PurposeThe present study examines the potential association between the company's efforts on consumer education and consumer engagement and addresses the implications of this link in strategic decision-making.Design/methodology/approachThe coffee shop industry serves as the context for testing the probable effect of education on creating more engaged consumers. To achieve this objective, regular coffee drinkers were asked to evaluate the education efforts of their favourite coffee shop and their level of engagement was assessed. Education and engagement were assessed using previously developed scales constituting a 32-item scale. The responses of 122 subjects were used in the analysis.FindingsConsumer education, both firm specific and market related, are found to be related to engagement within a coffee shop context. Findings might suggest alternative strategies within coffee shop brands to enhance their educational efforts to increasing their consumer's engagement levels, which might ultimately result in more loyal customers.Practical implicationsThe association between consumer education and consumer engagement is relevant when engagement is identified as a powerful predictor of several desired behavioural outcomes, such as satisfaction, word of mouth and loyalty. The possibility of education influencing consumer engagement might highlight an alternative strategy for companies pursuing higher engagement levels.Originality/valueAlthough both constructs, education and engagement, have been previously used to analyse a set of different phenomena, the present study is perhaps the first to address a potential correlation between the two.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to conceptually address the understanding of certain consumers and businesses that show new dynamics, including a heightened interest in quality and the concomitant development of entities and mechanisms designed to ensure certain standards as well as an increased level of involvement of the consumer with the product. These segments are identified and labeled as sophisticated markets. Design/methodology/approach Through a literature review following a conceptual model methodology, this study poses eight research propositions to seek a more profound and comprehensive understanding of this type of market that could potentially benefit several industries. This study explores and discusses some of the essential differences of sophisticated markets with a twofold purpose: to recognize the existence of sophisticated markets as a distinct category and suggest issues that may constitute interesting further research works. Findings The process of sophistication might occur in different industries. This study poses implications of sophisticated markets to better understand consumers and business through research propositions that can be classified into two main domains: consumer–firm relationships and communicational implications. Originality/value Previous studies addressing luxury or specialized markets have not considered these terms to be sufficient to describe what we propose be labeled as a sophisticated market. This study addresses this gap in literature and proposes a streamline of research that pursues a deeper understanding of this phenomenon.