Customers as fellows: analyzing customer citizenship behavior in services marketing

Abstract

Fellow customers may need opinions about a new gadget, instructions on how to adjust gym equipment or even a lesson on how to self-check-in at the airline kiosk. The possibilities of consumers helping each other vary across services and emphasize its dynamic and interdependent nature. The main purpose of this dissertation threefold. First, we offer theoretical contributions to future studies comprising Customer Citizenship Behavior (CCB). Conducting a systematic review with 92 articles, we suggest new avenues of research regarding theoretical and methodological possibilities. Second, we investigate how customers perceive value by engaging in citizenship behaviors towards the company and other customers. Based on 20 interviews, we draw on Holbrook's typology of values (1999) and Clary et al. (1998) functional theory to suggest contribution regarding the following dimensions: Efficacy or Quality; Social or Esteem; Play or Peace; and Ethics and Spirituality. Third, considering social exchange and self-completion theory, we propose that by endorsing CSR actions and achieving self-definition goals, customers may inhibit posterior displays of CCB considering that they already obtained satisfaction for helping third parties. Based on 2 experimental studies, we offer support for our proposition with moderation evidence, as well as showing that those participants who perceived a higher entitativity among customers of the companies were more willing to help others in a following situation. Future studies can address the value of CCB by helped customers and employees of the firm. CCB literature is still concentrated on customers who help rather than the ones helped. Other types of citizenship behaviors, such as advocacy, cooperation, and facilitation may comprehend different perceived values and sources of motivation than those explored in this study. Also, regarding our third proposition, studies can evaluate the extent to which those helping behaviors embody self-symbolizing needs and social identifications. Furthermore, the satiation effect of self-completion that we propose in this article happens in a social identity context. Next studies can investigate these effects in other domains, such as self-consistency theory.