Wade Jarvis

Epilogue to the Special Issue and reflections on the future of engagement research

We are confident this Special Issue will generate scholarly discussion and debate, as well as act as a catalyst in advancing marketing-based engagement research. We thank each of the contributing authors, and in this commentary, synthesise our key reflections regarding the current state of engagement research, and identify key areas for further research in this area, which emanate from this Special Issue.

Integrating social issues and customer engagement to drive loyalty in a service organisation

Purpose – The paper aims to measure and identify customer preference for social issues and understand the importance of customer engagement when service organisations implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes. Design/methodology/approach – Developing a relevancy/scope typology framework, this paper then examines the relationships between social issues preference, engagement and loyalty. The models were estimated to assess the role engagement played in the relationship between CSR issue preference and loyalty. The sample was obtained from customers who used a large national Australian Internet service provider. Findings – Local and global CSR issues relevant to the organisation were most preferred, while engagement had the strongest, positive effect on loyalty and was a full mediator of the relationship between CSR issue preference and loyalty. Practical implications – Service organisations should direct their CSR efforts towards addressing social issues that are relevant to their business...

Customer engagement in CSR: a utility theory model with moderating variables

Purpose Both customer engagement (CE) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been linked to customer loyalty. Past studies use service dominant logic and customer value co-creation to explain this relationship. The purpose of this paper is to apply utility theory to develop and test a new theoretical model based on CSR initiative preference to understand the relationship between CE and customer loyalty to the organisation in a CSR platform. Design/methodology/approach This empirical study uses choice theory in the form of best-worst scaling, and structural equation modelling, to measure the impact of sports club members’ choice preferences for a range of CSR initiatives on their intention to engage with the initiative and subsequent loyalty to the club. Findings This study highlights the importance of engaging members in the CSR strategy they prefer as it enhances not only the extra value to the organisation via customer loyalty to the organisation, but also CE with the organisation. Furthermore, the study reveals age and gender impact on the relationship between CE in CSR initiatives and customer loyalty. Originality/value This study extends CE to CSR behaviours and provides empirical evidence for a unique theoretical framework of CE based on utility theory. It also highlights the need to take into account moderating variables such as customer demographics.

Alcohol warning statement effectiveness under different alcohol category conditions

It has been shown that heterogeneity in worded alcohol warning statement effectiveness affects young people’s choice behaviour. This heterogeneity has been found to be closely aligned to gender differences. In this study, the research is extended by considering the influence of alcohol category (type) on choice and how this preference influences warning statement effectiveness. Choice tasks combining different branded alcohol types, alcohol content and warning statements were presented online as labels. The context was 18-25 year old drinkers in Australia. The results showed that while gender is a significant covariate for the different latent classes in the data, it doesn’t improve overall model fit. Alcohol category preferences drive choice behaviour and differences exist with regards to how warning statements are processed. With certain pre-mixed beverages and wine, worded statements in larger font size had significant negative impact on choice. With rum drinkers, simpler cues of size and the use of the word “WARNING” in front of the statement had a negative impact on choice. With beer drinkers, neither statement nor orientation of the statement influenced choice. The results suggest new warning statements strategies for dealing with heterogeneity in the wider alcohol market.

Co-creating a CSR Strategy with Customers to Deliver Greater Value

A CSR strategy that delivers social value to the community , altruistic value to the customer, and value to the firm undertaking the program has the potential to ensure long-term commitment by firms to invest strategically in CSR . In further exploring the relationship between stakeholder management and CSR , co-creation and customer engagement is receiving a lot of attention within the discipline of Marketing , and extending this to thinking about how customers can act as a useful resource for, and be truly engaged in addressing social issues is an exciting direction. The development of the Preference, Engagement, Loyalty Model answers three critical questions—customers prefer firms address social issues which are aligned with their core purpose; customers are willing to be engaged in addressing the social issue, and if engaged, customers will be more loyal to the firm. Customer engagement was found to be a full mediator of the relationship between CSR issue preference and loyalty. These findings are significant. For organisations investing in a CSR program, adoption of the Preference, Engagement, Loyalty model demonstrates an opportunity for firms to not only deliver social benefit to the community, but to also use the program as a co-creation platform with their customers to achieve greater loyalty. Educators must embed the concept of engagement and co-creation within the teaching of CSR , and future research should further explore the relationship between societal marketing and engagement.