The effects of customer justice perception and affect on customer citizenship behavior and customer dysfunctional behavior

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Abstract

This research investigates whether customer justice perception influences affect and, in turn, customer citizenship behavior and customer dysfunctional behavior. Drawing on the social exchange theory and frustration–aggression theory, this paper argues that distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice influence positive affect as well as negative affect. Furthermore, this study argues that positive affect influences customer citizenship behavior, while negative affect influences customer dysfunctional behavior. To test these relationships, the present study uses data from 209 executive-MBA students and 68 buyer companies. The results of the structural equation analysis reveal that most of these hypotheses are supported. Following a discussion of the results, research limitations and directions for future research are offered.

Introduction

The globalization of service industries and the open international economy compel service companies to enhance their competitiveness continually. Service companies have begun to pay greater attention to customers in order to improve their competitiveness. For this reason, much of the recent literature focuses on managing customers' as human resources (Bettencourt, 1997, Groth, 2005, Halbesleben and Buckley, 2004). In recent years, two independent streams of research have emerged. One stream of research concerns customer citizenship behavior. Like employees, customers may exhibit voluntary behavior that is not required of them, but nonetheless helps the organization (Groth, 2005). The other stream of research relates to voluntary, but potentially dysfunctional actions by customers that cause problems for the organization, employees, and other customers (Harris & Reynolds, 2004).

To date, a comprehensive study of these determinants has yet to be conducted. In addition, attempts to provide a theoretical framework for these antecedents have been limited. Nevertheless, this is an important issue because customer citizenship behavior and customer dysfunctional behavior occur simultaneously in service encounter. In order to gain deeper insights into the effects of these customer behaviors, it is essential to examine both types of customer behavior together. Furthermore, there is a need for more work on the measurement of customer dysfunctional behavior and the examination of its underlying mechanisms.

The present research focuses on the antecedents of customer citizenship behavior and customer dysfunctional behavior. While there has been significant theoretical development on this subject, relatively little progress has been made empirically. In addition, research on antecedents should provide useful managerial implications for dealing with these customer behaviors effectively. Specifically, the study examines customer justice perception and affect in service delivery as antecedents of customer citizenship behavior and customer dysfunctional behavior. To date, most customer justice perception research has been mainly focused on how customers evaluate justice in the service failure context. Thus, although we know a great deal about the reason why customers perceive service recovery treatment as either fair or unfair, much less attention has been paid to the issue of whether or not customers' emotions and behaviors are shaped by the fairness experience in the service delivery context.

Like employees, customers can form justice perceptions during service delivery, because service encounters constitute a dyadic process between employees and customers (Bowen et al., 1999, Winter, Solomon et al., 1985, Winter). Organizational researchers have consistently shown that employee perceptions of justice lead to employee organizational citizenship behavior, because a social exchange relationship develops between employees and the organization (Organ, 1988). In contrast, employees who feel unfairly treated are thought to experience anger that elicits a desire for dysfunctional behavior such as retribution (Aquino, Lewis, & Bradfield, 1999). Like employees, customer citizenship behavior and customer dysfunctional behavior might be explained by justice perception. Yet, to date, little attention has been paid to the relationship between customer justice perception and both customer citizenship behavior and customer dysfunctional behavior.

The concept of affect has also received considerable attention in the literature (Gardner, 1985, December, Huang, 2001, Watson et al., 1988). Previous work in the area suggests that the role of affect is to energize the individual physiologically and to induce appropriate behavior (Spector & Fox, 2002). Furthermore, affect induces action tendencies that elicit behavior and helps to formulate intentions to engage in certain behaviors (Spector & Fox, 2002). Therefore, affect could explain why customer citizenship behavior and dysfunctional behavior occur.

The central thesis to be tested in this article is that the relationships among customer justice perception, customer citizenship behavior and customer dysfunctional behavior are mediated by affect. In the sections below, we briefly review the related theoretical background and literature on customer citizenship behavior, customer dysfunctional behavior, customer justice perception, and affect. The results of the present study are then discussed, followed by conclusions, some limitations of the study and possible directions for future research.

Section snippets

Theoretical background

Our model is primarily rooted in the social exchange theory and frustration–aggression theory (Berkowitz, 1993, Blau, 1964). Social exchange theory (Blau, 1964) assumes that relationships between followers and organizations are seen as exchanges in which a follower reciprocates a positive personal outcome (e.g., fairness experience) by giving positive outcomes to the other party, such as citizenship behavior. From this perspective, norms of justice are starting mechanisms for social exchange.

Model development and hypotheses

Our research model is presented in Fig. 1. This model indicates that distributive, procedural, and interpersonal justice perceived by customers lead to greater positive affect, and less negative affect. Positive affect, in turn, leads to greater customer citizenship behavior. Negative affect leads to greater customer dysfunctional behavior.

Sample selection and data collection

In Study 1, we collected data from the students of executive-MBA (EMBA) program at a major university in Korea. Classroom teaching has been studied previously as a service setting, because it possesses three key characteristics used to identify services: intangibility, simultaneity, and customer presence (Masterson, 2001). It generally involves a high level of interaction with employees (instructors) and other customers (students) over time. Students (customers) may also help each other to

Study 2

To test the generalizability of our findings, we conducted a second study that included business customers in a different environment: the manufacturing industry.

Discussion

As one of the few empirical studies investigating the antecedents of customer citizenship behavior and customer dysfunctional behavior, this research examined the roles of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice, as well as the impacts of positive and negative affect on these customer behaviors.

One objective of this study was to examine the impact of perceived justice on affect. Although most previous research focused on the service failure context, this research attempted to

Limitations and future research

Although this study provides useful insights, there are several limitations worth addressing. Although the present research suggests customer justice perception and affect as antecedents of customer citizenship behavior and customer dysfunctional behavior, more research is needed to reveal other antecedents in an effort to better understand why customers participate in citizenship and dysfunctional behavior. It is also possible that the results are due to spurious variables not included in our

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the Institute of Management Research, Seoul National University for the financial support of this research.

Youjae Yi (Phd., Stanford University) is a professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration at Seoul National University. He was at the University of Michigan as an assistant professor, Sanford Robertson Assistant Professor, and tenured associate professor. His work has appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Consumer Psychology,

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  • Cited by (0)

    Youjae Yi (Phd., Stanford University) is a professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration at Seoul National University. He was at the University of Michigan as an assistant professor, Sanford Robertson Assistant Professor, and tenured associate professor. His work has appeared in the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Service Industries Journal, Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Econometrics and other journals. He is currently an editor of the Service Industries Journal.

    Taeshik Gong is a doctoral student in the College of Business Administration at Seoul National University. His current research interests include customer citizenship behavior, dysfunctional customer behavior, and customer participation behavior. His research has been published in the Psychology & Marketing and Service Industries Journal, among others.

    Positive word-of-mouth is considered one component of customer citizenship behavior (Bailey, Gremler, & McCollough, 2001). Although the existing literature has used positive word-of-mouth to measure attitudinal aspects of customer loyalty, it also serves as an indicator of customer citizenship behavior. Regarding this, WOM is defined as communication about a service provider that is offered by a customer who is not trying to obtain monetary gain by doing so (Gremler & Brown 1999). Therefore, it is a voluntary and discretionary behavior that helps the organization and deemed appropriate for customer citizenship behavior.

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