Consequences of Consumer Engagement in Service Marketing: An Empirical Exploration

Companies are increasingly seeking consumer engagement with their services or products. The current study investigates the interrelationships among consumer engagement and higher order marketing constructs including trust, satisfaction, commitment and customer loyalty within hospitality industry. The perceptions from hotel customers were used to examine the interrelationships among the constructs. The data set was analyzed using descriptive analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Empirical results reveal that consumer engagement has the most influential impact on satisfaction, followed by commitment, loyalty and trust. Likewise, trust contributes more towards loyalty followed by satisfaction and commitment. Commitment, satisfaction and trust mediate the relationship between consumer engagement and loyalty. Hence, results suggest that consumer engagement increases satisfaction, commitment, trust, and loyalty. Based on social exchange theory and relationship marketing theory, this study analyzes from a theoretical and empirical perspective the influence of the consumer engagement on satisfaction, commitment, trust, and loyalty.