The role of customer engagement in relationship quality with a resale platform

Abstract

Online communities are often used to establish customer engagement. This study focuses on the antecedents (i.e. involvement, anonymity) and consequences (i.e. brand relationship quality) of engagement in an online resale community. Data are obtained through a survey of 298 resale platform customers in the United States. Partial least squares–structural equation modeling is applied for data analysis. The findings of this study reveal that customer involvement and perceived anonymity within the community positively affect the three dimensions of engagement: creation, contribution, and consumption. The results also show that engagement affects both the cognitive and affective qualities of brand relationship quality, producing a significantly positive effect on behavioral intention. This study contributes to existing marketing studies by developing an integrated framework for community engagement and brand relationship quality in the online resale context.