Benefitting from virtual customer environments: An empirical study of customer engagement

We propose and test a model for studying customer engagement within VCEs.Hedonic, social, and cognitive benefits positively influence customer engagement.Personal integrative benefits do not influence customer engagement.System-specific VCE characteristics influence the perceived benefits of a VCE.The results are robust across three datasets of actual VCE users. Customer engagement has been labeled as a prerequisite for the success of virtual customer environments. A key challenge for organizations serving their customers via these environments is how to stimulate customer engagement. This study is among the first to shed light on this issue by examining customer engagement and its drivers. Using the theory of uses and gratification as theoretical lens, we develop a model that relates characteristics of virtual customer environments, perceived benefits of using these environments and customer engagement intentions. The model is validated using partially least squares structural equation modeling on three samples of real users of different virtual customer environments in the Dutch telecom industry. The results provide clear support for the validity of the hypothesized relationships and show high robustness of the findings across the three datasets. An important finding of this study is that cognitive, social integrative and hedonic benefits appear to be significant in their influence on customer engagement intentions. Overall, the findings add to the underexplored field of customer engagement study and hold implications for research into and the management of virtual customer environments.

[1]  Mohammad Reza Habibi,et al.  The roles of brand community and community engagement in building brand trust on social media , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[2]  Wynne W. Chin,et al.  A Partial Least Squares Latent Variable Modeling Approach for Measuring Interaction Effects: Results from a Monte Carlo Simulation Study and an Electronic - Mail Emotion/Adoption Study , 2003, Inf. Syst. Res..

[3]  Tommy Gärling,et al.  Consumer attitudes towards switching supplier in three deregulated markets , 2009 .

[4]  Cynthia M. Webster,et al.  Word-Of-Mouth Communications: a Motivational Analysis , 1998 .

[5]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[6]  S. Nambisan,et al.  Interactions in virtual customer environments: Implications for product support and customer relationship management , 2007 .

[7]  J. Hair.  Multivariate data analysis : a global perspective , 2010 .

[8]  C. Batson.  The Altruism Question: Toward A Social-psychological Answer , 1991 .

[9]  Samer Faraj,et al.  Why Should I Share? Examining Social Capital and Knowledge Contribution in Electronic Networks of Practice , 2005, MIS Q..

[10]  Carolyn A. Massiah,et al.  When Customers Receive Support From Other Customers: Exploring the Influence of Intercustomer Social Support on Customer Voluntary Performance , 2007 .

[11]  Thomas C. O'Guinn,et al.  brand community , 2022, The Fairchild Books Dictionary of Fashion.

[12]  Tao Zhou,et al.  Understanding Online Community User Participation: A Social Influence Perspective , 2011, Internet Res..

[13]  U. Dholakia,et al.  Communal Service Delivery , 2009 .

[14]  Abigail A. Scholer,et al.  Engaging the Consumer: The Science and Art of the Value Creation Process , 2009 .

[15]  P. Kollock.  The Economies of Online Cooperation: Gifts and Public Goods in Cyberspace , 1999 .

[16]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  An Update and Extension to SEM Guidelines for Admnistrative and Social Science Research , 2011 .

[17]  Dennis Kundisch,et al.  Don't take away my status! - Evidence from the restructuring of a virtual reward system , 2014, Comput. Networks.

[18]  Amit Das,et al.  Knowledge and Productivity in Technical Support Work , 2003, Manag. Sci..

[19]  Hsin Hsin Chang,et al.  Social capital and individual motivations on knowledge sharing: Participant involvement as a moderator , 2011, Inf. Manag..

[20]  Satish Nambisan,et al.  DESIGNING VIRTUAL CUSTOMER ENVIRONMENTS FOR NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT : TOWARD A THEORY , 2005 .

[21]  Yongmoo Suh,et al.  Gift or threat? An examination of voice of the customer: The case of MyStarbucksIdea.com , 2014, Electron. Commer. Res. Appl..

[22]  Joon Koh,et al.  An Integrative Model for Knowledge Sharing in Communities-of-Practice , 2011, J. Knowl. Manag..

[23]  A. Herrmann,et al.  The Social Influence of Brand Community: Evidence from European Car Clubs , 2005 .

[24]  Lerzan Aksoy,et al.  Undervalued or Overvalued Customers: Capturing Total Customer Engagement Value , 2010 .

[25]  Wynne W. Chin.  How to Write Up and Report PLS Analyses , 2010 .

[26]  Hazel Hall,et al.  Input-friendliness: motivating knowledge sharing across intranets , 2001, J. Inf. Sci..

[27]  R. Belk.  Extended Self in a Digital World , 2013 .

[28]  Satish Nambisan,et al.  Different Roles, Different Strokes: Organizing Virtual Customer Environments to Promote Two Types of Customer Contributions , 2010, Organ. Sci..

[29]  Marko Sarstedt,et al.  PLS-SEM: Indeed a Silver Bullet , 2011 .

[30]  J. M. Cortina,et al.  What Is Coefficient Alpha? An Examination of Theory and Applications , 1993 .

[31]  Ji won Kim,et al.  Scan and click: The uses and gratifications of social recommendation systems , 2014, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[32]  Tibert Verhagen,et al.  Negative online word-of-mouth: Behavioral indicator or emotional release? , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[33]  Kun Chang Lee,et al.  Investigation of online community voluntary behavior using cognitive map , 2007, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[34]  Jonathan Bishop,et al.  Increasing participation in online communities: A framework for human-computer interaction , 2007, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[35]  V. Mahajan,et al.  Delight by Design: The Role of Hedonic versus Utilitarian Benefits , 2008 .

[36]  K. Reynolds,et al.  Customer-sales associate retail relationships , 1996 .

[37]  Pierre Desmet.  Asking for less to obtain more , 1999 .

[38]  S. Kiesler,et al.  The kindness of strangers: on the usefulness of electronic weak ties for technical advice , 1996 .

[39]  Brian J. Baldus,et al.  Online brand community engagement: Scale development and validation , 2015 .

[40]  Chrysanthos Dellarocas,et al.  The Digitization of Word-of-Mouth: Promise and Challenges of Online Feedback Mechanisms , 2003, Manag. Sci..

[41]  Katherine N. Lemon,et al.  Customer Engagement Behavior: Theoretical Foundations and Research Directions , 2010 .

[42]  R. Brodie,et al.  Consumer Brand Engagement in Social Media: Conceptualization, Scale Development and Validation , 2014 .

[43]  C. Prahalad,et al.  Co-creation experiences: The next practice in value creation , 2004 .

[44]  G. Hutton.  Net gain: Expanding markets through virtual communities , 1998 .

[45]  Sunanda Sangwan,et al.  Virtual Community Success: A Uses and Gratifications Perspective , 2005, Proceedings of the 38th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.

[46]  Dov Te'eni,et al.  Review: A Cognitive-Affective Model of Organizational Communication for Designing IT , 2001, MIS Q..

[47]  R. Brodie,et al.  Consumer engagement in a virtual brand community: An exploratory analysis , 2013 .

[48]  Dov Te 'eni.  : A COGNITIVE-AFFECTIVE MODEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION FOR DESIGNING IT , 2001 .

[49]  Sharon Swee-Lin Tan,et al.  Contribution Behaviors in Distributed Environments , 2008, MIS Q..

[50]  Dwayne D. Gremler,et al.  Electronic word-of-mouth via consumer-opinion platforms: What motivates consumers to articulate themselves on the Internet? , 2004 .

[51]  A. Rangaswamy,et al.  The Impact of New Media on Customer Relationships , 2010 .

[52]  J. Füller,et al.  Innovation creation by online basketball communities , 2007 .

[53]  Gurpreet Dhillon,et al.  A Framework and Guidelines for Context-Specific Theorizing in Information Systems Research , 2014, Inf. Syst. Res..

[54]  Mark Vandenbosch,et al.  Research Report: Richness Versus Parsimony in Modeling Technology Adoption Decisions - Understanding Merchant Adoption of a Smart Card-Based Payment System , 2001, Inf. Syst. Res..

[55]  Thomas E. Ruggiero.  Uses and Gratifications Theory in the 21st Century , 2000 .

[56]  Lars Bo Jeppesen,et al.  Consumers as Co-developers: Learning and Innovation Outside the Firm , 2003, Technol. Anal. Strateg. Manag..

[57]  Ann Majchrzak,et al.  Enabling Customer-Centricity Using Wikis and the Wiki Way , 2006, J. Manag. Inf. Syst..

[58]  Edward Shih-Tse Wang,et al.  Forming relationship commitments to online communities: The role of social motivations , 2012, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[59]  Hanna-Kaisa Ellonen,et al.  Antecedents of an experienced sense of virtual community , 2011, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[60]  R. Morgan,et al.  Customer Engagement: Exploring Customer Relationships Beyond Purchase , 2012 .

[61]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  A Social Influence Model of Consumer Participation in Network- and Small-Group-Based Virtual Communities , 2004 .

[62]  Joseph Lampel,et al.  The Role of Status-Seeking in Online Communities: Giving the Gift of Experience , 2007, J. Comput. Mediat. Commun..

[63]  Detmar W. Straub,et al.  Validation Guidelines for IS Positivist Research , 2004, Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst..

[64]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Construct Measurement and Validation Procedures in MIS and Behavioral Research: Integrating New and Existing Techniques , 2011, MIS Q..

[65]  M. Bruhn,et al.  Antecedents and consequences of the quality of e-customer-to-customer interactions in B2B brand communities , 2014 .

[66]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  Intentional social action in virtual communities , 2002 .

[67]  Stephen C. Nettelhorst,et al.  Examining the impact of consumer feedback on internet product evaluation: Comparing base-rate and case history information , 2013, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[68]  Martin Bichler,et al.  Design science in information systems research , 2006, Wirtschaftsinf..

[69]  Philip Palmgreen,et al.  Gratification Discrepancies and News Program Choice , 1981 .

[70]  Youn-Kyung Kim,et al.  The role of social network websites in the consumer–brand relationship , 2014 .

[71]  E. Katz,et al.  Uses and Gratifications Research , 2019, The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies.

[72]  B. Pennell,et al.  Survey Questionnaire Translation and Assessment , 2004 .

[73]  Mary K. Foster,et al.  Why Users Participate in Online Social Networks , 2010 .

[74]  S. Nambisan,et al.  Virtual Customer Environments: Testing a Model of Voluntary Participation in Value Co‐creation Activities , 2009 .

[75]  Tian-chao Guo,et al.  The formation of social identity and self-identity based on knowledge contribution in virtual communities: An inductive route model , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[76]  Lars Frederiksen,et al.  Why Do Users Contribute to Firm-Hosted User Communities? The Case of Computer-Controlled Music Instruments , 2006, Organ. Sci..

[77]  K. Ruyter,et al.  Social Capital Production in a Virtual P3 Community , 2008 .

[78]  Johann Füller,et al.  private communications , 1998 .

[79]  Rick Ferguson,et al.  Telecom's search for the ultimate customer loyalty platform , 2008 .

[80]  M. McLure Wasko,et al.  "It is what one does": why people participate and help others in electronic communities of practice , 2000, J. Strateg. Inf. Syst..

[81]  Amy Hicks,et al.  Why people use Yelp.com: An exploration of uses and gratifications , 2012, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[82]  R. Brodie,et al.  Customer Engagement , 2011 .

[83]  Carol Saunders,et al.  EDITOR’S COMMENTS Volume 29 Iss. 4 , 2005 .

[84]  W. Reinartz,et al.  Customer Engagement as a New Perspective in Customer Management , 2010 .

[85]  Aras Keropyan,et al.  Customer loyalty programs to sustain consumer fidelity in mobile telecommunication market , 2012, Expert Syst. Appl..

[86]  Guan-Lin Chen,et al.  Sense of Virtual Community and Knowledge Contribution in a P3 Virtual Community: Motivation and Experience , 2013, Internet Res..

[87]  M. Sawhney,et al.  Collaborating to create: The Internet as a platform for customer engagement in product innovation , 2005 .

[88]  Yonggui Wang,et al.  Customers' perceived benefits of interacting in a virtual brand community in China , 2013 .

[89]  Robert F. DeVellis,et al.  Scale Development: Theory and Applications. , 1992 .

[90]  Richard G. Netemeyer,et al.  Scaling Procedures: Issues and Applications , 2003 .

[91]  F. Rothaermel,et al.  Virtual internet communities and commercial success: individual and community-level theory grounded in the atypical case of TimeZone.com , 2001 .

[92]  A. Lievens,et al.  Learning during the new financial service innovation process: Antecedents and performance effects , 2004 .

[93]  Michael Rosemann,et al.  Toward Improving the Relevance of Information Systems Research to Practice: The Role of Applicability Checks , 2008, MIS Q..

[94]  D. Harhoff,et al.  Profiting from Voluntary Information Spillovers: How Users Benefit by Freely Revealing Their Innovations , 2003 .

[95]  Stephen L. Vargo,et al.  Evolving to a New Dominant Logic for Marketing , 2004 .

[96]  U. Dholakia,et al.  The Mixed Effects of Participant Diversity and Expressive Freedom in Online Peer-to-Peer Problem Solving Communities , 2014 .