Introduction

Theory: Digital Customer Practices in Engagement Research

Phase 1: Development and Refinement of Digital Engagement Practices

Phase 2: Developing the Consumer-based Taxonomy

Phase 3: Nomological Validation of the Taxonomy

Discussion

References

Abstract

Consumers can engage with brands online in a variety of ways, ranging from playing a branded game to writing a review or viewing branded content. This work presents a consumer-based taxonomy of these digital engagement practices. By means of a literature review and expert surveys, we created an overview of the ways in which consumers digitally engage with brands across different media formats and platforms. A consumer sample then classified all practices into five distinct types of digital engagement practices (for fun practices, learning practices, customer feedback, work for a brand, talk about a brand). A subsequent survey on another consumer sample showed that the five types of practices are differently related to the three motivational states of customer brand engagement (cognitive, emotional and behavioral). The taxonomy of digital engagement practices integrates prior research. We provide implications for managing digital customer engagement.

Introduction

Fueled by rapid developments in digital environments, and by a desire to build personal connections with consumers, brands are increasingly seeking to engage with consumers on digital platforms (Alvarez and Fournier 2016; Kumar and Gupta 2016; Lamberton and Stephen 2016). On different digital platforms, a wide range of engagement practices has evolved, including, for example, playing advergames, reading (and writing) customer reviews, and watching, liking and sharing brand videos, blogs, and other content. These practices may be conceptualized as behavioral manifestations of customer brand engagement, which has been defined as “a consumer’s positively valenced brandrelated cognitive, emotional (or affective) 1 and behavioral activity during or related to focal consumer/brand interactions” (Hollebeek, Glynn, and Brodie 2014, p. 159). As noted by Van Doorn et al. (2010), engagement practices are motivated behaviors, which go beyond the mere purchase and consumption of products and services. Studying marketing forms in the quickly maturing digital world has been recognized as a challenge for academic research (Kannan and Li 2017; Lamberton and Stephen 2016). Indeed, there is a lack of integration of research into customer engagement practices, which is reflected in the multitude of practices and behavioral concepts that have been researched.