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The purpose of this paper is to close the gap between the theoretical nature of existing contributions in customer engagement value (CEV) and its need to practically empower business decisions. This is done by proposing a framework that consists of three techniques, each of which combines the components of CEV to make it more comprehensive and applicable. The paper also reviews and analyzes the work that has been done so far in the area of CEV whether in business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C) or consumer to consumer (C2C) markets.

CEV is a comprehensive term that measures the total value of the customer through capturing his transactional and non-transactional behaviors. Hence, it is an essential term for measuring the value of the customer in direct marketing. This motivates researchers to compete in developing models to maximize CEV. Meanwhile, most of the existing models are conceptual and the majority of them lack applicability due to many reasons. First, these models relied on a linear version of the CEV model, hence double-counting the value of the customer; also they weighted the components of CEV equally, which is unrealistic. Finally, the effect of the environmental components in determining the engagement level of each customer was almost ignored. In this paper, two main contributions are presented. First, a summary and analysis of the contributions of the literature in the CEV field for different market types whether in B2C, B2B or C2C. Furthermore, three modifications are added to the existing models. The first model introduces a non-linear relationship of the components of CEV. The second model is a weighted linear model of these components. Finally, the third model adds the environmental factors to the CEV components. All the proposed models are theoretical in nature, however, these models are expected to show superiority when being applied to real data sets due to their ability to capture the complexity in the relationship between the firm and its customers in real-life situations. The proposed models are expected to attract the practitioners and other researchers and they both are encouraged to apply the proposed models on real-life data sets, test their performance, compare them against each other, to be able to apply each of them on the best suitable data set and business scenario.

Based on the review and analysis that has been done on about 87 papers, it is found that the majority of the contributions that have been done in the area of CEV are theoretical in nature, in spite of the effectiveness of CEV in empowering business decision. It is also found that few researchers proposed a set of theoretical comprehensive frameworks that combined CEV’s components together. Meanwhile, those frameworks are not practically applicable.

Although the contribution of the proposed models expected to attract both researchers and practitioners, these are not applied to real-life case studies to prove their effectiveness.

The research in this paper has many industrial and managerial implications. First, it helps managers and decision takers to treat the customers as assets and cost-free resources who can work with the firm to achieve what’s both aims to (i.e. increase customer satisfaction and firm’s profitability). Second, it helps the firm to determine the total value of each customer and treat its customers accordingly. Third, it empowers the managers to do target marketing, based on grouping the customers upon their total engagement. This would save time and cost and for sure increase the profitability and customer satisfaction. Forth, the proposed models take into consideration not only the transactional behavior of the customers but also the non-transactional factors that play a significant role in formulating the relationship between the firm and its customers.

This is hereby to certify that the paper is original, neither the paper nor a part of it is under consideration for publication anywhere else. Also, this study has no conflicts of interest to disclose.

“Relationship benefits” (RBs) is an approach in relationship marketing. The concept highlights that both customer and firm must receive benefits from the relationship to establish and maintain it. This study aims to identify the impacts of three types of RBs on creating four kinds of customer engagement value (CEVs).

This study synthesizes previous findings and proposes hypotheses with theoretical supports and reports results from a structural equation model that uses data gathered from 577 Iranian customers across a range of services- based on an extensive review of marketing literature related to RBs.

Confidence benefits are the strongest driver of customer lifetime value and customer influence value, while special treatment benefits are the strongest driver of customer knowledge value (CKV) and customer referral value. Social benefits only affect CKV.

Future research should examine the role of other types of RBs in creating CEV, beyond the original three types of RBs.

There is no research addressing the impact of delivering RBs on CEV. This study combines RBs and CEV into a single model and demonstrates the roles of different types of RBs in creating CEV for service firms.

The authors apply Alan P. Fiske's relational models framework to customers' engagement with service firms – specifically, they propose that customers who hold different relational models for the service firm are likely to engage with the firm in dissimilar ways, thus generating different types of customer engagement value for the firm. Fiske's relational models framework is eminently suitable for studying customer-service firm engagement because it is widely adopted in the social sciences as a rigorously developed framework for conceptualizing social interactions.

The article bridges Fiske's relational models framework and Kumar et al.'s customer engagement value framework, and conceptually demonstrates that customers employing different relational models for the service firm are likely to generate different types of customer engagement value for the firm.

The article demonstrates conceptually that customers' relational models, schemata, and scripts influence how consumers engage with the firm and the type of customer engagement value accruing to the firm.

This research has implications for service firms' relationship strategies. First, service marketers can determine the desired customer engagement value(s) and then craft their customer relationship strategy so that it maximizes those engagement value(s). The article suggests relationship strategies that service firms may implement for encouraging customers to adopt different relational models.

No research has bridged relational models theories and customer engagement value theories.

This study aims to develop a framework to explain the reciprocity of the value co-creation process in mobile hotel booking context and to clarify values for customer and supplier.

A research framework was developed based on the previous literature to derive insights on value co-creation process. Online surveys were conducted among mobile hotel bookers in China. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test the proposed framework.

The findings suggested that suppliers should improve the values for customers (functionality, usability and perceived value) to achieve values for themselves [customer lifetime value (CLV), customer knowledge value (CKV), customer referral value (CRV) and customer influencer value (CIV)]. The relation between satisfaction and CLV was moderated by the CIV from other customers.

Suppliers should enhance customer value from the aspects of functionality, usability and perceived value to earn a competitive advantage. Moreover, for suppliers, non-transactional values such as other CIV play an increasingly critical role apart from economic value for development.

This study not only added empirical analysis on value co-creation in m-Tourism but also extended the current literature by validating a research model which integrates website evaluation research with Kumar et al. (2010)’s customer engagement value framework. Instead of serving as a mediator, mobile app was regarded as one of the indispensable actors involved in value co-creation.

Customer engagement (customers’ behavioral manifestations going beyond customer-firm purchase transactions) has been regarded as strategic imperatives for generating enhanced corporate performance. The plethora of new media has provided customers with different options to interact with firms and other customers. However, the primacy of value-laden interactive customer relationships and value co-creation raises challenges for firms and customers, especially in the context of broader business ecosystems such as brand partnership for extending value co-creation. This study aims to explore how customer engagement with well-designed choreograph of various new media’s channels can increase the value co-creation extent in the context of broader business ecosystems, resulting in higher levels service offerings, experiences and innovation.

This exploratory study presents a new framework of customer engagement that holistically integrates the elements of multiple new media and broader business ecosystem, stimulating a virtuous circle of realizing customer engagement toward superior results or innovations. The framework considers new media’s different information service and technologies (e.g. search engine, social recommender, social media) that can be properly choreographed to achieve a virtuous customer engagement circle.

This paper uses an exemplar framework's instantiation – an information technology enabled engagement platform (called iEngagement) – that can demonstrate how to empower the central companies together with their eco-stakeholders to holistically perform customer engagement utilizing new media toward fruitful customer engagement.

This exploratory study is among the first that addresses the theory and practice of customer engagement within multiple new media and broader business ecosystem. This paper presents a customer engagement framework and an exemplified engagement platform that holistically integrate the elements of multiple new media and broader business ecosystem, for stimulating a virtuous circle of realizing customer engagement toward superior results or innovations.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of Value Fusion to describe how value can emerge from the use of mobile, networked technology by consumers, firms, and entities such as non‐consumers, a firm's competitors, and others simultaneously.

The paper discusses the combination of characteristics of mobile devices that enable Value Fusion and discusses specific value and benefits to consumers and firms of being mobile and networked. Value Fusion is introduced and defined and set apart from related, other conceptualizations of value. Examples are provided of Value Fusion and the necessary conditions for Value Fusion to occur are discussed. Also discussed are the conditions under which the use of mobile, networked technology by consumers and firms may lead to Value Confusion instead of Value Fusion. Several research questions are proposed to further enhance the understanding and management of Value Fusion.

The combination of portable, personal, networked, textual/visual and converged characteristics of mobile devices enables firms and consumers to interact and communicate, produce and consume benefits, and create value in new ways that have not been captured by popular conceptualizations of value. These traditional conceptualizations include customer value, experiential value, customer lifetime value, and customer engagement value. Value Fusion is defined as value that can be achieved for the entire network of consumers and firms simultaneously, just by being on the mobile network. Value Fusion results from producers and consumers: individually or collectively; actively and passively; concurrently; interactively or in aggregation contributing to a mobile network; in real time; and just‐in‐time.

This paper synthesizes insights from the extant value literature that by and large has focused on either the customer's or the firm's perspective, but rarely blended the two.

This study aims to investigate the influence of customer satisfaction on four facets of customer engagement: customer influencer behavior, knowledge behavior, referral behavior and purchase behavior. Furthermore, its (in)direct influence on affective attitude, price perception and loyalty is investigated.

Two studies were conducted. First, an experimental scenario design was set up to investigate the hypothesized relations between customer engagement; customers’ affective attitude and their loyalty; and their price perceptions. Second, a survey at a national forest park center helped to secure external validity.

The results indicate that engaged customers develop a more positive affective attitude, which leads to increased future loyalty and positive price perceptions. In addition, the results suggest that assessing cognitive approaches exclusively is not sufficient for understanding customers’ price perceptions.

Future research should investigate antecedents of customer engagement behaviors (CEBs) other than satisfaction, and extend this research by taking into account further mediators that might be cognitive rather than affective.

The results are of superior importance for services or tourism destinations. Fostering CEB can help in improving a destinations’ performance.

This research expands the current state of literature by investigating several dimensions of CEB at one time, as well as by examining customers’ affective attitude toward the organization as a potential mediator, extending previous research approaches.

Tourism and hospitality are industries that have been dramatically transformed by information technology (IT). This study aims to use a keyword analysis to quantitatively review how IT reshaped these industries.

In total, 3,282 keywords were collected from 24 high-impact tourism and hospitality journals and a social network analysis was used for the analysis.

This study contributes to research and practice by providing a visual digital knowledge map for tourism and hospitality, and seven research hotspots were identified from the results of the keyword analysis.

A parsimonious eMarketing model for tourism and hospitality is proposed to direct future studies concerning these themes and guide practitioners in allocating the appropriate resources for IT investment.

This map not only identifies seven themes that explain, which and how IT-related factors influence tourism and hospitality but also demonstrates the patterns and intellectual structure of the related body of knowledge. The trend analysis indicates how IT transforms the tourism and hospitality industries in terms of mode and scope.

Customer engagement (CE) as a domain of research started gaining impetus when it became apparent that it can be a key driver of a firm's performance, competitive advantage and loyalty. The purpose of this study is to develop a deep understanding of the CE construct in marketing literature using bibliometric analysis.

In this study, 940 articles were retrieved from Scopus, the well-known electronic database. Bibliographic coupling and co-occurrence analysis using VOSviewer along with content analysis were employed.

After careful content analysis, six clusters were identified through bibliographic coupling: (1) modeling customer engagement, (2) customer engagement theory and empirical validation, (3) customer engagement and service-dominant logic, (4) customer engagement and social media, (5) customer engagement and brand platforms and (6) engagement in other contexts. The outcomes of this study would not only be valuable for scholars working in the CE domain, but could also be useful for practitioners and policymakers who wish to enhance their understanding about CE.

Over the past decade, the research on CE construct has exploded owing to the growing interest of both scholars and practitioners in the field. Despite being a popular field of research, there is no published work on a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the construct in marketing literature. The current study bridges this gap in the existing literature.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how installed base information could help servitizing original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) forecast and support their industrial service sales, and thus increase OEMs’ understanding regarding the dynamics of their customers lifetime values (CLVs).

This work constitutes a constructive research aiming to arrive at a practically relevant, yet scientific model. It involves a case study that employs statistical methods to analyze real-life quantitative data about sales and the global installed base.

The study introduces a forecasting model for industrial service sales, which considers the characteristics of the installed base and predicts the number of active customers and their yearly volume. The forecasting model performs well compared to other approaches (Croston’s method) suitable for similar data. However, reliable results require comprehensive, up-to-date information about the installed base.

The study contributes to the servitization literature by introducing a new method for utilizing installed base information and, thus, a novel approach for improving business profitability.

OEMs can use the forecasting model to predict the demand for – and measure the performance of – their industrial services. To-the-point predictions can help OEMs organize field services and service production effectively and identify potential customers, thus managing their CLV accordingly. At the same time, the findings imply new requirements for managing the installed base information among the OEMs, to understand and realize the industrial service business potential. However, the results have their limitations concerning the design and use of the statistical model in comparison with alternative approaches.

The study presents a unique method for employing installed base information to manage the CLV and supplement the servitization literature.