To read this content please select one of the options below:

Fifteen years of customer engagement research: a bibliometric and network analysis

Linda D. Hollebeek (Montpellier Business School, University of Montpellier, Montpellier Research in Management, Montpellier, France and Department of Business Administration, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia)
Tripti Ghosh Sharma (Department of Marketing, Institute of Management Technology Ghaziabad, Ghaziabad, India)
Ritesh Pandey (Department of Finance, Institute of Management Technology Ghaziabad, Ghaziabad, India)
Priyavrat Sanyal (Department of Marketing, Indian Institute of Management Bodh Gaya, Bodh Gaya, India)
Moira K. Clark (Department of Marketing and Reputation, Henley Business School, University of Reading Whiteknights Campus, Reading, UK)

Journal of Product & Brand Management

ISSN: 1061-0421

Article publication date: 13 October 2021

Issue publication date: 3 February 2022

4602

Abstract

Purpose

In recent years, customer engagement (CE) with brands, which has been shown to yield enhanced firm sales, competitive advantage and stock returns, has risen to occupy a prominent position in brand management research and practice. Correspondingly, scholars have explored CE’s conceptualization, operationalization and its nomological networks as informed by different theoretical perspectives. However, in spite of important advances, the knowledge structure of the overall corpus of CE research remains tenuous. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the intellectual structure of CE research.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on this gap, this study deploys bibliometric and network analysis to map CE’s literature-based landscape. Using bibliometric analysis, important CE-publishing journals, authors and influential CE articles (2005–2020) are uncovered. Using network analysis, prominent CE themes are also unearthed.

Findings

The results document key CE-publishing journals and authors and their respective contributions to the literature. Five CE themes are also identified, including CE measurement/methods, online CE, CE’s value co-creating capacity, CE conceptualization and customer/consumer brand engagement. Further, an agenda for future CE research is provided based on the presented network analysis results.

Practical implications

The reported findings generate important implications for brand managers. For example, the identified critical role of online (vs offline) CE offers a range of strategic opportunities, as outlined.

Originality/value

This paper offers a pioneering bibliometric and network analysis of the CE literature, thus mapping the field. From the identified CE themes, important avenues for further CE research are also identified.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Pantea Foroudi and Dr Reza Marvi for several discussions on this topic and a related work-in-progress, in addition to a general discussion with Dr Tahereh Saheb, Dr Iman Raeesi and Dr David Gligor.

Citation

Hollebeek, L.D., Sharma, T.G., Pandey, R., Sanyal, P. and Clark, M.K. (2022), "Fifteen years of customer engagement research: a bibliometric and network analysis", Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 31 No. 2, pp. 293-309. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-01-2021-3301

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles