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Examining the mediating role of Customer

engagement
social interactivity between and brand
loyalty
customer engagement and
brand loyalty
Ding Hooi Ting Received 1 October 2019
Revised 18 March 2020
Department of Management and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 12 August 2020
Seri Iskandar, Malaysia Accepted 22 September 2020

Amir Zaib Abbasi

Faculty of Management Sciences,
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology - Islamabad Campus,
Islamabad, Pakistan, and
Sohel Ahmed
School of Business Administration, Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane,
Ifrane, Morocco

Abstract
Purpose – This study aims at identifying and examining the mediating role of customer engagement behavior
and social interactivity onbrand loyalty.
Design/methodology/approach – A correlational study design was adopted in this study to collect data
(online survey) from 400 online participants active on Facebook pages.
Findings – Empirical results reveal that there is a significant and positive impact of social interactivity on
consumer engagement behavior and brand loyalty.
Research limitations/implications – The findings would help decision makers to make useful decisions in
their everyday work practices, which would ultimately increase the market competition of brands.
Practical implications – Decision makers should focus on the entertainment and interactivity levels in
advertisement designs that would allow customers to perceive the novelty of advertising.
Social implications – The results are critical in developing consumers’ attitude and perception toward a
brand by providing them insights regarding the characteristics of brands.
Originality/value – The participation and social interactivity of consumers on the Facebook page drive
consumer engagement behavior and brand loyalty.
Keywords Customer engagement behavior, Involvement, Interactions, Social platform, Brand loyalty
Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction
In recent times, social media platforms have become an essential part of an individual’s life.
The rapid proliferation of social media is the result of developments taking place in the virtual
world. The social network, as a platform, has actively provided a pivotal mode of
communication between brands and consumers (Baum€ol et al., 2016; Hamari et al., 2016;
Labrecque, 2014; Salim and Haque, 2015). Considering different platforms of social media, it
comprises the microblogs, content communities, games, collaborative projects and social
networks (Loader et al., 2014). The potential of these platforms has increased the inclination of
the leading companies such as Google toward the provision of user engagement platforms,
which encompasses services ranging from physical devices to mobile apps (Baum€ol
et al., 2016). Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing
and Logistics
To sustain a competitive advantage in the market, companies rely on their ability to © Emerald Publishing Limited
1355-5855
nurture, retain and maintain their customer database (Tantalo and Priem, 2016). This has DOI 10.1108/APJML-10-2019-0576
APJML raised the companies’ concerns toward the practices aimed at improving customer
engagement and relationships (Guesalaga, 2016; Hollebeek et al., 2016; So et al., 2016). For
this, companies are deliberately and increasingly switching to social commerce for enabling
social media–based sales channels.
Customer engagement is classified as a significant transcending relational notion and is
demonstrated as an essential tool to develop and enhance relationships with customers
(Jaakkola and Alexander, 2014; Klaus and Maklan, 2013). An in-depth relationally based level
has been implied through engagement and therefore has a significant place in playing a
pivotal role in understanding the consequences associated with customers such as loyalty-
related consequences (Graffigna and Gambetti, 2015). Accordingly, companies are
increasingly putting in their efforts to stimulate customers to involve in nontransactional
behaviors to supersede purchase intentions (Beckers et al., 2017).
For few decades, it has also been noted that a new shift has emerged from transactional to
relationship marketing, e.g. building long-term relationships through customer relationships
and interactions (Islam et al., 2019). Within the nontransactional behavior, customer
engagement is one of the new concepts that has gained importance in academic research and
industry, e.g. technological environments (Hollebeek et al., 2019). Therefore, it has become one
of the most growing research areas in recent times (Moliner-Tena et al., 2019).
Considering this, the present study is significant in outlining some of the vital information
for organizational managers that helps create increased brand loyalty. The realization
regarding the level of social interaction between consumers and brands is critical to
developing strategic approaches to increase consumer socialization. By the growth in the
concept of customer brand engagement, several shortcomings have been identified in
previous literary studies in terms of identifying the role of social interactivity in customer
engagement and brand loyalty.
Contributions of the present study will help in advancing the existing concepts of social
interactivity and brand engagement. Finally, the study is important to fill the gap found in
previous studies concerning the role of socialization and interactivity in increasing consumer
participation in creating brand value. On account of this, the study is focused on identifying
and examining the mediating role of customer engagement behavior and social interactivity
on brand loyalty. It also helps to understand customer engagement behavior on social media
in correspondence to their experience with the company or a brand. As social media provides
the opportunity for two-way communication, it is integral to understand it for increasing the
engagement prospects of a company and its customers as well as all consumer-to-consumer
communications. To date, there is scarcity about the extent to which customers are engaged
in different online behaviors or regarding the association between customer engagement
behaviors. This portrays the dire need to investigate causes that influence customer
engagement behavior through interaction and involvement with brands and companies in
online social networks.

2. Theoretical background
The concept of consumer engagement is connected to the stimulus organism response
(SOR) (Mehrabian and Russell, 1974), which provides important understanding regarding
an individual’s response to his/her environment. According to the model, an individual’s
thought process about the environment affects the way one feels in an environment
influencing his/her behavior. Baker et al. (1994) elaborated the idea in the case of retail
shopping environments which influences their internal state leading toward the change in
behavior that drives them toward the store. The model further suggested that the influence
of environmental stimuli is integrated through emotional as well as the cognitive aspects of
the consumption experience. Therefore, to sustain the long-term consumer buying
behavior, understanding customer value creation through consumption experience is Customer
critical (Carlson et al., 2015). engagement
An extensive review of literature on customer engagement outlined that the concept has
been researched in numerous manners and different environments. However, the critical
and brand
evaluation of previous studies indicated that many studies focused on studying the loyalty
antecedents and consequences of customer engagement. For instance, Chan et al. (2014)
investigated the concept of customer engagement in online brand communities. The central
focus was granted toward the role of system support, freedom of expression, community
value, recognition and rewards to encourage customer engagement. Pansari and Kumar
(2017) provided a review of the literature and developed the framework of customer
engagement focusing on antecedents and consequences. Islam et al. (2019) conducted a
similar study while focusing on the value of service quality. The findings of the study
indicated that service quality serves as an essential role in increasing customer
engagement, which ultimately creates an impact on brand experience and intent to
patronage.
Few other studies have extended the notion of customer engagement in hospitality
settings and focused on predicting customer-based antecedents on customer engagement
(Harrigan et al., 2017; Romero, 2017), whereas, Carvalho and Fernandes (2018) investigated
the idea in the context of customer brand engagement, specifically focusing on its drivers and
outcomes. Results indicated interactivity, involvement and flow experience as the significant
drivers of customer brand engagement, whereas, commitment, satisfaction, word of mouth
referrals and trust were found as the associated outcomes.
In other studies, researchers have conceptually proposed consumer-based antecedents
(emotion and satisfaction) and consequences comprising tangible (firm performance) and
intangible (relevant marketing and privacy sharing) outcomes (Pansari and Kumar, 2017).
Hollebeek (2011) conceptually offered involvement as a predictor, relationship quality and
customer loyalty as consequences of customer loyalty. Recently, researchers have
empirically tested such models (Chan et al., 2014; Islam et al., 2019; Islam and Rahman,
2016; Rather et al., 2019; Wong and Merrilees, 2015) and outlined reliable consumer-based
antecedents, e.g. service quality and consumer-based outcomes in service settings,
e.g. patronage intent and brand experience (Islam et al., 2019).
Besides, a positive environment provided to consumers also increases the level of their
activity while facilitating the interaction between consumers and the brand itself. Another
important variable includes consumers’ perceived sociability, which contributes to growing
consumers’ social presence (Carlson et al., 2018). In the given context, sociability is often
experienced by consumers through increased social interactions held through different
technological mediums (Alnawas and Aburub, 2016; Zhang et al., 2015). This helps in
developing social cohesiveness while stimulating consumer engagement behavior.

2.1 Customer engagement behavior and brand experience

Customer engagement refers to the behavioral manifestation of users toward a particular
firm, brand or product. Customer engagement involves a firm’s efforts to empower and
motivate customer contribution along with its measurement. Customer engagement holds
great significance in both business and marketing research practices (Harrigan et al., 2017;
Klaus and Maklan, 2013).
For Bowden (2009), the concept of customer engagement serves as a process, which is
connected to the role of trust, commitment and involvement in the creation of loyal and
engaged customers. A conceptual framework was put forward regarding the segmentation of
the relationship between customers and brands based on the notion that the customers are
new or old purchasers of a specific brand. The study showed that engagement is an important
process that is based on the development of customer commitment. Often, the term
APJML engagement is conceptualized as a psychological process, which aims at creating brand
loyalty to increase or maintain the purchase of customers toward a specific product. The
concept provided a deep understanding of the topic regarding customer engagement and the
process through which customer engagement is developed among customer segments.
Customer engagement behavior (CEB) was further demonstrated by van Dijk et al. (2014).
The concept included the behavioral manifestation of customers toward a particular product.
The theory discusses these manifestations depending on the motivational drivers of the
customers. CEB included certain behaviors such as; helping other customers,
recommendations, legal actions, blogging and word of mouth and reviewing.
To this end, the theory suggests that CEB serves as a useful framework for the
segmentation of customers and their classification. Thus, CEB can be effectively used to
evaluate customer choice of the focal brand as the primary variable of interest. According to
Brodie et al. (2011), customer engagement is the psychological process, which involves
customer emotional, cognitive and behavioral states.
Shang et al. (2006) discussed the idea of consumer interaction and engagement in the
context of online business communities where consumers share their brand experience
followed by a low-cost interaction (Gong, 2018). De Vries and Carlson (2014) indicated that
consumers tend to share their brand experience on online platforms which ultimately forms
consumer engagement with the brand. Bapat and Thanigan (2016) proposed a study to
determine different dimensions of brand experience on brand loyalty and brand evaluation.
The factor analysis indicated two different dimensions of brand experience, i.e. cognitive
brand experience and emotional brand experience. The study further added that the two
dimensions are significant in affecting brand evaluation which directly affects brand
loyalty.
Nysveen et al. (2013) conducted a similar study where brand experience is developed as a
multidimensional construct which includes; brand experience, service experience, product
and shopping constructs experience, product packaging, product design, product identity,
communication and environment, etc. Besides, brand experience is further associated with
different dimensions which include individual ability to sense, to feel, to think, to act and to
relate their overall experience. Another study conducted by Brakus et al. (2009)
conceptualized brand experience as different sensations, behavioral responses, cognitions
and feelings which are the ultimate responses provided through brand-related stimuli such as
the packaging, brand’s design and identity, communication and environment.
Considering the following constructs, we distinguish experience dimensions by
developing a brand experience scale which includes dimensions such as; brand
involvement, brand evaluations, brand personality, customer delight and brand
attachment. Findings of the study indicated that brand experience is significant indirectly
affecting consumer loyalty and satisfaction, whereas it creates an indirect influence to brand
personality associations.
Accordingly, Guo et al. (2020) have focused on the degree of the uncertain reward and its
effects on customer engagement, specifically in the promotion stage as value co-creation has
become an integral element for firms to achieve competitive advantage. They have indicated
that uncertain reward can be applied to improve customer engagement effects. In addition,
this can be done at a low cost by empowering controllability of customers.
On the other hand, Yu and Yuan (2019) have found that hedonic and utilitarian values
affect the brand experience and that brand attachment, customer equity drivers and brand
trust are directly influenced by brand experience. The study has also found a positive
association between brand trust and attachment. Brand equity has a positive and direct effect
on customer lifetime value. According to Clemes et al. (2020), a partial mediating role is played
by customer satisfaction on the relationship between behavioral intentions and service
quality as well as between behavioral intentions and perceived value.
2.2 Consumer as a co-creator Customer
Marketing strategies that centrally focus on service quality define co-creation of value as the engagement
interactive process between service providers and customers. The concept of value co-
creation is also associated with the interaction between customers. Heinonen et al. (2013a, b)
and brand
added that value is co-created by the contribution of both service providers and customers, loyalty
where brands through their tangible sources provide exceptional services to their customers
leading toward a certain experience. This type of experience is then shared by individuals,
resulting in a positive impact on the brand.
Helkkula et al. (2012) provided a contradicting view where customers’ value experiences
do not necessarily correspond to the value offerings of service providers as they are not
integrated into the complex social context of customers. However, in the view of Heinonen
et al. (2013a, b) value is co-created under four social layers which include; detached customers,
social circle, temporary communities along with developing neo tribes.
The framework of brand knowledge creation fits consumer as a co-creator; whereas,
purchase intentions and brand decisions of consumers are significantly affected through
the brand knowledge. There is a significant effect of co-creation efforts on the consumers,
who participate in co-creation (van Dijk et al., 2014; Yoon and Lee, 2019). A study
conducted by Jaakkola and Alexander (2014) proposed a framework to link the level of
participation, customer co-production and value co-creation. Results depicted a direct
relationship between participation, co-production and value creation. However, the
association between customer participation and value creation is provided based on the
conceptualization of customer co-production (Jaakkola and Alexander, 2014). Another
recent study investigated how brands concur to co-creation of consumer experiences
(Rialti et al., 2018). The results emphasized the significance of brand strategists that
involve the members of social media brand for stimulating co-creation experiences.
Therefore, it can be stated that co-creation experiences of the consumers are significantly
affected through the interaction taking place among members of the community and the
brand (Rialti et al., 2018; Yoon and Lee, 2019).
Carlson et al. (2019) focused on the role of customer participation in social media brand
communities in providing value to retail customers. The examinations were undertaken by
the application of consumption value theory and service-dominant logic. The findings of
the study indicated that customer retail value shares a strong relationship with customer
participation. However, the effect of this relationship is strong for functional, relational and
emotional value. Yadav et al. (2016) elaborated on the idea of customer participation and its
role in co-creation in the light of the case of Cash the Pepsi IPL. The study outlined the
power of digital marketing in this regard, where an advertisement campaign had
successfully shifted the power from companies to consumers. Factors such as enjoyment,
learning, prestige and self-use serve as the motivating drivers for customers in co-creation
of value.
Drawing on results from a large field of study on value co-creation behavior,
Tivasuradej and Pham (2019) have stated that companies should accomplish customer
surprise for creating an exact memorable and differentiated customer experience. Precisely,
companies are doing well rather than just fulfilling consumer needs. They must actively
create experiences that prefer consumers regardless of asking them. A layer of
memorability in customer experience is generated by adding customer surprise that can
interpret onto the brand itself. Luu (2019) has examined the relationship between CSR and
customer value co-creation behavior undertaking the moderation mechanisms of servant
leadership and relationship marketing orientation. The study has found a positive and
direct effect of CSR on customer value co-creation behavior. Relationship marketing
orientation and servant leadership also played moderating roles for the customer value
co-creation–CSR relationship.
APJML 2.3 Customer engagement behavior and brand loyalty
For a few decades, it has been noted that a new shift emerged from transactional to
relationship marketing, e.g. building long-term relationships through customer relationships
and interactions (Islam et al., 2019). Within the nontransactional behavior, customer
engagement is one of the new concepts that have gained significant attention in academic
research and industry, e.g. technological environments (Hollebeek et al., 2019), making it one
of the most growing research areas in recent times (Moliner-Tena et al., 2019).
Considering the concept of customer engagement, Bylund and Lindgren (2017) and Wong
(2012) stated in their study, consumers act as a co-creator for brands and companies as they
assist other consumers by providing them insights about the brand and the product. The co-
creation of the consumers is driven for posting reviews on social media, increasing their
engagement. It can also create awareness regarding the choices of customers on social media
platforms. Social interactivity is connected through different factors which include the
influence of family, TV advertisements, influence of peers and society. These factors are
critical in developing consumer engagement. The findings of the study identified TV
advertisements as a significant factor in influencing consumer engagement behavior leading
toward the development of brand loyalty.
Additionally, Gr€o nroos (2012) also observed that the consumer as co-creator is more
inclined towards the company if the level of engagement between the company and customer
is high. Based on the above discussion, the following hypothesis is generated:
H1. Customer engagement behavior has a positive impact on brand loyalty.

2.4 Customer engagement and social interactions

Social media has been used for communicating with customers and enhance their experience.
Previous studies have explored the association between customer engagement and social
interactions on social media platforms. For instance, Guesalaga (2016) has identified that
customer engagement predicts consumers in increasing their sales both directly and
indirectly and individual commitment. Likewise, Zhang et al. (2017) have asserted that
customer engagement with social media can affect social interaction among consumers to
initiate the emotional experience. This ultimately assists in the increase of customer value
creation while using social media platforms.
Harrigan et al. (2017) have developed a framework to identify the association between
social interactions and customer engagement. The study found that the framework
essentially predicted the behavioral intention of customer loyalty from engagement for
examining customer involvement as a predictor of engagement. Thereby, it assists tourism
managers to evaluate better the trends and nature of customer engagement within the social
media context.
Correspondingly, Hollebeek et al. (2014) have indicated that key customer brand
engagement consequences are represented when consumer brand involvement acts as a
predictor for social interactions. Moreover, social interactions assist social media platforms in
increasing self-brand connection and brand usage intention among consumers. Likewise,
Cabiddu et al. (2014) have identified that customer engagement is enabled among consumers
when social media platforms provide sufficient interaction opportunities. Customer
engagement is also emerged through the experiments and observation techniques for
capturing the time spent by tourists in social interactions and embracing the behavioral and
psychological perspectives.
It has been observed that the dynamics and nature of social interactions evolve at a rapid
pace between organizations and consumers. To this end, Baum€ol et al. (2016) have reported
that the effects of the changing nature of social interactions toward social media marketing
ensure customer engagement on organizational culture, the infrastructure of information
technology, corporate strategies and management and monitoring of related risks and Customer
opportunities. Moreover, Aluri et al. (2015) have revealed that social interactions of hotel engagement
website users are enhanced through social media channels. However, the study lacks to find a
positive association between customer engagement and social interactions when using social
and brand
media platforms. Dessart et al. (2015) have conceptually and empirically validated positive loyalty
associations between brand trust, loyalty and commitment through online brand
engagement. To this end, this study has suggested that;
H2. Customer engagement behavior has a positive impact on social interactivity.

2.5 Customer engagement behavior, social interactions and brand loyalty

Understanding the nature of social media interactivity is the sublime aspect of developing
successful customer engagement behavior as social media users are vulnerable to highly
interactive features. Huang et al. (2018) have assessed the indirect impact of responsiveness
on brand loyalty to measure the direct effects of social interactivity and media richness on
brand loyalty. The study revealed a positive, direct and strong effect of social interactivity on
customer engagement and consequently on brand loyalty. Busalim et al. (2019) showed an
important role of social theories and associated factors in building customer engagement
along with technological factors.
The study has developed a research framework for providing the greatest impact on
customer engagement behavior. Naumann et al. (2017) showed the importance of social
interactivity and customer engagement and stated that customer engagement becomes more
accessible for companies to make an actual discussion between customers and brands with
the actual congruence of online communities. A collaboration has been created by those
interactions between consumers and brands that are comprehensively implemented in
brands’ development (Haryanto et al., 2017; Vernette and Kidar, 2013).
This is an important distinction to make in terms of interactions between consumers and
brands, whereby Aluri et al. (2019) have indicated that loyalty programs are introduced for
enhancing customer satisfaction and lasting commitment. They often provide advantages to
members as a receipt of appreciation for their loyalty to the firm. The study has further
indicated that relationships between intention and behavioral engagement are demonstrated
through multidimensional concepts of customer engagement to empower attitude and
patronage of customers. Molinillo et al. (2020) have found an increase in customer
engagement because of social support and community factors. In addition, co-creation,
repurchase intentions and eWOM are also improved through customer engagement.
In another study, Sj€oqvist (2015) has shown the practical and economic significance of
perceived benefits for both Instagram and Facebook. Social enhancement is one of the most
interactive indicators on Facebook for entertainment benefits and relationship outcomes.
Customers’ engagement is mostly observed from their visits to the brand community,
purchasing products and the frequency of reading messages on Facebook. Gorgus (2016)
provided the importance of self-brand congruence, online brand experience and involvement
as significant indicators of online brand engagement which is influenced by satisfaction,
brand love and positive word-of-mouth. Hollebeek et al. (2016) addressed the significance of
social interactivity, incentivized referrals and customer purchase engagement that ultimately
leads toward the focal objective and; therefore, allow the implementation of a quantitative and
large-scale investigation into this emerging context. Based on the discussion above, the study
has proposed the following hypothesis;
H3. Social interactivity has a positive impact on brand loyalty.
H4. Social interactivity mediates the relationship between customer engagement and
brand loyalty.
APJML 3. Conceptual framework
It is deemed that consumer engagement might have distinct intensities. This statement has
been supported by the customer engagement literature, where associated members can differ
considering their activity level in the group. There is still a very minute understanding as to
which customer engagement behavior and social interactivity impact loyalty level in the
Facebook context despite this understanding that different levels of consumer engagement
are present. It is crucial to understand the role of individual attributes in the development of
engagement and the possibility of occurrence.
These attributes are presented in the close-ended questionnaire developed for the analysis
purpose (Appendix). A better understanding of the maintenance and emergence has been
shown from such perceptions toward engagement levels of consumers. The individual
drivers of customer engagement can assist social media managers in better managing their
consumer based on effective segmentation. Therefore, this study has adopted a practical
insight into individual predispositions and traits as antecedents of customer engagement in
social media. Figure 1 has presented the conceptual framework based on customer
engagement, social interactivity and brand loyalty.

3.1 Material and methods

The present study follows a correlational study design to determine the relationship between
customer engagement, brand loyalty and social interactivity in a quantifiable manner that
prevails with the use of social media. The sample size includes 400 participants from online
Facebook fan pages who have joined these pages within the parameter of two to three years
(and they are actively engaging in the social interactivity). The identification of these
individuals was held through Facebook fan pages that are functioning from the past 3–4
years. Also, the participants who reside in the age bracket from 17 to 35 years were chosen as
they are more responsive toward different advertisements (Ward et al., 2015).

3.2 Data collection

Data collection is regarded as the method which is adopted by the researcher for the collection
of data (Thomas et al., 2018). The collection method selected in this research is primarily
because the user generates results based on the gathered responses. An online questionnaire
is used for collecting information involving the participant’s commitment to a particular
brand (Appendix). The questionnaire is comprehensively based on two major sections;
demographics and questions related to the conceptual framework. In the demographics
section, age, gender, education and activities were presented. Questions related to consumer
engagement behavior, social interactivity and brand loyalty are presented in Section 2.

Social
Interactivity

Customer Brand
Figure 1. Engagement Loyalty
Conceptual framework Behavior
The questionnaire was designed and adapted using Hollebeek (2011) and Reitz (2012). A total Customer
of 5 sub-items have been proposed for the social interactivity variable. Similarly, brand engagement
loyalty and customer engagement behavior comprise three sub-items each. All the variables
have been measured on a 5-point Likert scale rating scale from (1 5 strongly disagree,
and brand
2 5 disagree, 3 5 Neutral, 4 5 agree, and 5 5 strongly agree). loyalty
Participants were notified about the questionnaires electronically through an online
medium. The time duration of two days was provided to participants to fill their responses in
the provided questionnaire. A response rate of 95% was attained. The high response rate
could be attributed to the fact that the respondents are active and wanted to publicize their
brands. Furthermore, the questionnaires are short and straightforward, and hence, this could
have contributed to the high response rate.
Overall investigations of brand loyalty were based on top-rated clothing brands that were
mostlypromotedinabrand’sfanpages.Thishelpedinnarrowingdowntheinformation,makingit
restricted to clothing brands. However, to attain unbiased responses, participants were explained
the idea by providing an exemplary reference to other brands from the fashion industry.

3.3 Validity and reliability

A pilot test was performed to test the internal validity of the questionnaire using the Pearson
correlation coefficient. For the reliability concern, Cronbach alpha has been used to measure
the reliability of the questionnaire items for further analysis. Table 1 shows the validity and
reliability of the questionnaire items.

3.4 Data analysis

We used SPSS-AMOS to analyze the data, and the reliability and validity of the study were also
carried out. Cronbach alpha was used to check the reliability of the study and structural
equation modeling was used to test the causal relationships between these variables. For
demographics, descriptive statistics were carried out for age, gender, education and time spent
on Facebook variables. Based on the Kolmogorov–Smirnov normality test (p 5 2.56), it was safe
to conclude that the respondents are normally and equally distributed at p < 0.05 level.

4. Results
Results are presented to examine the role of consumer engagement behavior and social
interactivity on brand loyalty. Table 2 provides descriptive statistics for age, education,
gender, time spent on Facebook. In this regard, frequencies and percentages have been
presented to show the demographic variables.

Variables Items Cronbach alpha

Consumer engagement behavior CEB1 0.91

CEB2
CEB3
CEB4
CEB5
Social interactivity SI1 0.87
SI2
SI3
Brand loyalty BL1 0.83 Table 1.
BL2 Reliability of the
BL3 questionnaire items
APJML Variables Frequency Percentage

Age 17–21 121 30.25

22–26 133 33.25
27–31 79 19.75
32–36 67 16.75
Gender Male 251 62.75
Female 149 37.25
Education Graduation 251 62.75
Diploma 23 5.75
Masters 106 26.50
PhD 20 5.00
Time spent on Facebook on a daily basis 1–3 hours 255 63.75
Table 2. 4–6 hours 100 25.00
Descriptive statistics 7–10 hours 45 11.25

Table 3 provides findings of the confirmatory factor analysis. The findings of the study
indicated a strong factor loading (β > 0.707) concerning all the items provided for the overall
variables. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy is 0.840 (p < 0.01). There
are no items that were cross-loaded, and all the factors achieved the threshold of 0.60 for
loading (each item loaded with values above 0.8), whereas, the total variance of the model was
73%. Thus, exploratory factor analysis results were accurate and adequate according to
recommended thresholds. Results also provided considerable good AVE and alpha values for
consumer engagement behavior (AVE 5 0.654 and α 5 0.91), social interaction (AVE 5 0.632
and α 5 0.87) and brand loyalty (AVE 5 0.721 and α 5 0.83).
Asfor the construct validity, Table4 showedthatthe implied relationships to other constructs
are significant at p < 0.000. As for the convergent validity, Table 5 showed that the average
variance extracted (AVE) threshold value is 0.50, and for composite reliability threshold value is
0.70.Besides,alltheconstructvariables justify standardas theAVEsquareroot for every specific
variable construct has higher values than the relevant other constructs. Thus, the criteria for the
discriminant validity of all the constructs have been confirmed (Table 6).

Component name Items β Standard error T-value

Consumer engagement behavior CEB1 0.767 0.102 5.39

AVE 5 0.654 CEB2 0.832 0.088 3.48
α 5 0.91 CEB3 0.814 0.098 5.50
Social interaction SI 0.791 0.088 4.59
AVE 5 0.632 S2 0.802 0.092 3.71
α 5 0.87 S3 0.831 0.082 4.02
S4 0.854 0.113 5.91
S5 0.849 0.084 4.83
Brand loyalty BL1 0.784 0.097 3.24
AVE 5 0.721 BL2 0.829 0.087 5.04
α 5 0.83 BL3 0.844 0.097 3.93
Model fit indices
Threshold CFA SEM
CMIN/DF <3.00 1.214 1.432
GFI >0.85 0.908 0.891
Table 3. AGFI >0.80 0.869 0.849
Confirmatory factor CFI >0.90 0.983 0.964
analysis RMSEA <0.08 0.041 0.058
 Estimate p-value
Customer
engagement
SI5 ← SI 0.873 0.000 and brand
SI1 ← SI 0.871 0.000
SI4 ← SI 0.801 0.000 loyalty
SI2 ← SI 0.772 0.000
SI3 ← SI 0.814 0.000
CEB1 ← CEB 0.742 0.000
CEB2 ← CEB 0.888 0.000
CEB3 ← CEB 0.815 0.000
BL3 ← BL 0.781 0.000
BL1 ← BL 0.770 0.000 Table 4.
BL2 ← BL 0.798 0.000 Construct validity

CR AVE

SI 0.915 0.684
CEB 0.892 0.674 Table 5.
BL 0.826 0.614 Convergent validity

SI CEB BL

SI 0.827
CEB 0.026 0.821 Table 6.
BL 0.08 0.532 0.752 Discriminant validity

Table 7 shows the direct effect of path analysis between the variables. The findings have shown
that social interactivity positively and significantly impacts brand loyalty (0.321, p 5 0.000).
Similarly, customer engagement behavior impacts social interactivity (0.225, p 5 0.000) and
customer engagement behavior (0.094, p 5 0.044). The indirect effect path analysis presented in
Table 8 shows the support that there was a mediating effect of both social interactivity and
customer engagement behavior on brand loyalty. From the findings, there is evidence that there
was a mediating effect of customer engagement behavior on social interactivity and brand

Estimates S.E. T-stats p-values

Social interactivity → brand loyalty 0.321 0.056 5.701 0.000 Table 7.

Customer engagement behavior → social interactivity 0.225 0.056 3.998 0.000 Direct effect path
Customer engagement behavior → brand loyalty 0.094 0.047 2.014 0.044 analysis

Estimates S.E. T-stats p-values

Table 8.
CEB → SI → BL 0.066 0.020 3.296 0.001 Indirect effect path
SI → CEB → BL 0.026 0.012 2.185 0.029 analysis (mediation
Note(s): *p < 0.001; **p < 0.05 testing)
APJML loyalty (0.066, p 5 0.001). Similarly, the mediating effect of social interactivity was found to be
positive and significant at 5% level of significance (0.026, p 5 0.029).
The findings of the present study indicate the validity of the conceptual framework where
consumer engagement behavior plays a critical role in affecting brand loyalty and social
interaction.

5. Discussion
5.1 Practical and theoretical implications
The study explored the importance of consumer engagement behavior and brand loyalty.
Evidence refers to consumer engagement behavior and its relevance to online marketing
efforts (Aluri et al., 2015). Also, the role of consumer engagement behavior has been explored
in the academic literature, which contributes positively to online marketing efforts. As a
matter of fact, the academic literature fails to integrate the social interactivity along with
customer engagement behavior in the context of the service industry (Baum€ol et al., 2016).
The proposed conceptual framework has suggested that brand loyalty of the Facebook page
was impacted by consumer engagement behavior. The model further suggested that consumer
engagement behavior influences social interactivity through participation, affective and
cognitive constructs. The findings of the present study are supported by prior studies that
various cognitive judgments are affected by affection to produce satisfaction (Dessart et al.,
2015; Guesalaga, 2016).
This study allows the service industry or social media managers to understand the brand
loyalty of consumers on the Facebook page. For instance, a study has shown that brand loyalty
is predicted by consumer engagement behavior, specifically by affection and cognition
(Hollebeek et al., 2016). Considering the specific support from prior studies, it has been
extrapolated that consumer engagement behavior might be functioning plausibly in that effect
and cognition might be entirely integrated with the construct to develop brand loyalty.
The knowledge of consumer engagement behavior in the academic literature has been
broadened by the cognition and affect measures, particularly about a construct’s
measurement scale and the dimensionality of a construct (Hollebeek et al., 2014).
Consumers understand the product or service and become wrapped up through the target
goals of the company, product offerings, mission and history when they read and work with
the information presented on the Facebook page. This finding has been supported by
Jaakkola and Alexander (2014), who indicated that consumers are engaged when Facebook
pages share and consider the information that is enthralling, satisfying and pleasurable.
Participation has been recognized as an antecedent to online consumer engagement by
lending additional support to the concept that social interactivity positively forecasts brand
loyalty. The participation and social interactivity of consumers on the Facebook page drive to
consumer engagement behavior, providing significant perceptions for the industry
(Labrecque, 2014). The study has found that social interactivity impacts brand loyalty. It
has been perceived that consumers are more engaged when they are aware of an opportunity
to interact with a responsive company.
Solem and Pedersen (2016) on the other hand, associated the concept of consumer
engagement with regulatory fit theory, of which consumers tend to engage more in situations
that suit them the most, or in other words where consumers can be fitted easily. However, the
strength of consumer engagement is further associated with the level of emotional engagement
held by consumers toward a brand or product. Accordingly, regulatory fit acts as the match
between marketing and branding strategies and motivational orientation among consumers.
This match between the two variables is held through promotion motivation characterized
through eagerness and vigilance of consumers (Semin et al., 2005). The findings acquired from
the structural equation modeling suggest that social interactivity must be considered as a
dimension of engagement, supporting Ruehl and Ingenhoff (2015). The social interactivity
shows a significant effect to influence customer engagement behavior in social media Customer
advertising through brand loyalty from the perspective of the social community. The exchange engagement
of information or thoughts is stimulated by a higher level of interaction between a customer and
other social community members. In contrast, social interactivity and entertainment levels
and brand
imply a more substantial impact concerning advertising. loyalty
The favorability of the customers toward advertising is increased from a higher level of
social interaction and customer engagement, therefore expanding their consideration and
preference. Social interactivity and brand loyalty significantly affect the engagement of
customers. It is deemed that sharing, creating and commenting behavior have significant
impacts on the improvement of the relationship of the customers with social community
brands, products and members in social media. The particular emotional preference for the
involvement of brands is represented by frequent consumer engagement in social media to
increase their connection and satisfaction with the products and brands.
While in Solem and Pedersen (2016), the concept of consumer engagement by Higgins
(2006) theory of regulatory engagement, consumer engagement is entirely regarded as the
cognitive concept. However, as per the given theory, value serves as the vital factor for
motivating individuals toward a particular experience. This experience of consumers may
result in both positive and negative directions. Higgins and Scholer (2009) indicated that the
motivational force direction among individuals is connected through different factors such as
need satisfaction, brand or product standards which include individual likelihood, use of
proper means, regulatory fit, etc.
These findings have strengthened the knowledge base about consumer engagement
behavior theoretically. This finding has examined the engagement as compared to the focus on
online consumer engagement. Understanding that social interactivity impacts cognitive and
effective consumer engagement suggests that the type of information shared should be
considered positively by marketers. Timely and accurate information must be provided by
markets, as well as relevant information that ensures satisfaction and pleasure for creating
emotional associations between consumers and the Facebook page. Findings of the existing
study stating that the social interactivity of consumers on Facebook page impacts participative
consumer engagement behavior has supported the brand loyalty on social media platforms.
The understanding of consumer engagement behavior has been expanded by recognizing
social interactivity. Likewise, the findings assist marketers in understanding the consumers’
engagement to brand loyalty. Social media managers and marketers must realize that
providing social interaction can impact a consumer to participate; therefore, firms need to create
pages that allow consumers to access the information shared on Facebook pages easily.
The level of interest and attention among people is significantly affected when more
companies are engaged in the co-creation. It is likely to provide insights into the long-term effects
of co-creation on consumer perceptions. It also assists in the evaluation of how the consumers
perceive a brand providing claims of customer engagement without any actual proof, as
compared to a brand sharing maximum information about the partnership and also offers room
for further participation. The consumers show an initial response toward the co-creative brands;
however, their response is significantly affected by the brands’ behavior over time.

5.2 Study implications

Considering the practical implications of this study, the results generated from the conceptual
framework have been explored by measuring customer engagement behavior. Marketers and
researchers should consider the following recommendations when designing social media
advertising based on the study results.
Firstly, marketers should manage social communities or fan pages available at online
social platforms for increased activity and interaction between social community members
and users; thus improving customers’ engagement behavior. Secondly, marketing personnel
APJML should focus on the entertainment and interactivity levels in advertising designs, which
allows the customers to perceive the novelty of advertising. Since value co-creation is mainly
dependent on the level of consumer motivation in developing interactions, therefore, it is
important to use brands to motivate customers for increased participation.
As for the managerial implication, this study highlights how companies may develop
strong customer interaction by optimizing different value creation activities in a brand
community. Also, as purchasing preference and customers’ interests are highly associated;
therefore, improving these interests can encourage customers’ engagement behavior in online
social platforms. The study further indicates that a positive social media brand experience of
the consumer is of greater importance as it significantly affects the sequential performance
outcomes of consumer brand experiences. Considering this, brand managers must follow a
holistic approach of value creation through customer participation while developing psycho-
social values for customers to strengthen the customer–brand relationship.
The findings of the study also have social implications as the results are critical in
developing consumer attitudes and perceptions toward a brand. It is further helpful in
providing them important insights regarding the characteristics of brands that make them
useful and worthy of purchasing. The study, through its theoretical and conceptual
knowledge, may help in influencing the behavior and attitude of consumers as it identifies the
crucial role played by consumers while serving as an active participant for a brand’s success.
It is further helpful in providing them with critical insights into the value of consumer
participation in promoting a brand. Organizational policymakers may also benefit from these
results since these findings would help them to make useful addition in their everyday work
practices which would ultimately increase the market competition of brands.
Social commerce managers should also reinforce community identification as it has a
direct and significant impact on customer engagement. Customer co-creation can be
fomented in both affective and cognitive ways, for instance, by facilitating the users to
ascertain the operational rules, therefore allowing them to share resources amongst
themselves. Managers must seek for ensuring that community members feel satisfied with
their sense of belonging to the group by offering both hedonic value and utilitarian value.
Managers must boost social support by developing channels where users can engage, such as
forums, recommendation systems, communities and rating tools among others.

6. Conclusion
This study was designed to explore the role of consumer engagement behavior and social
interactivity on brand loyalty when consumers are active and participate on Facebook. The
consumer behavior management model developed and empirically investigated examine the
antecedents and consequences of consumer engagement behavior drawing upon
the literature from assorted disciplines, which include communication, marketing,
consumer behavior and website design.
The consequences of consumer engagement behavior have hypothesized that affection
and cognitive aspects are significant antecedents toward brand loyalty. The findings of the
study indicated that customer engagement behavior plays a critical role in affecting brand
loyalty and social interactivity. The results have stimulated practitioners to create Facebook
pages, including fun and exciting features and information quality that are interactive for
influencing the consumer engagement level on the social media platform. Marketers can be
ensured that an investment in a social media platform includes these constructs that can pay
off in brand loyalty and ultimately, an increase in sales.
The present study has investigated consumer evaluations across firms that are engaged
in customer engagement development. The level of interest and attention among the people is
significantly affected when more companies are involved in the co-creation. It is likely to
provide insights into the long-term effects of co-creation on consumer perceptions. It also
assists in the evaluation of how the consumers perceive a brand providing claims of customer Customer
engagement without any actual proof, as compared to a brand sharing maximum information engagement
about the partnership and also offers room for further participation. The consumers show an
initial response toward the co-creative brands; however, their response is significantly
and brand
affected by the brands’ behavior over time. loyalty

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Appendix
Questionnaire
Social interactivity
SI1 The page that I “like on Facebook allows me to be in control of what I want to see
SI2 Customers share experiences about products or services with other customers on the page I “like”
on Facebook
SI3 The page that I “like” on Facebook shares information about the product(s) with users who “like”
the page on Facebook.
SI4 The page that I “like” on Facebook responds to my posts in a timely manner. The page that I
“like” on Facebook responds to other users’ in a timely manner
SI5 I “like” on Facebook responds to other users’ posts in a timely manner.
Customer engagement behavior
CEB1 When I am on the Facebook page that I “like,” I get mentally involved in the company (its story,
history, mission, goals).
CEB2 I feel like I learn a tremendous amount of information about the page featured on Facebook.
CEB3 I find the experience with the page that I “like” on Facebook to be pleasurable.
Brand loyalty
BL1 I am very committed to the page I “like” on Facebook.
BL2 I have a positive attitude toward the page I “like” on Facebook.
BL3 I hold the page I “like” on Facebook in high regard.

About the authors

Ding Hooi Ting is an Associate Professor at the Department of Management and Humanities,
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia. He is also the cluster leader for the Business and
Management Cluster. He received his doctorate in the area of Marketing. His research areas are in
consumer behavior and services marketing. He is also the President of the American Association of
Inside Sales Professionals, Malaysia Chapter. Ding Hooi Ting is the corresponding author and can
be contacted at: dinghooi8@yhaoo.com; ting.dinghooi@utp.edu.my
Amir Zaib Abbasi is an assistant professor of marketing in the Faculty of Management Sciences,
Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan. His research
areas are in human–computer Interaction, marketing and consumer behaviour. He is currently working
on projects relating to consumer video game engagement, learning, personality traits, playful
consumption experiences and consumption behaviors in the entertainment industry.
APJML Sohel Ahmed is an assistant professor at the School of Business Administration, Al Akhawayn
University, Morocco. His research areas focus on retail behavior and shopping cues. He has
embarked on finding a clear understanding of shopping behavior through sequential phases of
shopping conditions.

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