As you sow, so shall you reap: finding customer-based outcomes of socially responsible coffee cafés

• Published in: British food journal (1966) Vol. 122; no. 9; pp. 3009 - 3026
• Main Authors: Ahmed, Ishfaq, Islam, Talat, Abdul Rasid, Siti Zaleha, Anwar, Farooq, Khalid, Arooj
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 07.09.2020; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Attitudes; Behavior; Citizenship; Coffee; Competitive advantage; Customer services; Customers; Data analysis; Developing countries; Emotions; Employees; Human behavior; LDCs; Mediation; Model testing; Multivariate statistical analysis; Quality of service; Sampling methods; Social responsibility; Stakeholders; Studies; Tea; Customer citizenship behavior; Affective commitment; Corporate social responsibility; Customer commitment; Pakistani coffee market; Service quality
• ISSN: 0007-070X; 1758-4108
• DOI: 10.1108/BFJ-01-2020-0031

PurposeIn the realm of increased competition among coffee café, the need for customer citizenship behavior (CCB) has increased. But the question of how a café can win CCB through firm-level and individual dispositional factors have not been gained due attention. Against this backdrop, this study aims to investigate a moderated-mediation model to predict CCB through CSR, affective commitment and service quality.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from 797 coffee café visitors between April–June 2019. The respondents were approached through a convenience sampling technique.FindingsUsing both Structural Equation Modeling and Hayes Macros, data analysis proved that CSR significantly predicts affective commitment and CCB. Moreover, it is also witnessed that the presence of high service quality strengthens the mediation mechanism; thus, a moderated-mediation model is supported.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is cross-sectional, although the design did not cause a common method variance. The model tested in the study offers a novel mechanism explaining the linking between CSR and CCB through affective commitment and service quality. The findings are useful for the management of café as the large sample size may offer generalizable results.Originality/valueThe study offers a novel way of predicting CCB, the desired customer behavior in the present competitive environment in the coffee market. The usefulness of the findings for management is yet another contribution offered by this study.