THE INFLUENCE OF CUSTOMER GOAL SALIENCE ON CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT AND BRAND PERFORMANCE: AN EXTENSION OF THE TAM2 MODEL

Abstract

The research study has examined specific antecedents of customer engagement and their influence on brand-related performance. The study has extended the TAM2 model by including constructs like goal salience and brand performance related to constructs like job relevance, output quality and goal-oriented thinking. The study builds upon recommendations of past studies on customer engagement. In this regard, customer engagement at social media platforms through perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and goal salience has been measured. The research is quantitatively conducted by a survey method based on a self-administered questionnaire. Items of the study have been adapted from past studies. Smart PLS 4.0 is employed in this research for data analysis and hypothesis testing. The study's population are social media users who have shopped online. The sample size is selected as 220 study respondents approached through a convenient sampling method applied by reaching out social media pages of famous e-commerce websites in Pakistan. The study has theoretical implications due to the extension of TAM model and practical implications for strategy makers of a firm in the long run to align customer goals with the social media strategy for long-term retention and better sales or profitability. The research model can be improved through adding some mediating or moderation constructs like self-disclosure, gender specification or income level for assessment of results accordingly.

Key words: Customer engagement, brand performance, goal salience, social media and digital platforms.