A customer engagement framework for a B2B context

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate conceptually the relationship between the customer’s engagement and equity and to determine whether customer engagement could be positively enhanced by business-to-business (B2B) firms to maximize their customer equity, through examining the role of cognitive, emotional and behavioral engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is built on the evolving marketing literature and proposes a comprehensive framework that uses a multidimensional conceptualization for the customer’s engagement and equity constructs; examines the relationships between customer satisfaction, commitment, trust and involvement and customer engagement; and specifies the specific customer engagement dimensions – cognitive, emotional and behavioral – as key mediators of the engagement–equity relationship.

Findings

This paper indicated that customer engagement is a multidimensional construct with three dimensions: cognitive, emotional or behavior engagement. Customer’s satisfaction, commitment, trust and involvement would be regarded as antecedents to customer engagement, whereas customer equity would be regarded a consequence for customer engagement. In addition, this paper identified three drivers of customer equity – value, brand and relationship equities – based on reviewing the previous studies.

Originality/value

This paper integrates philosophies from previous marketing studies of customer relationship management and customer engagement and equity into a B2B environment in a more customer-centric approach.

Citation

Youssef, Y.M.A., Johnston, W.J., AbdelHamid, T.A., Dakrory, M.I. and Seddick, M.G.S. (2018), "A customer engagement framework for a B2B context", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 145-152. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-11-2017-0286