Capturing brand loyalty through customer relationship management: exploring the roles of customer brand engagement and psychological contracts from a dual perspective

Abstract Customer brand engagement has always been emphasized by numerous firms on digital media. However, previous studies of customer brand engagement did not reveal its features and functions, which impedes our ability to further comprehend and apply it. Based on psychological contract theory, th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lingzhi Brian Fang, Tan Cheng, Heng Yang, Yajing Duan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2025-08-01
Series:Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05098-y
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849766988380897280
author Lingzhi Brian Fang
Tan Cheng
Heng Yang
Yajing Duan
author_facet Lingzhi Brian Fang
Tan Cheng
Heng Yang
Yajing Duan
author_sort Lingzhi Brian Fang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Customer brand engagement has always been emphasized by numerous firms on digital media. However, previous studies of customer brand engagement did not reveal its features and functions, which impedes our ability to further comprehend and apply it. Based on psychological contract theory, this study identified a mechanism of customer brand engagement and loyalty for exploring customer brand engagement features and functions. We collected 575 valid questionnaires and then used structural equation modeling (SEM) and response surface method (RSM) to verify the theoretical model. The findings of this study show that the psychological and behavioral aspects of customer brand engagement have distinctive effects on brand loyalty. As a mediator, a psychological contract plays an aligned role and provides socioemotional and economic perspectives for explaining this mechanism. When RSM is used, the congruence effect of these 2 features has been revealed, and thereby, various functions of customer brand engagement interior parts have been verified. This novel viewpoint improves our theoretical comprehension of customer brand engagement. Additionally, it also facilitates our practical understanding of customer relationship management strategies and brand loyalty system construction through customer brand engagement from a practical perspective.
format Article
id doaj-art-4fd68376b2ef4275808e17adf8a8cfa4
institution DOAJ
issn 2662-9992
language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher Springer Nature
record_format Article
series Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
spelling doaj-art-4fd68376b2ef4275808e17adf8a8cfa42025-08-20T03:04:23ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-08-0112111310.1057/s41599-025-05098-yCapturing brand loyalty through customer relationship management: exploring the roles of customer brand engagement and psychological contracts from a dual perspectiveLingzhi Brian Fang0Tan Cheng1Heng Yang2Yajing Duan3Insititute for Social Governance and Communication Innovation of Zhejiang, Communication University of Zhejiang School of Management, Fudan UniversitySchool of Journalism and Communication, Shanghai University School of Management, Fudan UniversityAbstract Customer brand engagement has always been emphasized by numerous firms on digital media. However, previous studies of customer brand engagement did not reveal its features and functions, which impedes our ability to further comprehend and apply it. Based on psychological contract theory, this study identified a mechanism of customer brand engagement and loyalty for exploring customer brand engagement features and functions. We collected 575 valid questionnaires and then used structural equation modeling (SEM) and response surface method (RSM) to verify the theoretical model. The findings of this study show that the psychological and behavioral aspects of customer brand engagement have distinctive effects on brand loyalty. As a mediator, a psychological contract plays an aligned role and provides socioemotional and economic perspectives for explaining this mechanism. When RSM is used, the congruence effect of these 2 features has been revealed, and thereby, various functions of customer brand engagement interior parts have been verified. This novel viewpoint improves our theoretical comprehension of customer brand engagement. Additionally, it also facilitates our practical understanding of customer relationship management strategies and brand loyalty system construction through customer brand engagement from a practical perspective.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05098-y
spellingShingle Lingzhi Brian Fang
Tan Cheng
Heng Yang
Yajing Duan
Capturing brand loyalty through customer relationship management: exploring the roles of customer brand engagement and psychological contracts from a dual perspective
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
title Capturing brand loyalty through customer relationship management: exploring the roles of customer brand engagement and psychological contracts from a dual perspective
title_full Capturing brand loyalty through customer relationship management: exploring the roles of customer brand engagement and psychological contracts from a dual perspective
title_fullStr Capturing brand loyalty through customer relationship management: exploring the roles of customer brand engagement and psychological contracts from a dual perspective
title_full_unstemmed Capturing brand loyalty through customer relationship management: exploring the roles of customer brand engagement and psychological contracts from a dual perspective
title_short Capturing brand loyalty through customer relationship management: exploring the roles of customer brand engagement and psychological contracts from a dual perspective
title_sort capturing brand loyalty through customer relationship management exploring the roles of customer brand engagement and psychological contracts from a dual perspective
url https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05098-y
work_keys_str_mv AT lingzhibrianfang capturingbrandloyaltythroughcustomerrelationshipmanagementexploringtherolesofcustomerbrandengagementandpsychologicalcontractsfromadualperspective
AT tancheng capturingbrandloyaltythroughcustomerrelationshipmanagementexploringtherolesofcustomerbrandengagementandpsychologicalcontractsfromadualperspective
AT hengyang capturingbrandloyaltythroughcustomerrelationshipmanagementexploringtherolesofcustomerbrandengagementandpsychologicalcontractsfromadualperspective
AT yajingduan capturingbrandloyaltythroughcustomerrelationshipmanagementexploringtherolesofcustomerbrandengagementandpsychologicalcontractsfromadualperspective