In today’s highly dynamic and interactive business environment, the role of “customer engagement” (CE) in co-creating customer experience and customer value is receiving increasing attention from organizations and academics alike. Despite this interest, systematic research into the concept and its antecedents has been limited to date. This article conducts two large empirical studies to explore reasons for CE. Seven essential antecedents of CE are derived from this analysis. They can be divided into the following three categories: customer-
based antecedents of CE (company familiarity and attitude towards the company), company-based influencing factors (company awareness, corporate image, and perceived ease of use), and context-based reasons for CE (social
norms and perceived critical mass). The results of this study also provide issues for further research.