The Effect of Cross-Cultural Dimensions on the Manifestation of Customer Engagement Behaviors

Abstract

Today's technology-enabled customer with instant access to a global marketplace has led to firms facing intense competition from around the world. As a result, customer engagement has emerged as an important marketing strategy and for more than a decade has fueled intense attention from academe and professionals. However, despite this focus, there is a paucity of research considering customer engagement in a cross-cultural context. This exploratory study provides empirical clarification as to whether culture at a national level impacts the manifestation of specific customer engagement behaviors exhibited by customers engaged with a brand. A conceptualization of customer engagement behaviors according to Hofstede's six dimensions of culture is presented, and a netnographic study focusing on an online brand community reveals that while national culture exerts no impact on the behaviors of engaged customers, the culture associated with a brand does. These findings serve as a foundation for future academic inquiry and present the opportunity for managers to foster and nurture a brand culture that encourages customer engagement.