Digital engagement: Current insights and future directions from a bibliometric-content analysis

Abstract

Engagement is an immensely important marketing construct, and the proliferation of digital platforms has further contributed to its importance. This review intends to integrate and synthesise all the extant literature on Digital engagement (DE), including blogs, miniblogs, websites, and social media. This study employed a systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliometric analysis to identify the existing literature on the topic indexed in the Scopus database. Moreover, content analysis was done on clusters formed through bibliographic coupling. A total of 655 articles were identified after employing various inclusion and exclusion criteria. This study has identified six themes within digital engagement literature: Digital engagement motivations and mechanisms for people and organisations; The role of engagement in promotion effectiveness and loyalty; Engagement and dynamic engagement strategies; Digital engagement’s role in public relations for profit and non-profit organisations; Impact of digital engagement on consumer decision, loyalty, and brand selection; and Constituents of digital engagement on brand pages. Furthermore, this study also offers seven specific future research avenues. Previous reviews of engagement in the digital context have overlooked digital platforms such as blogs, microblogs, and company websites. This study makes an original contribution to the literature by providing a first-of-its-kind comprehensive assessment of research diversification pertaining to digital engagement by utilising bibliometric and content analysis techniques. Additionally, it offers actionable recommendations for future research in the field.