Perceived Benefits of Customer Engagement for Companies: An Empirical Study on Customer Knowledge and Value Co-Creation

Abstract

Consumer – company collaboration in product and service co-creation and knowledge sharing generates measurable benefits for both parties. While consumer-related benefits are widely discussed in the literature, company-level benefits remain relatively underexplored. This paper aims to identify and empirically assess the key benefits for companies resulting from engaging consumers in business activities. A survey was conducted among 404 companies diversified in terms of sector, size, and market scope, all of which actively involve consumers in product and service development. The analysis focuses on the 12 highest-rated benefits of collaboration with consumers. The results indicate a consistently positive evaluation of customer engagement, with the highest ratings assigned to benefits related to product improvement, alignment with customer needs, and the use of customer knowledge (mean values above 5.6). Differences across structural characteristics of companies are limited and not systematic. In particular, factors such as size, sector, ownership, and market scope do not significantly differentiate the perception of benefits. In contrast, the perceived importance of customer engagement emerges as the key explanatory factor, highlighting the central role of strategic orientation and the recognition of customer knowledge within organizations. The findings may be particularly relevant for managers and decision-makers seeking to better understand and leverage customer engagement, as well as for researchers interested in the organizational perspective on value co-creation.