The DOI matches its Crossref record; 11 of the 11 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Customer engagement, buyer‐seller relationships, and social media
Abstract
Purpose: The advent of the internet and in particular the interactive features of Web 2.0 in recent years have led to an explosion of interest in customer engagement. The opportunities presented by social media to help build close relationships with customers seem to have excited practitioners in a wide variety of industries worldwide. Academic scholarship on customer engagement, however, has lagged practice and its theoretical foundation is relatively underdeveloped and a better understanding of the concept is essential to develop strategies for customer engagement. This paper seeks to address some of these issues. Design/methodology/approach: The paper attempts to enhance understanding of customer engagement by examining practitioner views of customer engagement, linking it to the marketing concept, market orientation, and relationship marketing, modeling the customer engagement cycle, and developing a customer engagement matrix. Findings: The paper develops a model of the customer engagement cycle with connection, interaction, satisfaction, retention, loyalty, advocacy, and engagement as stages in the cycle. It arrays customers in a customer engagement matrix according to the degree of relational exchange and emotional bonds that characterize their relationship with sellers. Four types of relationships emerge: transactional customers, delighted customers, loyal customers, and fans. Research limitations/implications: The paper is an initial attempt to develop a theoretical framework for customer engagement and further research is required to better understand several aspects of the framework. Future research can also investigate questions stemming from this research, for instance, how different Web 2.0 tools may be used to build customer engagement in consumer and business markets. Practical implications: Customer engagement turns customers into fans. But for customers to become fans they have to progress through the stages of the customer engagement cycle. In addition to current fans, sellers need a mix of transactional, delighted, and loyal customers who can be turned into fans in the future. A mix of digital and nondigital technologies can be employed to facilitate customers' transition through the stages in the customer engagement cycle. Originality/value: The paper develops a conceptual model of customer engagement that improves understanding of the concept and provides the foundation for strategies to better satisfy customers using Web 2.0 tools like social media.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Coase, R. H. (1937) · Economica · doi:10.1111/j.1468-0335.1937.tb00002.x · Cited by 23,972
The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/002224299405800302 · Cited by 22,355
The Different Roles of Satisfaction, Trust, and Commitment in Customer Relationships
Garbarino, E., & Johnson, M. S. (1999) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1177/002224299906300205 · Cited by 4,899
Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.87.2.268 · Cited by 4,623
Salanova, M., Agut, S., & Peiró, J. M. (2005) · Journal of Applied Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-9010.90.6.1217 · Cited by 2,276
Mittal, V., & Kamakura, W. A. (2001) · Journal of Marketing Research · doi:10.1509/jmkr.38.1.131.18832 · Cited by 2,256
Harrison-Walker, L. J. (2001) · Journal of Service Research · doi:10.1177/109467050141006 · Cited by 1,583 · cited 3×
“Affective commitment is positively related to word-of-mouth communication (Harrison-Walker, 2001), suggesting that delighted customers are prone to communicate their delight to the people with who they are connected in social networks.”
BackgroundInfluentialGustafsson, A., Johnson, M. D., & Roos, I. (2005) · Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1509/jmkg.2005.69.4.210 · Cited by 1,576
Collaborating to create: The Internet as a platform for customer engagement in product innovation
Sawhney, M., Verona, G., & Prandelli, E. (2005) · Journal of Interactive Marketing · doi:10.1002/dir.20046 · Cited by 1,406
The Process of Customer Engagement: A Conceptual Framework
Bowden, J. L.-H. (2009) · Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice · doi:10.2753/mtp1069-6679170105 · Cited by 1,365
Research works printed but not linked: 24
- Anderson, E.W., Fornell, C. and Lehmann, D.R. (1994), “Customer satisfaction, market share, and profitability: findings from Sweden”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 58, July, pp. 53‐66. · DOI · Paper page
- Borch, F.J. (1957), “The marketing philosophy as a way of business life”, in Marting, E. and Newgarden, A. (Eds), The Marketing Concept: Its Meaning to Management, American Marketing Association, New York, NY, pp. 3‐16.
- Firat, F.A. and Dholakia, N. (2006), “Theoretical and philosophical implications of postmodern debates: some challenges to modern marketing”, Marketing Theory, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 123‐62. · DOI · Paper page
- Gronroos, C. (1994), “From marketing mix to relationship marketing: towards a paradigm shift in marketing”, Management Decision, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 7‐13. · DOI · Paper page
- Hadcroft, P. and Jarratt, D. (2007), “Market orientation: an iterative process of customer and market engagement”, Journal of Business‐to‐Business Marketing, Vol. 14 No. 3. · DOI
- Hanssen, K.J. and Faegri, T.E. (2006), “Agile customer engagement: a longitudinal qualitative case study”, Proceedings of the 2006 ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering in Rio de Janeiro, pp. 164‐73. · DOI
- Harrison, T.M. and Barthel, B. (2009), “Wielding new media in Web 2.0: exploring the history of engagement with the collaborative construction of media products”, New Media and Society, Vol. 11 Nos 1‐2, pp. 155‐78. · DOI
- Hibbard, J.D., Kumar, N. and Stern, L.W. (2001), “Examining the impact of destructive acts in marketing channel relationships”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 38, February, pp. 45‐61. · DOI · Paper page
- Jaworski, B.J. and Kohli, A.K. (1993), “Market orientation: antecedents and consequences”, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 57, July, pp. 53‐70. · DOI · Paper page
- Kaufmann, P.J. and Stern, L.W. (1988), “Relational exchange norms, perceptions of unfairness, and retained hostility in commercial litigation”, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 32, September, pp. 534‐52. · DOI · Paper page
- McKitterick, J.B. (1957), “What is the marketing management concept?”, in Bass, F.M. (Ed.), The Frontiers of Marketing Thought and Science, American Marketing Association, Chicago, IL, pp. 71‐92.
- Macneil, I.R. (1981), “Economic analysis of contractual relations: its shortfalls and the need for a ‘rich classificatory apparatus’”, Northwestern University Law Review, Vol. 75 No. 6, pp. 1018‐63.
- Nordin, F. (2009), “Transcendental marketing: a conceptual framework and empirical examples”, Management Decision, Vol. 47 No. 10, pp. 1652‐64. · DOI
- Oliver, R.I. (1993), “Cognitive, affective, and attribute bases of the satisfaction response”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 20, December, pp. 418‐30. · DOI · Paper page
- Oliver, R.I., Rust, R.T. and Varki, S. (1997), “Customer delight: foundations, findings, and managerial insight”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 73 No. 3, pp. 311‐36. · DOI · Paper page
- Porter, M.E. (1974), “Consumer behavior, retailer power and market performance in consumer goods industries”, Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 56 No. 4, pp. 419‐36. · DOI · Paper page
- Prahalad, C.K. and Ramaswamy, V. (2004), “Co‐creation experiences: the next practice in value creation”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 5‐14. · DOI · Paper page
- Sashi, C.M. (2009), “Buyer behavior in business markets: a review and integrative model”, Journal of Global Business Issues, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 129‐38.
- Sashi, C.M. and Stern, L.W. (1995), “Product differentiation and market performance in producer goods industries”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 115‐27. · DOI
- Tikkanen, H., Hietanen, J., Henttonen, T. and Rokka, J. (2009), “Exploring virtual worlds: success factors in virtual world marketing”, Management Decision, Vol. 47 No. 8, pp. 1357‐81. · DOI
- Urban, G.L. (2004), “The emerging era of customer advocacy”, MIT Sloan Management Review, Vol. 45 No. 2, pp. 77‐82.
- Williamson, O.E. (1985), The Economic Institutions of Capitalism, Free Press, New York, NY.
- Williamson, O.E. (2000), “The new institutional economics: taking stock, looking ahead”, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 38, September, pp. 595‐613. · DOI · Paper page
- Wirtz, B.W., Schilke, O. and Ullrich, S. (2010), “Strategic development of business models: implications of the Web 2.0 for creating value on the internet”, Long Range Planning, Vol. 43 Nos 2‐3, pp. 272‐90. · DOI · Paper page
Cited by
The Role of Live Streaming in Building Consumer Trust and Engagement with Social Commerce Sellers
Wongkitrungrueng, A., & Assarut, N. (2020) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.08.032 · Cited by 1,477
From Marketing Mix to Relationship Marketing: Towards a Paradigm Shift in Marketing
Grönroos, C. (1994) · Management Decision · doi:10.1108/00251749410054774 · Cited by 1,410
Real-time co-creation and nowness service: lessons from tourism and hospitality
Buhalis, D., & Sinarta, Y. (2019) · Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing · doi:10.1080/10548408.2019.1592059 · Cited by 883
Social media engagement behaviour: a uses and gratifications perspective
Dolan, R., Conduit, J., Fahy, J., & Goodman, S. (2016) · Journal of Strategic Marketing · doi:10.1080/0965254x.2015.1095222 · Cited by 720
Kamboj, S., Sarmah, B., Gupta, S., & Dwivedi, Y. (2018) · International Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.12.001 · Cited by 591
Factors influencing popularity of branded content in Facebook fan pages
Sabate, F., Berbegal-Mirabent, J., Cañabate, A., & Lebherz, P. R. (2014) · European Management Journal · doi:10.1016/j.emj.2014.05.001 · Cited by 557
Kietzmann, J., Lee, L. W., McCarthy, I. P., & Kietzmann, T. C. (2020) · Business Horizons · doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2019.11.006 · Cited by 504
Customer engagement and social media: Revisiting the past to inform the future
Lim, W. M., & Rasul, T. (2022) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.04.068 · Cited by 427
De Vries, N. J., & Carlson, J. (2014) · Journal of Brand Management · doi:10.1057/bm.2014.18 · Cited by 418
Understanding social commerce: A systematic literature review and directions for further research
Busalim, A. H., & Hussin, A. R. C. (2016) · International Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2016.06.005 · Cited by 369
The influence of brand experience and service quality on customer engagement
Prentice, C., Wang, X., & Loureiro, S. M. C. (2019) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.04.020 · Cited by 367
A comparison of social media marketing between B2B, B2C and mixed business models
Iankova, S., Davies, I., Archer-Brown, C., Marder, B., & Yau, A. (2019) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2018.01.001 · Cited by 338
Schultz, C. D. (2017) · Electronic Commerce Research and Applications · doi:10.1016/j.elerap.2017.09.005 · Cited by 191
Unlocking the power of big data in new product development
Zhan, Y., Tan, K. H., Li, Y., & Tse, Y. K. (2018) · Annals of Operations Research · doi:10.1007/s10479-016-2379-x · Cited by 173
Examining consumers’ usage intention of contactless payment systems
Karjaluoto, H., Shaikh, A. A., Leppäniemi, M., & Luomala, R. (2019) · International Journal of Bank Marketing · doi:10.1108/ijbm-04-2019-0155 · Cited by 136
Leek, S., Houghton, D., & Canning, L. (2019) · Industrial Marketing Management · doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2017.10.009 · Cited by 91
MATARAZZO, M., PENCO, L., & PROFUMO, G. (2021) · Sinergie Italian Journal of Management · doi:10.7433/s113.2020.06 · Cited by 25
Consumer Engagement in the Digital Era: Its Nature, Drivers, and Outcomes
Weitzl, W., & Einwiller, S. (2018) · The Handbook of Communication Engagement · doi:10.1002/9781119167600.ch31 · Cited by 14
Tedjakusuma, A. P., Silalahi, A. D. K., Eunike, I. J., Phuong, D. T. T., & Riantama, D. (2025) · Digital Business · doi:10.1016/j.digbus.2025.100115 · Cited by 14
Lin, B., Huang, L., & Wang, C. (2025) · Journal of Vacation Marketing · doi:10.1177/13567667251400785 · Cited by 6
Metadata
- Authors
- Sashi, C. M.
- Venue
- Management Decision
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2012-03-02
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 253-272
- ISSN
- 0025-1747 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2043146457
- Cited by
- 1,389
- References
- 11
- FWCI
- 164.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.emerald.com/insight/site-policies (tdm)
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.