CENOR: a new measure of customer engagement orientation - scale development and invariance across industries
(A2023-114012)

AUTHORS

Katarzyna Żyminkowska, University of Bielsko-Biala; Izabela Kowalik, Warsaw School of Economics; Agnieszka Pleśniak, Warsaw School of Economics

ABSTRACT

Main goals: Recent studies show that customer engagement is essential to business success, and managers should build engagement-oriented firms. The paper intends to develop and reflect on the theory of customer engagement orientation in marketing and propose its new measurement tool. Research objectives: To develop and empirically test the scale measuring firm's customer engagement orientation (CENOR) and to check how the scale replicates in versatile industries. Research method: The study reports on the construction and validation of the CENOR measure based on a literature review and a quantitative study of firms operating in manufacturing and services markets. Major findings: A reliable and valid CENOR scale is developed, which is invariant across industries. Based on the literature, a seven items scale has been hypothesized; however, a CFA discovers that it consists of 5 items. Originality: The study contributes to the understanding of what actually constitutes a firm customer engagement orientation and suggests its valid and reliable measure. For practitioners, it includes a framework to build a customer engagement-oriented firm.