The more I know, the more I engage: consumer education's role in consumer engagement in the coffee shop context

Abstract

Purpose

The present study examines the potential association between the company's efforts on consumer education and consumer engagement and addresses the implications of this link in strategic decision-making.

Design/methodology/approach

The coffee shop industry serves as the context for testing the probable effect of education on creating more engaged consumers. To achieve this objective, regular coffee drinkers were asked to evaluate the education efforts of their favourite coffee shop and their level of engagement was assessed. Education and engagement were assessed using previously developed scales constituting a 32-item scale. The responses of 122 subjects were used in the analysis.

Findings

Consumer education, both firm specific and market related, are found to be related to engagement within a coffee shop context. Findings might suggest alternative strategies within coffee shop brands to enhance their educational efforts to increasing their consumer's engagement levels, which might ultimately result in more loyal customers.

Practical implications

The association between consumer education and consumer engagement is relevant when engagement is identified as a powerful predictor of several desired behavioural outcomes, such as satisfaction, word of mouth and loyalty. The possibility of education influencing consumer engagement might highlight an alternative strategy for companies pursuing higher engagement levels.

Originality/value

Although both constructs, education and engagement, have been previously used to analyse a set of different phenomena, the present study is perhaps the first to address a potential correlation between the two.

Citation

Ornelas Sánchez, S.A. and Vera Martínez, J. (2021), "The more I know, the more I engage: consumer education's role in consumer engagement in the coffee shop context", British Food Journal, Vol. 123 No. 2, pp. 551-562. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-05-2020-0401