THE EFFECT OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT ON LOYALTY; THE SOCIAL EXCHANGE THEORY PERSPECTIVE
Muhammad Sani Gawuna Ph.D. and Ali Ibrahim Dasuki Ph.D.
Volume 2 Issue 2
Abstract
Considering the intensity of competition coupled with the complexity and dynamism of today’s marketing environment, several calls were made by scholars and industry experts to introduce some emerging constructs that will determine loyalty. Drawing from social exchange theory the paper investigated the effect of customer engagement on customer loyalty in the Nigerian context. The data were derived from 334 hotel guests in Kano state and analyzed by the use of PLS-SEM. Interestingly, all the dimensions of customer engagement comprising of; attention, enthusiasm, interaction, identification and absorption were found to predict customer loyalty. The study contributes to the theory by revalidating customer engagement measures in a developing nation and in an offline setting. It will also benefit management in developing strategies that will assist in retaining customers. Future studies are recommended to merge the construct with the well-known determinants of loyalty and equally involve a mediating and or moderating variable in the relationship. Keywords: Customer Engagement, Customer Loyalty, Social Exchange Theory
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