Mapping the gaps in customer education: A review of scales, contexts, and future directions
(A2026-131939)

AUTHORS

Mai Uno, Faculty of Economics, Gakushuin University; Nguyen Chau, Waseda University

ABSTRACT

Customer education, referring to marketing communication activities in which firms provide customers with knowledge and skills related to their offerings, is increasingly important as products and services grow more complex and diverse. This study reviews existing research on the measurement scales, antecedents, and effects of customer education to identify future research directions. Following a semi-systematic search, this study reviewed 34 papers in-depth. The findings reveal that no standardized measurement scale has been established. The research context is heavily concentrated on markets with high information asymmetry, where the service provider holds a distinct knowledge advantage. Conversely, markets with highly expert customers remain underexplored, despite the potential to uncover novel effects of customer education. Finally, investigations into antecedents and negative effects remain highly limited. Based on these findings, this study proposes seven research agendas.