Nghiên cứu sinh Đỗ Minh Diệp
ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE DISSERTATION
Dissertation title: The relationship between customer engagement and outcomes in online non-profit communities: the moderating impact of sense of belonging
Specialization: Business Administration (BS) Specialization code: 9340101
PhD candidate: Do Minh Diep
Supervisor(s): Assoc.Prof.Dr. Le Thi My Linh
Institution: National Economics University
Original contributions on academic and theoretical aspects
This research makes three key contributions to literature. Firstly, it confirms that customer engagement is a multidimensional construct reflecting cognitive processing, affection, and activation dimensions particularly in the context of online nonprofit communities. While prior studies in the literature have explored various aspects of customer engagement as a uni-dimension, such as positive emotions or motivation to donate. This research may be among the first to highlight the importance of not only emotional and behavioral aspects but also the synergy among cognitive processing, affection, and activation dimensions, as well as their interaction with a sense of belonging, in motivating outcomes of customer engagement. Applying Social Identity Theory and Social Exchange Theory, the second theoretical contribution of this study addresses the call by scholars to investigate how sense of belonging moderates the relationship between customer engagement and behavioral outcomes in online nonprofit communities. Specifically, in this research context, customer engagement leads to community commitment, enabling customers to engage in behaviors such as word-of-mouth and value co-creation. The third theoretical contribution of this research supports the relationships among social presence, customer involvement, emotional support and customer engagement. in nonprofit context social presence, customer involvement, and emotional support create a powerful ecosystem that drives customer engagement. These factors also provides an emotionally rich environment that motivates customers to engage in meaningful ways as well as reduces barriers to engagement by making members feel valued, understood, and capable of contributing meaningfully.
Recommendations derived from the findings of the dissertation
First, enhancing the sense of belonging in online nonprofit communities is crucial for fostering engagement, commitment, and desired behavioral outcomes among members.
Secondly, this research findings recommend marketing strategies through which nonprofit organizations can activate customer engagement to prolong their subsequent behaviors in online nonprofit communities.
Moreover, it is suggested improving influential factors including social presence, customer participation, and emotional support to promoting customer engagement and achieving anticipated outcomes in online nonprofit communities.
