Bridging employee engagement and customer engagement in a service context

Grounded in social exchange theory and service logic, this study investigates how customers’ evaluations of service experiences and interactions with employees and the resulting customer gratitude toward the firm mediate the positive relationship between employee engagement (EE) and customer engagement (CE). Using data from 423 employee–customer dyads, this study demonstrates that customer perceived value and employee–customer rapport serve as significant dual mediators between EE and customer gratitude toward the firm, which subsequently leads to CE. These findings advance the engagement literature by offering more granular evidence of mechanisms through which EE promotes CE, affording several insights for theory and practice.