The Antecedents and Consequences of Customer Engagement: An Exploratory Study on Mobile Network Business in Thailand

Abstract

This study explores the antecedents and consequences of customer engagement behavior in the Thai mobile network business. A qualitative research using 15 interviews was conducted to identify the service quality dimensions, customer engagement behaviors and customer loyalty. The respondents’ main concerns were related to technical and functional service quality and their engagement behavior were addressed mostly in offline mode when they interacted with their family, friends and occasionally communicating to the mobile providers. It was found that the approach to switching behavior and cross-buying behavior were connected to customer loyalty behaviors. However, spending behaviors of customers may not be a good indicator for customer loyalty in mobile network business because those who do not have intention to switch to another brand do not necessarily increase their spending. In addition, most respondents are concerned with competitive promotional packages, which influence customer engagement behavior. Hence, it was proposed that service quality and competitive promotional packages are antecedents to customer engagement behaviors and all these factors are important in explaining customer loyalty toward mobile network providers in Thailand.