Impact of organizational efforts on customer engagement in C2C online auction commerce and their consequences

With the growth of Customer to Customer (C2C) auction websites, understanding customer engagement in this context is important for both practitioners and researchers. Therefore, this article focuses on C2C auction organizations’ efforts on customer engagement. The article draws on three important antecedents to customer engagement in C2C auction commerce namely, investment in reputation and trust building efforts; ease of learning and experience; and features of online auction websites and the influence on behavioural intentions. The study employed a cross-sectional, survey-based methodology. The sample included 256 respondents residing in the Southeast of the UK. Results indicate that the antecedents positively affect customer engagement which in turn impact on behavioural intentions in C2C online auctions. The results also highlight the critical difference in the nature of engagement between regularly purchased products and C2C auctions. The findings of the study are likely to enhance our understanding of the multiple-stage consumption process of C2C auctions where customer satisfaction is not a post consumption phenomenon and occurs in parallel with customer engagement. The findings provide valuable insights regarding factors managers should focus their attention to tailor their approaches and content.