The strategic effect of corporate reputation on customer citizenship behavior: an empirical verification

Abstract

Corporate reputation (CR) can support a business from different perspectives, significantly affecting its key outcomes; however, the relationship between CR and customer citizenship behaviour (CCB) has received little consideration in research so far. The aim of this paper is therefore dual: to study the direct effect of CR on three different dimensions of CCB; and to examine the moderating effects of personality differences (extroversion and neuroticism) and gender in relation to the respective relationships. This investigation employs structural equation modelling using a sample of 278 consumers of retail fashion in Italy. The results show that CR positively affects the three considered dimensions of CCB. Even though no significant moderating effect of the considered personality traits was found, the connection between CR and helping others appears to be significantly moderated by gender, suggesting that females are more willing to help others than males.