested through a study of 559 users of two distinct firm-hosted online brand communities (FHOBCs). Findings Findings suggest that three personality traits – extraversion, openness to experiences and altruism – are positively correlated with OCE. OCE is related to two types of perceived value, namely, social value and aesthetic value. The personal values of conservation and self-enhancement moderate the relationships between the three identified personality traits and OCE. Research limitations/implications Future research into OCE should consider the application of this study’s conceptual framework across different cultures to account for the fast-changing nature of online communities. Practical implications Understanding how personality traits drive OCE and what value consumers receive from engagement in online communities can help managers to better segment and evaluate consumers. Engagement and levels of activity within these online communities can be improved accordingly. Originality/value This study’s contribution to the OCE literature is threefold. First, the study provides new insights regarding personality traits as antecedents of consumer engagement with FHOBCs. Second, the study reveals the first insights into the role of personal values in the relationship between personality traits and OCE. Specifically, conservation and self-enhancement emerged as moderators of the relationship between three personality traits (extraversion, openness to experiences, altruism) and OCE. Third, the study yields support for perceived value types (social value and aesthetic value) that emerge as consequences of consumer engagement in FHOBCs.
Until recently, the majority of academic research on customer engagement (CE) has focused on the concept's positive valence that reflects consumers' favorable brand-related cognitions, emotions, and behaviors, which typically contribute positively to brand performance. While the existence of negative CE manifestations has been recognized, little is known regarding their particular expressions, characteristics, and position in the broader nomological network, as explored in this chapter. While the antecedents and consequences of unidimensional and multidimensional negatively valenced CE (NVCE) have been explored in the literature, the consequences of multidimensional NVCE, particularly those at the organizational level, remain nebulous, as explored in this chapter. In addition, we examine organizational-level consequences of positively valenced CE (PVCE) that are contrasted to those of NVCE. To achieve these objectives, we first conceptualize positively and negatively valenced CE, followed by an exploration of their respective consequences. We conclude by offering specific managerial recommendations to increase positive CE whilst halting the concept's negative expressions.
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