Purpose: This paper aims to investigate how banking websites can activate customer engagement (CE) to consequently enhance customer trust and retention. Design/methodology/approach: Using an online survey, data were collected from 598 customers of various (public and private) banks in India. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings: Results reveal that the key website attributes viz. website interactivity, website aesthetics, customization, ease of use and telepresence positively affect CE. The results also delineate positive associations between CE, customer trust and customer retention. Research limitations/implications: This paper unravels that by strategically focusing on the relational dynamics of CE, banks can build trust and retain their most valuable stakeholders – the customers, thereby addressing the crucial strategic concerns of banking firms. Originality/value: This research is the first to explore the effects of key website attributes on CE in the banking context. The undertaking of this study in an emerging economy adds further insight into CE literature by generalizing the applicability of CE studies across geographic contexts.

Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on the two marketing outcomes - corporate reputation (CR) and brand equity (BE), based on the perception of consumers regarding banks in India. Design/methodology/approach: – A survey of banking consumers was carried out, resulting in 303 valid responses. In order to address research objectives and test the hypothesis, structural equations modeling has been employed. Findings: – Results reveals that CSR activities influence CR and BE directly as well as indirectly. In addition, the mediating role of trust is found to be significant between CSR and CR and CSR and BE. The study shows that CSR activities build consumer trust in a company which in turn positively impacts CR and BE. Research limitations/implications: – The findings have important implications for retail banks in India and suggest that CSR activities can help banks in building CR and BE. The hypothesized theoretical framework has been tested in the banking context, so the generalization of findings is limited to the context. Originality/value: – This study contributes to literature by highlighting the important role of CSR and its direct and indirect effects on CR and BE.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the mediating role of brand trust and commitment in the relationship of brand engagement and brand experience with brand loyalty in the online service context. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the study’s objective, 414 users of virtual service brands, predominantly in the online banking, airline and hotel sectors, were surveyed. Findings: Both brand engagement and experience exert direct effects on brand trust and commitment, as well as indirect effects on brand commitment (via brand trust) and service brand loyalty (via brand commitment). Research limitations/implications: This paper adds to the literature by incorporating brand engagement, experience, trust and commitment into a unifying framework. The framework emphasizes brand trust and commitment’s mediating role in the relationship that brand engagement and experience share with brand commitment and loyalty in the online service context. Practical implications: Marketers should formulate online brand engagement and experience strategies that strengthen customer brand trust and commitment, which are expected to exert a significant brand loyalty-enhancing effect. Originality/value: Brand engagement and experience were validated as key drivers of brand trust and commitment, thereby further substantiating their role as important strategic metrics. Moreover, the role of commitment as a mediating factor in the association between brand engagement and experience and their respective impact on brand loyalty has been verified. Although the findings suggest that improved brand engagement/experience contributes to brand loyalty, this effect transpires only though brand commitment.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the customer-brand engagement influences the brand satisfaction and the brand loyalty in an online banking context. It further explores the role of the online brand experience as a mediating variable amidst the relationship of customer-brand engagement with brand satisfaction and brand loyalty. Design/methodology/approach: This study has used 348 responses been collected through an online survey which was conducted among various online bank customers in Delhi, the national capital of India. The responses were analyzed by the means of the confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings: The results of online survey show that customer-brand engagement positively influences online brand experience. The effects of customer-brand engagement on brand satisfaction and brand loyalty are partially mediated by the online brand experience. Mediation of online brand experience produces the stronger effects as compared to those direct effects of the customer-brand engagement on the brand satisfaction and the brand loyalty. Practical implications: This study suggests bank managers to develop strategies that could be able to increase the levels of the customer-brand engagement in an online setting because of its scheduled effects on the online brand experiences and the consumer behavioral outcomes. Originality/value: This research is the first-of-its-kind that examines the effect of customer-brand engagement on the customers’ brand experience, brand satisfaction and brand loyalty in the online banking context.