Mapping the themes and intellectual structure of customer engagement: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose Customer engagement (CE) as a domain of research started gaining impetus when it became apparent that it can be a key driver of a firm's performance, competitive advantage and loyalty. The purpose of this study is to develop a deep understanding of the CE construct in marketing literature using bibliometric analysis. Design/methodology/approach In this study, 940 articles were retrieved from Scopus, the well-known electronic database. Bibliographic coupling and co-occurrence analysis using VOSviewer along with content analysis were employed. Findings After careful content analysis, six clusters were identified through bibliographic coupling: (1) modeling customer engagement, (2) customer engagement theory and empirical validation, (3) customer engagement and service-dominant logic, (4) customer engagement and social media, (5) customer engagement and brand platforms and (6) engagement in other contexts. The outcomes of this study would not only be valuable for scholars working in the CE domain, but could also be useful for practitioners and policymakers who wish to enhance their understanding about CE. Originality/value Over the past decade, the research on CE construct has exploded owing to the growing interest of both scholars and practitioners in the field. Despite being a popular field of research, there is no published work on a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the construct in marketing literature. The current study bridges this gap in the existing literature.