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This paper aims to develop a richer, more complete understanding of how firms define and consider customer engagement on social networks. The research builds from the theoretical backdrop of customer engagement. The research then uses a qualitative interview approach to understand the firm perspective.

Qualitative data were collected using in-depth interviews with employees at a variety of companies including Facebook, Google, another leading social networking site, a higher education institution and a start-up company.

Companies view engagement with social media as measureable metrics of consumer interactions with the platform. These metrics could include growth and interaction on the platform, number of users, subscribers to the site or page views. Propositions are developed around how customer engagement is defined, the breadth and depth of social media and when social media is used as a push or a pull strategy.

Findings from this research are limited by the sample size and convenience of sampling. However, results from this grounded theory approach enabled propositions that can focus on larger datasets and testing.

Engagement indicates meaningful information that can propel a company’s position forward. To companies, this meaningful information is in terms of metrics that can be used as information and evidence for future decision-making.

This research suggests that firms need to better define what engagement means and to assess the best platforms for creating an ecosystem of engagement with customers.

Many researchers are exploring engagement within the context of social media networks. This research, however, is one of the first to explore this from a firm level perspective.

Retailers increasingly experiment with a wide variety of store elements; this chapter focuses on in-store marketing tactics and reports the results of 12 in-store experiments conducted in cooperation with different retail chains. Experiments 1–3 address in-store signage (digital, floor) and reveal that digital screens and signage can draw customers toward merchandise and deeper into shopping aisles. Experiments 4–6 explore the impact of the organization of a display (vertical, horizontal, diagonal, waterfall) and generally demonstrate the superiority of vertical organizations of merchandise. In Experiments 7–9, results pertaining to the location of a product in a store highlight the importance of placing merchandise at eye level. With Experiments 10 and 11, the authors reinforce the importance of retail atmospherics (scent, lighting). Finally, Experiment 12 explores product placement and other factors that can enhance the effectiveness of in-store merchandise demonstrations.

This editorial aims to discuss how the modern world is causing pricing practices of both retailers and consumers to evolve. The contributions of seven papers included in this special issue have been highlighted.

The purpose is to explore how different cues impact consumer reactions to prices.

These cues include both cues regarding the price itself (e.g. the level of the discount, how the price is broken into component parts, the starting price in an auction), as well as non-price-related cues (e.g. private labels, brand familiarly, consumer ratings, creativity of an ad). In addition, this special issue includes a review article which provides a comprehensive review of behavioral pricing research.

The contributions of seven papers included in this special issue have been highlighted.

Drawing from prior research, the purpose of this paper is to outline the benefits of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns for the sponsoring multinational organization and the non-profit, to examine the impact of firm–cause fit and how this fit forms and to describe consumer reactions to CRM campaigns. With this backdrop, the paper offers recommendations for how multinational corporations (MNCs) should undertake international CRM activities.

A comprehensive literature review, undertaken with a theoretical lens, helps reveal how CRM campaigns can be executed in international markets.

With accurate country market assessments, MNCs are better prepared to integrate with the local environment and deliver effective CRM strategies and value.

This paper offers guidance for MNCs that are interested in expanding internationally in terms of how to develop an effective CRM in international markets. In addition, it explores relationship elements that are critical for creating a successful, synergistic relationship between the firm and the non-profit.

When adopted effectively, CRM can be a valuable tool for firms as they expand internationally, by establishing relationships with local customers. This research suggests guidelines for multinationals to consider as they expand their presence globally and apply CRM in broader contexts.

In this brief paper, the aim is to highlight three important pricing areas: the business strategies and pricing models that have evolved over the past 20 years of research, the customers that have been targeted, and the role of the internet on pricing. The advent of social media, mobile marketing and display technologies are likely to encourage researchers to pursue additional research on these topics.

The current paper is an essay aimed at stimulating pricing research in three major domains.

The authors review illustrative current practices and research findings pertaining to emerging pricing business models, customer target marketing and price dispersion on the web.

The paper highlights areas that need empirical investigation.

Managers need to explicitly understand the role of these emerging technologies (e.g. social media, mobile media, and web‐application) and appropriately incorporate them into their pricing strategies.

The paper's central contribution is to stimulate additional research on key pricing areas.

This paper aims to investigate personalized communications through digital media, which include display, search, social and mobile communications.

Drawing on the literature pertaining to different digital mediums, the authors explore how different factors influence consumers’ responses to personalized communications. The current study integrates and reviews prior literature related to personalization, seeking a richer understanding of when personalized communications improve or hinder customer–firm interactions.

Personalization can both enhance and diminish consumer engagement with the firm: it may heighten privacy concerns because consumers worry about how their data are collected and used, and it can also benefit them in meaningful ways. Thus, firms must use the information that they collect in a strategic manner to balance this personalization-privacy paradox. This paper finds that the benefits of personalization may vary as a function of the medium through which the communication is conveyed. It suggests directions for research in each of these media and strategies firms can implement to mitigate privacy concerns.

This investigation of emerging themes related to search, display, social and mobile communications provides a more comprehensive overview of current research, as well as a foundation for further research into personalization.