The Role of Customer Engagement in Sustaining Subjective Well-being After a Travel Experience: Findings From a Three-Wave Study

Abstract

Although customer engagement’s (CE) effects on marketing-related outcomes are well documented, its broader impacts on life domain constructs (e.g., subjective well-being [SWB]) have received less attention. We propose CE as a viable mechanism for prolonging travel’s positive effects on SWB. Specifically, this study adopts a three-wave design to investigate the linkages between destination brand experience (DBE), CE, and SWB over time. Our results indicate that sensory destination experience ( t1) and affective destination experience ( t1) stimulated CE with a destination ( t2), which contributed significantly to SWB ( t3). Findings from this longitudinal study contribute to the literature by demonstrating that CE significantly mediates the effects of the sensory and affective dimensions of DBE on tourists’ SWB over time. The study highlights the importance of CE beyond key marketing performance indicators.