IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v178y2022i2d10.1007_s10551-020-04698-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Customer Perceived Ethicality in Explaining the Impact of Incivility Among Employees on Customer Unethical Behavior and Customer Citizenship Behavior

Author

Listed:
  • Yu-Shan Huang

    (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)

  • Shuqin Wei

    (Marshall University)

  • Tyson Ang

    (Marshall University)

Abstract

Incivility among employees in frontline encounters is prevalent, but little is known about its impact on customers’ ethics-related perceptions and behaviors. Drawing upon the stimulus–organism–response paradigm, this study examines how witnessing incivility among employees can serve as a social atmospheric cue to influence customers’ perceived ethicality of an organization and their subsequent behaviors. According to our results, in response to employee-to-employee incivility witnessed during frontline encounters, customers perceive the uncivil employees’ organization to have a lower level of ethicality. In turn, customers engage more in unethical behavior (i.e., opportunistic behavior) and less in customer citizenship behavior (i.e., customer tolerance of employee-induced errors). We further demonstrate that the negative effect of uncivil employee-to-employee interactions on customers’ perception of the ethicality of an organization is amplified when customers have an a priori perception that the organization is competent. The findings hold theoretical and practical implications for the management of employee-to-employee incivility and unethical customer behavior during frontline encounters.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu-Shan Huang & Shuqin Wei & Tyson Ang, 2022. "The Role of Customer Perceived Ethicality in Explaining the Impact of Incivility Among Employees on Customer Unethical Behavior and Customer Citizenship Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(2), pages 519-535, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:178:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04698-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-020-04698-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-020-04698-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-020-04698-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sarah Steenhaut & Patrick Kenhove, 2006. "The Mediating Role of Anticipated Guilt in Consumers’ Ethical Decision-Making," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 69(3), pages 269-288, December.
    2. Brunk, Katja H., 2010. "Exploring origins of ethical company/brand perceptions: Reply to Shea and Cohn's commentaries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(12), pages 1364-1367, December.
    3. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    4. Rachel E. Sturm, 2017. "Decreasing Unethical Decisions: The Role of Morality-Based Individual Differences," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 37-57, April.
    5. Jennifer Aaker & Kathleen D. Vohs & Cassie Mogilner, 2010. "Nonprofits Are Seen as Warm and For-Profits as Competent: Firm Stereotypes Matter," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 224-237, August.
    6. P. Van Kenhove & K. De Wulf & S. Steenhaut, 2003. "The Relationship between Consumers’ Unethical Behavior and Customer Loyalty in a Retail Environment," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 03/167, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    7. Ernst Fehr & Simon Gächter, 2002. "Altruistic punishment in humans," Nature, Nature, vol. 415(6868), pages 137-140, January.
    8. Yi-Ching Hsieh & Hung-Chang Chiu & Yun-Chia Tang & Wei-Yun Lin, 2018. "Does Raising Value Co-creation Increase All Customers’ Happiness?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(4), pages 1053-1067, November.
    9. Kubilay Gok & John J. Sumanth & William H. Bommer & Ozgur Demirtas & Aykut Arslan & Jared Eberhard & Ali Ihsan Ozdemir & Ahmet Yigit, 2017. "You May Not Reap What You Sow: How Employees’ Moral Awareness Minimizes Ethical Leadership’s Positive Impact on Workplace Deviance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 146(2), pages 257-277, December.
    10. Aaker, Jennifer & Vohs, Kathleen D. & Mogilner, Cassie, 2010. "Non-profits Are Seen as Warm and For-Profits as Competent: Firm Stereotypes Matter," Research Papers 2047, Stanford University, Graduate School of Business.
    11. Katja Brunk, 2012. "Un/ethical Company and Brand Perceptions: Conceptualising and Operationalising Consumer Meanings," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(4), pages 551-565, December.
    12. Mbaye Fall Diallo & Christine Lambey-Checchin, 2017. "Consumers’ Perceptions of Retail Business Ethics and Loyalty to the Retailer: The Moderating Role of Social Discount Practices," Post-Print hal-03185737, HAL.
    13. Mbaye Fall Diallo & Christine Lambey-Checchin, 2017. "Consumers’ Perceptions of Retail Business Ethics and Loyalty to the Retailer: The Moderating Role of Social Discount Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 435-449, March.
    14. Porath, Christine L. & Erez, Amir, 2009. "Overlooked but not untouched: How rudeness reduces onlookers' performance on routine and creative tasks," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 29-44, May.
    15. Stefan Markovic & Oriol Iglesias & Jatinder Jit Singh & Vicenta Sierra, 2018. "How does the Perceived Ethicality of Corporate Services Brands Influence Loyalty and Positive Word-of-Mouth? Analyzing the Roles of Empathy, Affective Commitment, and Perceived Quality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(4), pages 721-740, April.
    16. Turley, L. W. & Milliman, Ronald E., 2000. "Atmospheric Effects on Shopping Behavior: A Review of the Experimental Evidence," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 193-211, August.
    17. Christine Porath & Debbie Macinnis & Valerie Folkes, 2010. "Witnessing Incivility among Employees: Effects on Consumer Anger and Negative Inferences about Companies," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 292-303, August.
    18. Brunk, Katja H. & Blümelhuber, Christian, 2011. "One strike and you're out: Qualitative insights into the formation of consumers' ethical company or brand perceptions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 134-141, February.
    19. Michael Bendixen & Russell Abratt, 2007. "Corporate Identity, Ethics and Reputation in Supplier–Buyer Relationships," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 76(1), pages 69-82, November.
    20. Bove, Liliana L. & Pervan, Simon J. & Beatty, Sharon E. & Shiu, Edward, 2009. "Service worker role in encouraging customer organizational citizenship behaviors," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(7), pages 698-705, July.
    21. S. Steenhaut & P. Van Kenhove, 2006. "The Mediating Role of Anticipated Guilt in Consumers’ Ethical Decision-Making," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 06/370, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    22. Michael O’Fallon & Kenneth Butterfield, 2012. "The Influence of Unethical Peer Behavior on Observers’ Unethical Behavior: A Social Cognitive Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 117-131, August.
    23. Manfred Schwaiger, 2004. "Components And Parameters Of Corporate Reputation – An Empirical Study," Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr), LMU Munich School of Management, vol. 56(1), pages 46-71, January.
    24. Park, Jongchul & Lee, Hanjoon & Kim, Chankon, 2014. "Corporate social responsibilities, consumer trust and corporate reputation: South Korean consumers' perspectives," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(3), pages 295-302.
    25. Jatinder Singh & Oriol Iglesias & Joan Batista-Foguet, 2012. "Does Having an Ethical Brand Matter? The Influence of Consumer Perceived Ethicality on Trust, Affect and Loyalty," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 111(4), pages 541-549, December.
    26. Brunk, Katja H., 2010. "Exploring origins of ethical company/brand perceptions -- A consumer perspective of corporate ethics," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 255-262, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Imran Khan & Mobin Fatma, 2023. "Understanding the Influence of CPE on Brand Image and Brand Commitment: The Mediating Role of Brand Identification," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-10, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yoganathan, Vignesh & Osburg, Victoria-Sophie & Akhtar, Pervaiz, 2019. "Sensory stimulation for sensible consumption: Multisensory marketing for e-tailing of ethical brands," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 386-396.
    2. Grappi, Silvia & Bergianti, Francesca & Gabrielli, Veronica & Baghi, Ilaria, 2024. "The effect of message framing on young adult consumers’ sustainable fashion consumption: The role of anticipated emotions and perceived ethicality," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    3. Oriol Iglesias & Stefan Markovic & Jatinder Jit Singh & Vicenta Sierra, 2019. "Do Customer Perceptions of Corporate Services Brand Ethicality Improve Brand Equity? Considering the Roles of Brand Heritage, Brand Image, and Recognition Benefits," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 441-459, January.
    4. Vera Herédia-Colaço & Rita Coelho do Vale & Sofia B. Villas-Boas, 2019. "Does Fair Trade Breed Contempt? A Cross-Country Examination on the Moderating Role of Brand Familiarity and Consumer Expertise on Product Evaluation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(3), pages 737-758, May.
    5. Oriol Iglesias & Stefan Markovic & Mehdi Bagherzadeh & Jatinder Jit Singh, 2020. "Co-creation: A Key Link Between Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Trust, and Customer Loyalty," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 151-166, April.
    6. Jose Ribamar Siqueira Junior & Enrique Horst & German Molina & Laura H. Gunn & Felipe Reinoso-Carvalho & Burcu Sezen & Nathalie Peña-García, 2023. "Branding in the eye of the storm: the impact of brand ethical behavior on brand commitment during the COVID-19 crisis in a South American country," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 95-115, March.
    7. Kumar, Vikas & Kaushal, Vikrant & Shashi,, 2023. "Role of customer perceived brand ethicality in inducing engagement in online brand communities," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    8. Bianca Grohmann & H. Bodur, 2015. "Brand Social Responsibility: Conceptualization, Measurement, and Outcomes," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 131(2), pages 375-399, October.
    9. Hsiu-Hua Chang & Long-Chuan Lu, 2019. "Actively Persuading Consumers to Enact Ethical Behaviors in Retailing: The Influence of Relational Benefits and Corporate Associates," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 156(2), pages 399-416, May.
    10. Stefan Markovic & Oriol Iglesias & Jatinder Jit Singh & Vicenta Sierra, 2018. "How does the Perceived Ethicality of Corporate Services Brands Influence Loyalty and Positive Word-of-Mouth? Analyzing the Roles of Empathy, Affective Commitment, and Perceived Quality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(4), pages 721-740, April.
    11. Gwarlann Kerviler & Nico Heuvinck & Elodie Gentina, 2022. "“Make an Effort and Show Me the Love!” Effects of Indexical and Iconic Authenticity on Perceived Brand Ethicality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(1), pages 89-110, August.
    12. Katja H. Brunk & Cara Boer, 2020. "How do Consumers Reconcile Positive and Negative CSR-Related Information to Form an Ethical Brand Perception? A Mixed Method Inquiry," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 443-458, January.
    13. Tarcia Camily Cavalcante Quezado & Nuno Fortes & William Quezado Figueiredo Cavalcante, 2022. "The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics on Brand Fidelity: The Importance of Brand Love and Brand Attitude," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, March.
    14. Vicenta Sierra & Oriol Iglesias & Stefan Markovic & Jatinder Jit Singh, 2017. "Does Ethical Image Build Equity in Corporate Services Brands? The Influence of Customer Perceived Ethicality on Affect, Perceived Quality, and Equity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(3), pages 661-676, September.
    15. Richard R. Klink & Lan Wu, 2017. "Creating ethical brands: the role of brand name on consumer perceived ethicality," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 411-422, September.
    16. Behera, Rajat Kumar & Bala, Pradip Kumar & Rana, Nripendra P. & Kizgin, Hatice, 2022. "Cognitive computing based ethical principles for improving organisational reputation: A B2B digital marketing perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 685-701.
    17. Jung-Yong Lee & Chang-Hyun Jin, 2019. "The Role of Ethical Marketing Issues in Consumer-Brand Relationship," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-21, November.
    18. Benjamin Boeuf & Jessica Darveau, 2019. "An Ethical Perspective on Necro-Advertising: The Moderating Effect of Brand Equity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 155(4), pages 1077-1099, April.
    19. Mbaye Fall Diallo & Christine Lambey-Checchin, 2017. "Consumers’ Perceptions of Retail Business Ethics and Loyalty to the Retailer: The Moderating Role of Social Discount Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 435-449, March.
    20. Cagla Pinar Utkutug, 2024. "The mediating effect of consumers’ perceived ethicality in the relationship between consumer cynicism/material values and affective commitment," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(3), pages 583-598, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:178:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-020-04698-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.