Customer engagement with service providers: an empirical investigation of customer engagement dispositions

Abstract

Purpose While businesses seek to engage customers, their efforts are often met with varied results, as some customers are more predisposed to engage than others. Understanding customers’ dispositions to engage is central to understanding customer engagement, yet research examining customer engagement dispositions remains sparse and predominantly focused on personality traits. This paper aims to consider the general nature of a disposition and draws on qualitative findings to depict a framework for customer engagement dispositions. Design/methodology/approach To investigate customer engagement dispositions comprehensively and in-depth, an exploratory qualitative approach was adopted. In total, 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with customers in ongoing relationships with financial planners residing in Australia. Findings Nine attributes reflecting customer engagement dispositions emerge from the data. These include the customer’s internal tendency to engage (confidence, desire for control, extroversion and enthusiasm); a tendency to engage determined in the interaction with the service provider (sense of similarity, sense of social connection and trust in the service provider); and the capacity to engage (expertise and knowledge and time availability). Research limitations/implications This study provides a conceptual foundation for future empirical measurement of customer engagement dispositions and their nomological network. Practical implications This study establishes a foundation for managers to build distinct engagement disposition profiles and segments and target initiatives to maximize engagement activity. Originality/value This research challenges the view of customer engagement dispositions as largely personality factors, or exclusively cognitive and emotional dimensions of engagement, and offers a comprehensive framework reflecting a customer’s disposition to engage with a service provider.

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