Exploring customer engagement behavior: construct proposal and its antecedents

Customer engagement behavior (CEB) receives increasing attention from both academics and practitioners, as it represents one of the key customer profitability determinants. This study attempts to provide a holistic view of CEB by (1) proposing an instrument to measure CEB, and (2) its antecedents. Based on the existent literature, we conceptualize CEB as a formative construct consisting of word-of-mouth (WOM), loyalty program participation, customer interaction, and co-creation, which are determined by relationship quality, rewards, self-enhancement, learning, social integration, and company identification. In attempt to test these propositions, an online survey is conducted with 466 respondents. Our results provide empirical support for our proposed CEB construct, while corroborating five out of the six hypothesized antecedents. In closing, theoretical as well as managerial implications are discussed, while important limitations are recognized and future research directions are proposed.