Understanding customer engagement and power in service contexts: a mixed methods approach

Research on customer engagement has burgeoned during the past decade, acknowledging the customer’s active role in driving service outcomes, and highlighting the potential benefits for firms of increasing engagement among customers (Brodie et al., 2019; Hollebeek et al., 2020). Despite growing knowledge of the customer engagement construct, understandings of engagement disposition valence (particularly negative engagement (Azer and Alexander, 2018; 2020)), customer engagement behaviours and disengagement remain limited (Alexander et al., 2018). This study seeks to address these knowledge gaps by exploring the impact of customer power (the power customers perceive they possess) on customer (dis)engagement. In particular, we explore the effect of varying levels of customer power on engagement disposition valence, behaviours and disengagement within service contexts. Intuitively, customer power is relevant to the customer engagement dialogue as it may influence customers’ expectations regarding their roles and behaviours in service contexts, and their anticipated service outcomes (Jaakkola and Alexander, 2014; Bowden et al., 2017). However, insight into the impact of customer power on customer engagement also remains scant.

A mixed-method methodology was implemented comprising an in-depth qualitative exploratory study and three scenario-based experiments. The qualitative study employed visual elicitation interviews whereby visual stimuli evoked participants’ rich descriptions of power and engagement and generated projective data which facilitated triangulation. The interviews focused on generating rich insights into customers’ perceptions of power in different business-to-consumer service contexts (for instance hospitality, banking and utility services) and demonstrated how customers’ varying levels of power affect their engagement valence, subsequent behaviours and disengagement. Findings highlighted that there is an iterative relationship between customer power and engagement. They also demonstrated several contributors to changing power levels over time. The scenario-based experiments showed the positive effect of customer power in relation to the firm on engagement disposition and offline and online behaviours in a hotel usage context. Additionally, the experiments demonstrated that: (i) customer power in relation to other customers, and (ii) the type of service setting, moderate the relationship between customer power and engagement.

This study extends the current engagement literature by identifying customer power as a driver and outcome of engagement valence and behaviours. Thus, it also contributes to the discussions surrounding the dynamic and evolving nature of engagement in service systems. In addition, this research sheds light on customers’ relative experiences of power within specific service contexts which complements existing discussions on high customer power in multi-actor networks. Furthermore, this research gives rise to several managerial recommendations regarding the management of customer-firm power dynamics and the consideration of other actors’ impact on the focal customer’s engagement when designing engagement strategies and tracking their outcomes.