If memory serves and I am not deceived by 20/20 hindsight, this prediction seemed far-fetched to me even in 1979, and it has, of course, been thoroughly disproved by the event. We now have a chess program that can beat almost anyone — soon, perhaps, with a little more speed, some more fine-tuning, one or two more clever search heuristics, a program that can beat absolutely anyone — built on the narrowest possible principles. Deep Blue not only has no idea of talking about poetry; it not only has no capacity for learning or abstraction; but indeed it knows astonishingly little about chess. The program has no idea of strategies, tactics, gambits, or forks; it cannot answer elementary questions about chess such as “If a bishop is now on a black square, will it ever be on a white square?” or “Is there a position in which white can mate black, if it is white’s move, and black can mate white, if it is white’s move?” or even “What is checkmate?” All that it can do is to generate a next move of extraordinary quality.

The Retrospective Review

This study aims to serve as an important resource for customer engagement (CE) researchers by presenting a comprehensive, up-to-date and objective assessment of the status and evolution of the CE literature. This purpose is achieved through simultaneous consideration and separate analyses of both the marketing/service and hospitality/tourism literature where CE research dominates.,This study integrated three review techniques, including a systematic review technique, evaluative technique and relational technique, to present a state-of-the-art analysis of 236 articles. It provides an updated picture of scientific research on CE, as well as the thematic evolution and structure of the CE literature across the two disciplines.,Through a comprehensive review of the CE literature in marketing/service and hospitality/tourism domains, the present study findings build a robust foundation to evaluate how this strand of literature has developed and evolved over time. More importantly, a comparative and quantitative analysis of marketing/service and hospitality/tourism journals delivers actionable insight for hospitality and tourism scholars.,This study reframes the scientific knowledge regarding the evolution of CE literature, along with interrelation patterns, to advance relevant studies in hospitality and tourism. Findings offer a broadened perspective on the concept’s scholarly development and current research trends, thereby charting a new path for future research.,By adopting three review techniques, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this state-of-the-art analysis is the first to compare and synthesize a large volume of marketing/service and hospitality/tourism research, assembling a springboard from which to evaluate how CE studies have developed.

The thematic evolution of customer engagement research: a comparative systematic review and bibliometric analysis

#COVID-19: Forms and drivers of social media users’ engagement behavior toward a global crisis

The current study examined the relationships between gamification, perceived value, and viewer engagement in a gamified livestreaming service, where gamification complemented the viewing of an esports event. Data from 458 viewers on a livestreaming platform were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results showed that immersion and socialization gamification enhanced the event’s perceived value and viewer engagement, while the effects of achievement gamification were weak and not significant. Moreover, we identified gendered differences as to engagement enhancement in esports livestreams. Immersion gamification and functional value of the event were more influential among females, whereas socialization gamification and social value were more impactful among males. Theoretical and practical implications that can help researchers and practitioners better understand, design, and operate gamification are discussed. 

Gamification for value creation and viewer engagement in gamified livestreaming services: The moderating role of gender in esports

Despite luxury's increasing globalization and broadening scope via digitalization and new markets, the intellectual structure of the overall research corpus remains tenuous. This work therefore aims to provide an overview of published work on international luxury marketing and to contribute to a better understanding of the research area.,Using a systematic approach, 1151 items (papers) were retrieved and 181 selected from the international luxury marketing field published before 2019. These items were analyzed by using various bibliometric techniques to identify the most productive countries, journals, influential authors, papers and research clusters.,Although most of the outputs originate from business, management and marketing journals, other disciplines also research this topic. The analysis reveals an emerging field, with 85% of the published papers appearing between 2010 and 2018, which are primarily the output of US- and UK-based authors and none of whom dominates the field. The three identified keyword clusters are (1) consumers and consumption (2) tools and (3) core themes.,This article contributes to our understanding of the evolution, current status and research trends of published research on international luxury marketing by presenting a mapping analysis and proposing future research directions.,This is the first bibliometric mapping analysis of research on the topic from its conception to 2019. It contributes insights from different research disciplines, adds to the categorization of the international luxury marketing literature and provides promising future research directions in terms of research areas and strategies.

Charting research on international luxury marketing: where are we now and where should we go next?

Purpose - In recent years, customer engagement (CE) with brands, which has been shown to yield enhanced firm sales, competitive advantage, and stock returns, has risen to occupy a prominent position in brand management research and practice. Correspondingly, scholars have explored CE’s conceptualization, operationalization, and its nomological networks as informed by different theoretical perspectives. However, despite important advances, the intellectual structure of the overall corpus of CE research remains tenuous, as therefore explored in this paper. 

Design/methodology/approach - Based on this gap, this study deploys bibliometric- and network analysis to map CE’s literature-based landscape. Using bibliometric analysis, important CE-publishing journals, authors, and influential CE articles (2005-2020) are uncovered. Using network analysis, prominent CE themes are also unearthed. 

Findings - The results document key CE-publishing journals and authors, and their respective contributions to the literature. Five CE themes are also identified, including CE Measurement/Methods, Online CE, CE’s Value Co-creating Capacity, CE Conceptualization, and Customer/Consumer Brand Engagement. Further, an agenda for future CE research is provided based on the presented network analysis results. 

Practical implications - The reported findings generate important implications for brand managers. For example, the identified critical role of online (vs. offline) CE offers a range of strategic opportunities, as outlined. 

Originality/value - This paper offers a pioneering bibliometric- and network analysis of the CE literature, thus mapping the field. From the identified CE themes, important avenues for further CE research are also identified.

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Priyavrat Sanyal

Papers

Fifteen years of customer engagement research: a bibliometric and network analysis