Measuring the Impact of Engagement Initiatives: The Mediating Role of Engagement Factors

摘要

Firms develop engagement marketing strategies to increase customer engagement involving firm-directed engagement initiatives(Harmeling et al.2017).Early research about customer engagement within the marketing discipline revolved around web-based activities and social sites.Recently,however,the scope of engagement research has expanded to include traditional exchange markets(Hollebeek et al.2016).This research continues that expansion by positioning a study within the services marketplace of higher education.The cost of postsecondary education is under increasing scrutiny by the public,politicians,and regulators(Davies and Harrigan 2019;Ripley 2018).One significant expense includes paper textbooks versus open educational resources(OER)which are a low-cost alternative.However,the impact of OER on engagement remains unclear.This research therefore explores the practical and theoretical impact of OER on engagement.From a practical perspective,how will the implementation of open educational resources,as a task-based engagement marketing initiative,impact customer engagement? Universities need an answer because if engagement remains neutral or rises with OER,current low adoption rates are perplexing.In attempting to answer this practical question,a larger lens also examines a fundamental theoretical question.How can we best detect and measure changes in customer engagement?