International Journal in Management & Social Science

Customer engagement entails a broader impact beyond the focal firm and the engaged customer. According to a report by Gallup Consulting, fully engaged customers represent a 23 percent premium on an index based on share of wallet, profitability, revenue and relationship growth. The advent of internet has also given birth to more number of customer engagement options, reflecting both technological and social changes. This paper aims to present a conceptual basis for customer engagement, while also describing the construct in the light of newly-created technological innovation, the social media. Being a context-dependent construct, we put forward customer engagement in the ambit of social media and an emerging market, India. Based on a detailed literature review, the paper first presents conceptual dimensions of customer engagement, while also aiming to define the construct. The major purpose of literature review was to arrive at a conceptually clear delineation of customer engagement and to offer a clear definition of the construct for a better understanding. An exploratory study was then conducted focussing on comprehending customer engagement from the point of view of manager's in the Indian context, and also how to understand how social media plays a role in influencing customer engagement. Based on an exploratory study, the paper presents managerial perspectives as to how Indian manager's recognize customer engagement in the internet era, and what is the role played by social media with regards to influencing customer engagement for firms in India. The results of the study highlight the multi-dimensional nature of customer engagement, with the exploratory study bringing back focus on customer experiences and its role in managing customer engagement. In the context of social media, it is also identified that the behavioural dimension of customer engagement plays a major role with customer interactions forming the back bone of customer engagement. Future research implications are next discussed to take the subject forward in research.