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The purpose of the study is to explore the suitability of social media influencers (SMIs) for communicating public health messages via social media platforms. The study identifies key persuasive communication components that influence individuals' attitudes and, subsequently, intentions to follow health-related information shared by SMIs.

Qualitative interviews with healthcare workers and interactions with 332 active social media users via structured online questionnaires were used for data collection. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse responses.

Results indicate that SMIs' credibility, SMI–individual homophily and quality of information shared by the SMI are the significant factors determining individuals' attitudes towards the information received. Furthermore, the individual's attitude significantly impacts their intention to follow information shared by the SMI. The study thus verifies the mediating role of attitude in persuasive communication.

The current study can serve as a foundation for future work to examine the suitability of SMIs for tasks other than marketing.

The study provides insights for planning and implementing SMI-sourced communication in the public health context. The study enhances the understanding of the tested relationships and thereby increases scholars' and practitioners' ability to leverage SMIs for health-related communication.

Whilst SMIs are attracting increasing attention in consumer markets, the study suggests that they can be used in public health communication. Considering the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation, the empirical study provides insights into SMIs' role in persuasive public health communication amid a health crisis.

The peer review history for the article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-01-2021-0012

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a customer engagement-enabling platform on a value captured by the firm and value acquired by the customer. It explores the relevance of relational and expertise value for customers during the engagement process so as to ensure positive referrals about the service provider.

Using a sample of 482 students, the study examines the customer engagement efforts of professional institutes that provide training to prepare for the civil service examinations of the Union Public Service Commission. The survey is confined to central areas of New Delhi, India. Statistical techniques including confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling are used to analyse the data, and reliability and validity tests are performed.

The findings reveal the indispensable role of service providers as creators of a meaningful effective learning process and of interpersonal relations with customers for generating more business through customer referrals.

The study validated the moderating role of relational value between customers’ expertise value and their referrals on the basis of motivation theory, which asserts that customers’ motivation to contribute to the organisation is driven by the individuals’ extrinsic relational need for belongingness, acceptance by like-minded individuals, and feedback, recognition and respect from employees of the organisation.

The study contributes to the existing literature by integrating the well-developed social exchange and motivation theory so as to investigate the factors that propel customers’ positive word of mouth for the service provider.

The study aims to explore the buildup of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) from positive derived experiences. Rewarding experiences with products make a user feel good about their decision to buy and use them. Those feelings get accrued as strong consumer–brand relationship, measured comprehensively by CBBE in marketing literature.

The study is conducted in two phases – exploratory and validation. The exploratory phase involved conceiving a theoretical framework from in-depth literature review. The framework is then validated through a survey-based empirical phase. Smartphones form the context of the work.

The three consumption values used in the study are usability, social value and pleasure in use. Brand equity has been conceptualized and measured as brand association, perceived value, brand trust and brand loyalty. The moderating role of user expertise, as well as lifestyle, was also tested on pleasure derived. Most of the hypothesized relationships between different constructs of experience and brand equity were found significant. Significant evidence for hierarchical formation of brand equity was also established.

Lack of evidence of moderation of lifestyle may be ascribed to the validity of the scale used to measure it in the current context and needs to be updated. The study contributes by conceiving experience as a multidimensional framework based on Holbrook’s typology, besides validating its relationship to CBBE. Hierarchical formation of brand equity is also a novel contribution.

This study provides an indicative guide to marketers with design cues that can provide relevant consumption values in the quest for a positive brand impression. It also provides directions for segmenting the smartphone market based on user expertise for better branding.

The study is innovative by relating experience, conceptualized with Holbrook’s framework and CBBE – something yet to be seen in the literature.