JAGSoM

Customer reciprocity in greening: the role of service quality

kamalika chakraborty

Dr. Kamalika Chakraborty

Associate Professor & Chairperson, Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Basu, D., Chakraborty, K., Mitra, S., & Verma, N. K. (2021).
International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences.

Abstract:

PURPOSE

Firms are increasingly making customers key stakeholders in their greening processes, requiring
them to voluntarily use their resources to benefit the firm. In this context, this paper develops a new
construct – tangible customer citizenship behaviour (CCB), i.e. voluntary participation of customer in
operational processes of the company beyond normal requirements of exchange. This requires more
involvement than the already documented intangible CCB. The purpose of the paper is to then
explore whether service quality (SQ) (online and offline) influences such voluntary customer
reciprocity in greening.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

This study used a virtual survey among 400 customers of e-commerce firms that have adopted
greening practices requiring customer engagement and regressions were used to test the
hypotheses.

FINDINGS

The authors find that both online and offline SQ positively impact intangible CCB but have no impact
on customer greening reciprocity (tangible CCB). Additionally, the authors find that offline SQ
positively impacts customer greening awareness. However, in spite of the presence of greening
awareness and display of intangible CCB, SQ does not have any impact on greening reciprocity.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

This study introduces to literature a more tangible form of voluntary behaviour on the part of the
customer, i.e. tangible CCB or reciprocity. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is also one of the
first to study the customer as an important stakeholder and participant in a business-to-consumer
firm’s operating processes, particularly in greening which has no direct impact on the firm’s core
offering. The focus on greening in the Indian context is also novel given the greening costs and
requirements and the price competition are very different in emerging market contexts where ecommerce firms are experiencing the maximum growth.

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