In this study, we argue for a redefining of the consumer's role in market innovation and suggest new patterns of consumer adoption and diffusion of market innovations. In studying the consumer-oriented literature, we identify and compare... more
In this study, we argue for a redefining of the consumer's role in market innovation and suggest new patterns of consumer adoption and diffusion of market innovations. In studying the consumer-oriented literature, we identify and compare three underlying market innovation logics: (1) the incumbent legitimator logic, where market innovation is about established providers' expansion or creation of new markets through collaboration with external stakeholder groups, (2) the consumer activist logic, where market innovations are created as a result of market activism from consumers, and (3) the market co-creator logic, where markets are expanded or created through institutional change initiated by providers' and consumers' co-creation practices. Through examples from the digitalisation of local food markets, we discuss managerial implications of using each of the three market innovation logics as a perspective-taking lens.
The purpose of this thesis is to develop a conceptual and theoretical understanding of customer brand engagement (CBE) that is useful for practitioners, particularly for service firms utilizing interactive platforms in building... more
The purpose of this thesis is to develop a conceptual and theoretical understanding of customer brand engagement (CBE) that is useful for practitioners, particularly for service firms utilizing interactive platforms in building customer-brand relationships. Arguably, there is a need for more research to construct theories of the role of CBE in brand relationships and to test theories of antecedents and outcomes of CBE. This thesis provides an overview of the CBE and the consumer/customer engagement (CE) literature, and four articles applying different theoretical perspectives that together provide a comprehensive understanding of CBE in interactive contexts. CBE is investigated in relation to customers as the engagement subjects, and brands (i.e., brand relationships, brand activities) as the engagement objects.
The aims of the four articles are to (1) provide an understanding of the motivational factors underlying people’s usage of social media contexts, functioning as prerequisites for CBE, (2) theoretically conceptualize CBE’s unique characteristics and dimensions, (3) provide a practically useful multidimensional measurement scale of CBE as a psychologically anchored concept and (4) theoretically explore antecedents and outcomes of CBE, by linking conceptual relationships. Through the ongoing process, continually working with, and investigating CBE, this thesis suggests that CBE should comprise a psychological state of multiple dimensions (i.e., emotional, cognitive and intentional) and engagement behavior beyond exchange. Thus, as an overall concept, CBE should encompass both a state and a behavioral part, each consisting of separate engagement processes. The work with the four articles of this thesis led to the final definition of CBE as “a customer’s obligation to invest his/her emotions, cognitions, and behavioral intentions in a brand relationship and the invested engagement behavior in the brand relationship”.
All four articles use social media (Facebook) as the particular interactive context for the empirical studies of CBE. Further, all of the articles concern insurance firms and their attempts to use social media in customer-brand relationships. Using insurance firms that are considered to offer intangible, high-involvement and negatively motivated services, provides the possibility of testing theory under the most critical conditions possible, which is a good strategy for providing theory development, testing and generalization.
The aims of the four articles are to (1) provide an understanding of the motivational factors underlying people’s usage of social media contexts, functioning as prerequisites for CBE, (2) theoretically conceptualize CBE’s unique characteristics and dimensions, (3) provide a practically useful multidimensional measurement scale of CBE as a psychologically anchored concept and (4) theoretically explore antecedents and outcomes of CBE, by linking conceptual relationships. Through the ongoing process, continually working with, and investigating CBE, this thesis suggests that CBE should comprise a psychological state of multiple dimensions (i.e., emotional, cognitive and intentional) and engagement behavior beyond exchange. Thus, as an overall concept, CBE should encompass both a state and a behavioral part, each consisting of separate engagement processes. The work with the four articles of this thesis led to the final definition of CBE as “a customer’s obligation to invest his/her emotions, cognitions, and behavioral intentions in a brand relationship and the invested engagement behavior in the brand relationship”.
All four articles use social media (Facebook) as the particular interactive context for the empirical studies of CBE. Further, all of the articles concern insurance firms and their attempts to use social media in customer-brand relationships. Using insurance firms that are considered to offer intangible, high-involvement and negatively motivated services, provides the possibility of testing theory under the most critical conditions possible, which is a good strategy for providing theory development, testing and generalization.
Research Interests:
Online brand communities (OBCs) are an effective avenue for brands to engage consumers. While engaging with the brand, consumers simultaneously interact with other OBC members; thus engaging with multiple, interrelated engagement objects... more
Online brand communities (OBCs) are an effective avenue for brands to engage consumers. While engaging with the brand, consumers simultaneously interact with other OBC members; thus engaging with multiple, interrelated engagement objects concurrently. The purpose of this paper is to explore both positively and negatively valenced consumer engagement with multiple engagement objects, the interplay between these, and the spillover effect from consumers’ engagement with the OBC to their engagement with the brand.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on 16 in-depth interviews with OBC members of a luxury accessory brand, a constant comparative method was adopted using axial and selective coding procedures. The objective was to understand the nature of participants’ engagement with the brand, the OBC, and the interplay between individuals’ engagement with these objects. The coding framework and resultant interpretive frameworks address engagement valence, outcomes, and direction.
Findings
This study illustrates consumer expressions of consumers’ positively and negatively valenced engagement with a focal brand, and with the OBC. Further, it demonstrates the interplay (spillover effect) that occurs between consumers’ engagement with the OBC, to their engagement with the brand. While the existence of positively valenced engagement with the OBC was found to further enhance consumer brand engagement (i.e. reflecting an engagement accumulation effect), negatively valenced engagement with the OBC was found to reduce consumer brand engagement (i.e. reflecting an engagement detraction effect).
Originality/value
While consumer engagement has been recognized to have both positive and negative manifestations, this study demonstrates that consumers’ engagement valence may differ across interrelated engagement objects (i.e. the brand and the OBC). Further, we demonstrate the existence of engagement spillover effects from the OBC to the brand for both positively and negatively valenced engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on 16 in-depth interviews with OBC members of a luxury accessory brand, a constant comparative method was adopted using axial and selective coding procedures. The objective was to understand the nature of participants’ engagement with the brand, the OBC, and the interplay between individuals’ engagement with these objects. The coding framework and resultant interpretive frameworks address engagement valence, outcomes, and direction.
Findings
This study illustrates consumer expressions of consumers’ positively and negatively valenced engagement with a focal brand, and with the OBC. Further, it demonstrates the interplay (spillover effect) that occurs between consumers’ engagement with the OBC, to their engagement with the brand. While the existence of positively valenced engagement with the OBC was found to further enhance consumer brand engagement (i.e. reflecting an engagement accumulation effect), negatively valenced engagement with the OBC was found to reduce consumer brand engagement (i.e. reflecting an engagement detraction effect).
Originality/value
While consumer engagement has been recognized to have both positive and negative manifestations, this study demonstrates that consumers’ engagement valence may differ across interrelated engagement objects (i.e. the brand and the OBC). Further, we demonstrate the existence of engagement spillover effects from the OBC to the brand for both positively and negatively valenced engagement.
Research Interests:
Purpose – Value co-creation assumes that customers take active roles and create value together with firms. This paper aims to investigate the short and long-term effects of customer participation on brand loyalty, through brand... more
Purpose – Value co-creation assumes that customers take active roles and create value together with firms. This paper aims to investigate the short and long-term effects of customer participation on brand loyalty, through brand satisfaction. Participation effects were also examined among social media-using customers with the additional explanatory factor of brand engagement.
Design/methodology/approach – Two studies were conducted among insurance customers: a cross-sectional study using a nationwide sample
(N 954) and a subsample of social media users (N 145) to examine short-term effects, and a longitudinal study using data from three
assessment timepoints (N 376) to enable empirical long-term testing.
Findings – The cross-sectional study showed positive short-term effects of customer participation on brand loyalty, mediated by satisfaction. Among customers using social media, positive participation effects gained from brand engagement strengthened brand satisfaction. The longitudinal study did not show similar positive long-term effects of customer participation.
Practical implications – These findings help deepen service marketers’ understanding of the possible short-term effects of customer participation and customer brand engagement, and caution them to not expect that customer participation will have long-term positive satisfaction and loyalty effects.
Originality/value – This research provides interesting short- and long-term findings, due to the complementary cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs.
Keywords Brand satisfaction, Customer participation, Brand loyalty, Customer brand engagement
Paper type Research paper
Design/methodology/approach – Two studies were conducted among insurance customers: a cross-sectional study using a nationwide sample
(N 954) and a subsample of social media users (N 145) to examine short-term effects, and a longitudinal study using data from three
assessment timepoints (N 376) to enable empirical long-term testing.
Findings – The cross-sectional study showed positive short-term effects of customer participation on brand loyalty, mediated by satisfaction. Among customers using social media, positive participation effects gained from brand engagement strengthened brand satisfaction. The longitudinal study did not show similar positive long-term effects of customer participation.
Practical implications – These findings help deepen service marketers’ understanding of the possible short-term effects of customer participation and customer brand engagement, and caution them to not expect that customer participation will have long-term positive satisfaction and loyalty effects.
Originality/value – This research provides interesting short- and long-term findings, due to the complementary cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs.
Keywords Brand satisfaction, Customer participation, Brand loyalty, Customer brand engagement
Paper type Research paper
Research Interests:
When utilising social media to establish customer–brand relationships beyond exchange, service brands must understand which activities stimulate customer brand engagement (CBE) and brand preference. Founded in ideas from regulatory... more
When utilising social media to establish customer–brand relationships
beyond exchange, service brands must understand which
activities stimulate customer brand engagement (CBE) and brand
preference. Founded in ideas from regulatory engagement theory,
this study examines regulatory fit as a key driver of CBE and brand
value experience. Regulatory fit theory assumes that promotion
orientation, focusing on attaining a desired end state, fits with
eager and active customer strategies while prevention orientation,
focusing on avoiding an undesired end state, fits with vigilant and
watchful customer strategies. This experimental study of a Nordic
insurance firm’s Facebook brand activities (n = 429) identified
positive regulatory fit, non-fit and simple effects on psychologically
anchored (emotional, cognitive and intentional) and behavioural
(‘likes’, comments) CBE dimensions. Consistent with
regulatory fit theory, the study found that a prevention-oriented
brand activity best evoked positive cognitive CBE among customers
applying vigilant strategies. Opposing existing theory, promotion-
oriented brand activity best evoked positive emotional CBE
regardless of customer strategy and a prevention-oriented brand
activity best evoked positive intentional CBE among those applying
eager strategies, The findings contribute to a better understanding
the multidimensionality of CBE and the role of fit in
regulatory engagement theory. The findings are also of direct
relevance to how service firms should engage their customers,
and show that service providers can benefit from the use of
prevention-oriented activities in social media if such activities are
in accordance with their brand values.
beyond exchange, service brands must understand which
activities stimulate customer brand engagement (CBE) and brand
preference. Founded in ideas from regulatory engagement theory,
this study examines regulatory fit as a key driver of CBE and brand
value experience. Regulatory fit theory assumes that promotion
orientation, focusing on attaining a desired end state, fits with
eager and active customer strategies while prevention orientation,
focusing on avoiding an undesired end state, fits with vigilant and
watchful customer strategies. This experimental study of a Nordic
insurance firm’s Facebook brand activities (n = 429) identified
positive regulatory fit, non-fit and simple effects on psychologically
anchored (emotional, cognitive and intentional) and behavioural
(‘likes’, comments) CBE dimensions. Consistent with
regulatory fit theory, the study found that a prevention-oriented
brand activity best evoked positive cognitive CBE among customers
applying vigilant strategies. Opposing existing theory, promotion-
oriented brand activity best evoked positive emotional CBE
regardless of customer strategy and a prevention-oriented brand
activity best evoked positive intentional CBE among those applying
eager strategies, The findings contribute to a better understanding
the multidimensionality of CBE and the role of fit in
regulatory engagement theory. The findings are also of direct
relevance to how service firms should engage their customers,
and show that service providers can benefit from the use of
prevention-oriented activities in social media if such activities are
in accordance with their brand values.
Research Interests:
Customer Brand Engagement (CBE) is an important, timely concept, particularly for service brands using interactive social media channels. This research involved elucidation of the main characteristics of CBE, development and evaluation of... more
Customer Brand Engagement (CBE) is an important, timely concept, particularly for service brands using interactive social media channels. This research involved elucidation of the main characteristics of CBE, development and evaluation of a social media adapted CBE measurement scale and hypothesis testing to position CBE in social media among other relationship concepts. We identified CBE as a unique concept using a repertory grid, adapted a three-dimensional organisational behaviour scale and validated the scale using questionnaire and panel data. The scale is reliable for the measurement of CBE in interactive social media contexts, incorporating physical, emotional and cognitive psychological engagement states, as demonstrated with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. We found significant effects of customer participation and brand involvement on CBE, and of CBE on brand loyalty through brand experience and satisfaction. This paper demonstrates the complexity (multidimensionality) of CBE and shows how it can be measured appropriately in interactive contexts.