Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer

citizenship behaviors
Nwamaka A. Anaza
School of Business, Francis Marion University, Florence, South Carolina, USA, and
Jing Zhao
Department of Marketing and Tourism Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

Abstract
Purpose – In the marketing and consumer behavior literature, much remains to be explained about customer citizenship behavior in a highly
technological e-retailing context. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a survey of 186 e-shoppers which was conducted grounded in the
social exchange theory.
Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modeling is used to test the proposed model.
Findings – The results provide support that e-customer familiarity with an e-store and facilitating conditions provided by an e-retailer influence
e-customers’ e-satisfaction, e-loyalty, and e-commitment with an e-retailer, all of which exert different effects on three dimensions of e-customer
citizenship behavior.
Practical implications – The results of this study offer e-retailers a way to stay ahead of their competitors by focusing on online attributes that are
difficult to duplicate when it comes to customer relationship such as e-loyalty, e-commitment and e-customer citizenship behavior.
Originality/value – This study represents one of the initial attempts to validate a customer citizenship behavior model in an e-retailing setting using
e-store familiarization and facilitating conditions as the primary determinants for developing e-store attitudes and behaviors among e-shoppers.

Keywords Commitment, E-customer citizenship behaviour, E-retail; Loyalty, Satisfaction, Customer satisfaction, Retailing, Electronic commerce

Paper type Research paper

An executive summary for managers and executive 2010). E-shopper collaborative efforts are categorized into
readers can be found at the end of this article. two participatory perspectives: in-role participation and extra-
role participation (Auh et al., 2007; Groth, 2005; Yen et al.,
2011). Compared to traditional brick-and-mortar stores,
Introduction studies have found that e-stores depend heavily on customer
With the advent of internet and communication technology, e- extra-role behaviors for their continued success and survival
shopping trends in the US are anticipated to grow at staggering (Chevalier and Mayzlin, 2006; Rosenbaum and Massiah,
rates. For example, online retail sales are expected to reach 2007). Among the many extra-role activities customers
$249 billion by 2014, thus reflecting a steady 10 percent participate in, e-retailers have taken an immense interest in
compound yearly increase from 2009 (Stambor, 2010). This their citizenship behaviors because of the economic and social
growth provides several opportunities for retailers looking to benefits associated with such behaviors (Bettencourt et al.,
expand their services online; however, it fuels intense 2002; Garma and Bove, 2011).
competition among e-retailers in mature homogenous markets Although calls have been made to expand the customer
filled with imitators (Kuttner, 1998). Given the growing citizenship behavior literature, the majority of early works on
popularity of online shopping plus increasing e-retailer this topic have focused on citizenship behavior from an offline
competition, two necessary questions that many e-retailers shopping perspective. A few exceptions have been a handful
have to address in the coming future are: of research studies that have examined customer citizenship
.
How will they maintain interest and web traffic through behavior in blog retailing and online communities (Lai and
loyalty and commitment programs? Chen, 2008; Ng and Matanda, 2009). Despite the limited
.
How will they build good customer citizens in an research, the relevance of citizenship behavior in an
environment where buyers “run the show”? encounter-oriented e-retailing environment is critical for
successful service/product delivery, especially given that
In a highly technological mediated e-shopping context, the
personal interactions between service providers and
success of online shopping depends on the collaborative
customers are absent. Moreover, now that customers are
efforts of e-retailers and e-shoppers (Carlson and O’Cass,
more knowledgeable about products/services due to the rapid
growth of the internet, the customers’ “initiative” is now more
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at valuable to e-retailers than ever before.
www.emeraldinsight.com/0887-6045.htm Considering these issues, this study examines a
customer citizenship behavior model in an e-retailing setting
using e-store familiarization and facilitating conditions as the
Journal of Services Marketing primary determinants for developing e-store attitudes and
27/2 (2013) 130– 140
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0887-6045]
behaviors among e-shoppers. Although not many studies can
[DOI 10.1108/08876041311309252] be found on e-customer citizenship behaviors, understanding

130
 Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship behaviors Journal of Services Marketing
Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao Volume 27 · Number 2 · 2013 · 130 –140

the motivations for these sorts of behaviors may explain why It should also be noted on the basis of the reciprocity theory
e-shoppers willingly choose to go above the call of duty that when an e-retailer’s store is equipped with functional
as buyers. Given the continued interest in e-commerce conditions and enabling characteristics that facilitate online
research, we attempt to contribute to the literature by offering shopping, e-shoppers reciprocate by emotionally and
e-retailers a way to stay ahead of their competitors cognitively responding positively to the e-retailer. The
by focusing on online attributes that are difficult to proposed model further illustrates how past encounters
duplicate when it comes to customer relationship building with an e-retailer influences e-shopper attitudes, such
such as e-loyalty, e-commitment, and e-customer citizenship as satisfaction, loyalty, and commitment, to the point
behaviors. of affecting e-CCB. Given the importance of e-satisfaction,
e-loyalty, e-commitment to e-store profitability and longevity,
marketing scholars have long suggested that encounter-based
Theoretical background and hypotheses variables, such as facilitating conditions, directly influence
E-customer citizenship behavior (e-CCB) these attitudes (Flavián et al., 2006; Koo, 2006; Srinivasan
Drawing from Groth’s (2005) definition of customer et al., 2002), which in turn foster positive e-shopper
citizenship behavior (CCB), e-CCB refers to the voluntary behaviors, such as word-of-mouth recommendation, helping
and discretionary behaviors expressed by e-shoppers in an behavior, return visit, etc.
internet service environment to facilitate the delivery, As several scholars have suggested, online exchanges
between e-shoppers and e-retailers are motivated by their
purchase, and consumption of e-services, while at the same
shared recognition that economic and social outcomes stem
time helping the firm service success. The voluntary role that
from their cyber interactions. The benefits customers gain
customers play in the production and delivery of services
during their cyberspace encounters with familiar e-retailers
helps companies generate knowledge-based solutions directly
who make the shopping process easy are believed to outweigh
from the information provided by their customers (Bailey
the benefits they receive from e-retailers in comparable
et al., 2001; Gruen, 1995; Rosenbaum and Massiah, 2007),
physical stores (Jarvenpaa et al., 2000; Mukherjee and Nath,
which can in turn be translated into large economic returns
2007; Vatanasombut et al., 2004). In effect, e-retailers are
for the organizations (Bettencourt et al., 2002).
seen as providing e-shoppers with an optimal online shopping
CCB research has three primary precepts consisting of
experience through their provision of facilitating conditions
service firm facilitation, recommendation, and helping
that make shopping easy and successful.
behavior (Bove et al., 2003; Bove et al., 2009; Groth, 2005;
Gruen, 1995; Yen et al., 2011). The first dimension of Facilitating conditions ! e-shoppers’ satisfaction
citizenship behavior addresses the issue of service firm In online environments, customer satisfaction is important to
facilitation, which refers to an e-shopper’s willingness to service providers due to the increasing trend for digital service
help the firm and its employees by providing useful consumption and the rising demand for e-retailers to
information that the company then uses to improve differentiate themselves from competitors by using difficult
future service performance. E-shoppers’ recommendation to duplicate factors (Vatanasombut et al., 2004). Satisfaction
refers to the voluntary creation and distribution of messages is grounded in the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm,
by e-shoppers to other e-shoppers as a means of spreading where it is defined as a customer’s positive emotional
knowledge about the firm itself and/or the firm’s products/ evaluation of a product/service based on the product/
services. Studies have found that messages produced by service’s performance in comparison to expectations held
customers for prospective customers are held in greater prior to the product/service encounter (Kotler, 2000). In
esteem than company-generated communication (Mudambi contemporary online research, studies have found that
and Schuff, 2010; Swan and Oliver, 1989). Helping refers to components of e-store attributes that facilitate the
constructive behaviors by e-shoppers for the sole purpose of operational efficiency of e-store usage contribute to online
assisting other customers during the online service process. It shopping efficiency (Chen and Wells, 2001). Researchers have
is also seen as the policing effort exercised by e-shoppers to varied in their assessment of e-store facilitating conditions
ensure that other customers participate in the exchange (Chen and Wells, 2001; Lohse and Spiller, 1998); however,
process using fitting behaviors (Bettencourt, 1997). they all agree that capabilities supporting e-store usage such
In theory, researchers contend that citizenship behavior in as good navigational mechanisms, clutter free sites, and
offline retail environments is predicated on arguments posited interactive features increase shopping efficiency and pleasure
by the social exchange theory (Bove et al., 2009). As such, this (Schaupp and Belanger, 2005).
study builds on the social exchange theory as the theoretical Facilitating conditions are publicly recognized
underpinning for citizenship behaviors in an e-retailing environmental factors that make an act easy to do (Triandis,
context. The social exchange theory is based on 1980). During internet service transactions, facilitating
the fundamental premise that people develop and maintain conditions are explicit environmental factors that make
relationships with others over time because there is the belief online shopping easy and generally assist in ensuring a
that doing so will benefit both the e-shopper and e-retailer successful shopping experience. Examples of explicit
(Blau, 1964). Based on this theory, we derive a conceptual facilitating conditions include system support programs that
model (Figure 1) depicting the hypothesized relationships help resolve problems when store visitors run into difficulties
proposed in succeeding sections of this paper. The (Thompson et al., 1991), supportive internet equipments that
examined model depicts a sequential framework, beginning aid accessibility, such as site accessibility, and transaction
with an e-shopper’s current – and past – encounters with an efficiency (Khalifa and Limayem, 2003; Lin, 2007).
e-retailer and ending with behavioral outcomes reflective of an Although a number of studies address the relationship
e-shopper’s acceptance of the e-retailer store. between store attributes and shopping efficiency (Chen and

131
 Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship behaviors Journal of Services Marketing
Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao Volume 27 · Number 2 · 2013 · 130 –140

Figure 1 Proposed research model

Wells, 2001; Lohse and Spiller, 1998), there is little evidence these e-business variables influence customer loyalty toward
to support the relationship between facilitating conditions as a the e-retailer. For instance, a major driver for e-store loyalty is
whole and e-shopper satisfaction of e-retailer. For example, in the ability of the e-retailer to fit services, products, and
an online brokerage study, Balasubramanian et al. (2003) experiences to each customer’s preference, thus facilitating
argued that investors who perceived that their online brokers easy navigation and ensuring that the shopper will be able to
provided sophisticated and helpful operational systems (that easily locate something of interest for purchase. The benefits
made trading quick and easy for investors) had increased of providing resources that reduce excessive browsing time,
consumer gratification after every successful conclusion of a online shopping delays, and increase shopping efficiency will
transaction. However, Balasubramanian et al. (2003) failed to surely make the e-store site a candidate for future visit
access the impact of these helpful conditions as one solid (Srinivasan et al., 2002). Based on this, the following
facilitating dimension. Based on this, the following hypothesis hypothesis is proposed:
is proposed: H2. Facilitating conditions in an e-store setting positively
H1. Facilitating conditions in an e-store setting positively impact e-shopper’s loyalty towards the e-retailer.
impact e-shopper’s satisfaction with the e-retailer.
Facilitating conditions ! e-shoppers’ commitment
Facilitating conditions ! e-shoppers’ loyalty Commitment relates to the willingness between exchange
E-loyalty refers to a customer’s preferential, attitudinal, and partners to develop and maintain continued relationships
behavioral disposition to retain a relationship with an e-retailer, while sacrificing short-term benefits for the attainment of
thereby resulting in repeat patronage (Christodoulides and long-term rewards (Anderson and Weitz, 1992). Although
Michaelidou, 2011; McCullan and Gilmore, 2008; Srinivasan commitment has been found to be instrumental to customer
et al., 2002). E-shopper loyalty has become very important, patronage in brick-and-mortar exchange relationships (De
particularly in an era where the bulk of e-retailer revenue is Ruyter et al., 2001; Morgan and Hunt, 1994), the paucity of
generated from only 20 percent of loyal e-shoppers (Hein, research attention pertaining to e-shopper commitment
2000). This statistic is greater for consumers in countries like toward e-retailers warrants additional empirical exploration.
China where seven percent of e-shoppers account for 40 Based on this, we examine how facilitating conditions impact
percent of total e-revenue (Walters et al., 2011). In great commitment in an online setting. This relationship becomes
contrast to e-shoppers, consumers in brick-and-mortar stores extra important to study given the lack of human interaction
tend to avoid forming monogamous relationships (Basavaiah to promote commitment. Additionally, e-shoppers access to
and Velayudhan, 2009; Dowling and Uncles, 1997). For countless shopping options continues to cast a doubt on the
example, 80 percent of casual apparel buyers and 70 percent of possibility that consumers can really be committed to one
grocery shoppers typically look for an alternative retailer after particular e-retailer (Kuttner, 1998; Miyazaki and Fernandez,
their first time visit (Oracle Corporation, 2006). Although the 2001). Despite these concerns, we believe based on the
state of the retail industry remains healthy, the growth of sales arguments posited by Koo (2006) that when shopping online,
from e-stores continues to outpace the growth of sales from people want to maintain relationships with e-retailers they are
physical stores (Stambor, 2010). familiar with after a prior optimal shopping experience.
As with most e-stores, the value of the shopping experience Optimal shopping experience corresponds to the store’s
itself coupled with shopping activities make buying ability to deliver functional qualities that enhance the
online exciting. According to Srinivasan et al. (2002), customer’s shopping experience through attributes that

132
 Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship behaviors Journal of Services Marketing
Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao Volume 27 · Number 2 · 2013 · 130 –140

exemplify ease of use, and online atmospheric cues that relationship and positive attitude towards the e-retailer and its
generally appeal to customers (because they facilitate online website. These predictions according to Chen and Barnes
shopping). Based on this, the following hypothesis is (2007) ultimately foster greater future purchase intention and
proposed: greater loyalty. Despite these findings, research as a whole on e-
H3. Facilitating conditions in an e-store setting positively store familiarity is relatively scarce; however, the benefits of
impact e-shopper’s commitment toward the e-retailer. familiarity as shown highlights the need for more scholarly
investigation on the relationship between familiarity and
satisfaction, loyalty, and commitment. Although, a few studies
Familiarity ! e-shoppers’ satisfaction, loyalty, and have examined the impact of familiarity on loyalty (e.g. Flavián
commitment et al., 2006) and satisfaction (e.g. Yoon, 2002), its influence on
E-store familiarity refers to the degree to which an e-shopper commitment is yet to be empirically substantiated in an e-
is knowledgeable of a retailer’s online store based on prior retailing environment. Given these gaps, the following
encounters and communications. Familiarity is knowledge hypotheses were developed:
obtained through previous experience about how to use H4. Familiarity with an e-retailer’s store positively impacts
particular interfaces to search for goods, make purchases,
e-shopper’s satisfaction with an e-retailer.
return goods, browse the site, inquire about purchases, or H5. Familiarity with an e-retailer’s store positively impacts
leave comments (Gefen, 2000). The aftermath of a favorable e-shopper’s loyalty to an e-retailer.
online encounter strengthens an e-shopper’s level of trust with H6. Familiarity with an e-retailer’s store positively impacts
the e-retailer to the point of triggering e-store commitment e-shopper’s commitment with an e-retailer.
(Blau, 1964; Mukherjee and Nath, 2007; Shankar et al.,
2002).
Scholars have long found that when individuals in an E-shoppers’ satisfaction ! E-CCB
exchange relationship acquire knowledge about what works and Prior research has consistently linked customer satisfaction to
what does not work while doing business with each other, both CCB (Chen et al., 2010; Groth, 2005). Groth (2005) suggest
parties become familiar with each other’s business practices. based on the social exchange theory that customers who are
They become more willing to adjust their behaviors to satisfied with an organization perceive the company as living
accommodate the expectation of the other partner so as to up to its own end of their contractual bargain of providing
develop a stronger bond and share in the integrity of the exceptional service, thus invoking customers to reciprocate
relationship (Gulati and Sytch, 2008; Zaheer et al., 1998). The the favor by engaging in voluntary unsolicited extra role
same can be said for e-shoppers in an online service behavior during future service delivery. Chen et al. (2010) also
relationship. Exposure to an e-store enables e-shoppers to posits using a sample of Taiwanese virtual fashion community
learn and understand the navigational processes of the e-service members that when these members are satisfied with the
provider. If an online shopper experiences a positive encounter, service quality (e.g. services), information quality
future uncertainty about online shopping on that particular site (e.g. product reviews), and social climate (e.g. social
is expected to decline (Flavián et al., 2006). atmosphere) of the community, members will be more
During online transactions, prior interactions expose e- willing to commit to the online relationship and engage in
shoppers to the retailer’s store attributes. Like Gefen et al. supportive actions that reflect citizenship behaviors. As such
(2003), we argue that the more exposure an e-shopper has with the following hypotheses were proposed:
an e-retailer’s store, the more comfortable and less puzzled the H7. E-shopper’s satisfaction with an e-retailer positively
consumer is when doing transactions on the e-retailer’s impacts e-customer citizenship behavior ((a):
website. For example, it is logical to expect that during the recommendation, (b): helping behavior, (c): service
early stages of the shopper-store encounter, most buyers firm facilitation).
familiarize themselves with many e-store features such as
reading stores policies, asking questions about store validity,
perusing online reviews, comparing store characteristics with E-shoppers’ commitment – E-CCB
other e-vendors, and formulating an overall perception of how E-shoppers who are committed to a relationship, as proposed
the e-provider’s website works (Gefen, 2000, Gefen et al., by social exchange theory, display an eagerness to exert more
2003; Komiak and Benbasat, 2006). Certainly, this would efforts on behalf of the company as a reciprocal payment for
mean that in future exchanges, those e-shoppers already previous benefits received from the firm (Bettencourt, 1997;
familiar with an e-retailer’s store will exert less mental efforts Blau, 1964). In the context of internet service delivery, we
while shopping on the retailer’s website and commit less propose (based on research in traditional brick-and-mortar
shopping errors. According to Casalo et al. (2008), the fewer service domains) that committed customers will display a
mental efforts a consumer exerts while shopping as a result of greater willingness to socialize with the organization,
e-store familiarity, accounts for increased e-store satisfaction. participate in the co-creation of their own services, and
Likewise, Yoon (2002) also found that consumer familiarity assist in the recovery of failed services (Bartikowski and
with website positively impact web-site satisfaction. Walsh, 2011; Dong et al., 2008). As the level of e-shopper
In a similar way, Flavián et al. (2006) noted that favorable commitment increases as evidenced through relational
prior customer experiences with e-store lead to future purchase duration, customers obtain a better comprehension of what
intentions. Chen and Barnes (2007) showed that in Taiwan, past is expected of them during the exchange process. Through
online bookstore experiences helped e-shoppers predict an e- this, customers grow increasingly more productive in knowing
retailer’s future behavior since the buyer already possessed a how to make online purchases, leave customer reviews,
prior understanding of the provider’s search tools, store format, complete online surveys, and interact with e-helpdesk
service/product options, and can now develop a more trusting representatives.

133
 Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship behaviors Journal of Services Marketing
Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao Volume 27 · Number 2 · 2013 · 130 –140

Since committed shoppers are often more competent and behavior, participants were asked to specify within the last
aware of how their roles positively influence service outcomes, month, the items and online retailing stores they had visited
they are also more likely to display a greater disposition to for purchasing purposes. Examples of items participants
sacrifice their time to participate in future successful delivery of stated they had purchased included books, clothing, music,
firm services (Chonko, 1986; Jones et al., 2010; Zeithaml and and travel. Examples of company sites where such purchases
Bitner, 2003). For example, customers highly committed to were made included Ebay, Hollister, NewEgg, Amazon,
their partnership with their service provider will be more Kayak.com, Bestbuy, Walmart, J Crew, Bookrenter, iTunes,
responsive to provide feedback about services to their retailers
etc. Participants were further directed to provide the name of
(Yi and Gong, 2006), as well as recommend their retailers to
an e-store they used the most in making online purchases as a
other customers (Hennig-Thurau et al., 2002). Contrary to
Hennig-Thurau et al.’s finding among university students, screen for e-CCB. Responses included Half.com, Amazon,
Bartikowski and Walsh (2011) found that customer iTunes, Forever21, Nordstrom, Ebates.com,
commitment was not a significant predictor for helping Steampowered.com, Craigslist, StubHub, GoJane, etc. The
other customers in three different service categories (banking, survey progressed as follows:
retailing, and fast-food restaurants). Given that 1 an introduction page including the research objective;
previous findings have provided mixed results concerning the 2 general information about online purchase;
impact of commitment, it is particularly important to determine 3 e-shoppers’ satisfaction, loyalty, and commitment to an e-
if e-shopper commitment directly enhances CCB in an online retailer;
context. Thus the following hypotheses were proposed: 4 e-shoppers’ familiarity with an e-store and facilitating
conditions provided by an e-retailer;
H8. E-shopper’s commitment with an e-retailer positively
5 e-CCB; and
impacts e-customer citizenship behavior ((a):
6 demographic information.
recommendation, (b): helping behavior, (c): service
firm facilitation). The initial number of respondents who started the survey was
235, while the final sample after data cleaning was 186.
Respondents’ IP addresses were checked and no duplicated
E-shoppers’ loyalty ! E-CCB
Studies have found that the level of personal loyalty exhibited responses were found. Descriptive analysis of the sample
by a customer towards a service provider positively influences revealed that 35 percent of those surveyed were male, while
customer organizational citizenship behavior (Bove et al., 65 percent were female. The average age of a participant was
2009), a term synonymous to customer participation 21 years old and a majority of them were single-never married
(Bettencourt, 1997), customer extra-role behavior (Keh and (91.9 percent). Of the respondents, 56 percent were
Teo, 2001), and CCB (Groth, 2005). Bartikowski and Walsh Caucasian, 34 percent were African American, 3 percent
(2011) also tested the impact of loyalty intention on CCB— were Asian American, and 2 percent were bi or multi-racial. A
helping the company and other customers; however they did total of 63 percent were PC owners, 29 percent were MAC
not examine its impact on recommendation. Although the owners, and 7 percent own other computers.
impact of loyalty on CCB has been found to exist in
traditional retail settings as supported by Bove et al. (2009),
the same cannot be concluded for e-shoppers in an e-retail
setting. Based on this, the following hypotheses were Measures
proposed: Established scales were used to measure each construct in the
study. Three items adapted from Thompson et al. (1991) and
H9. E-shopper’s loyalty with an e-retailer positively impacts anchored on a seven point Likert-type scale ranging from
e-customer citizenship behavior ((a): recommendation, “1 ¼ strongly disagree” to “7 ¼ strongly agree” were used to
(b): helping behavior, (c): service firm facilitation).
measure facilitating conditions. E-store familiarity was
measured using two items drawn from Groth (2005). The
Methodology responses were assessed from “1 ¼ not at all familiar” to
“7 ¼ very familiar”. E-shopper satisfaction with an e-retailer
Sample was measured using three questions from
Survey data were acquired from a large population of online Atchariyachanvanich et al. (2006). Respondents answered
shoppers at two public universities, one located in the questions anchored on a seven point Likert-type scale ranging
Midwestern part of the USA and the other in the Southern from “1 ¼ strongly disagree” to “7 ¼ strongly agree.”
part of the country. Several professors in mutually exclusive E-loyalty and e-commitment were assessed using four
departments from both institutions were asked to share the separate items both anchored on a seven point Likert-type
survey script with their students as a way to encourage
scale ranging from “1 ¼ strongly disagree” to “7 ¼ strongly
participation. The survey script contained the study’s intent,
agree.” The e-loyalty scale was drawn from
age requirement for participation, confidentiality assurance,
and a link to the actual survey page. Atchariyachanvanich et al. (2006), whereas the e-
To determine a person’s level of internet exposure, commitment scale was based on Morgan and Hunt (1994).
participants were asked if they had ever made any kind of The questions used to operationalize e-CCB were taken from
purchase on the internet. The response category was Yes/No. Groth (2005). Four items were each used to assess service
Those who said no were filtered out of the survey, while those firm facilitation, recommendation, and helping behavior. All
who responded yes were allowed to proceed to the next 12 questions were anchored on a seven point Likert-type scale
question. To verify an individual’s level of online purchasing ranging from “1 ¼ strongly disagree” to “7 ¼ strongly agree.”

134
 Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship behaviors Journal of Services Marketing
Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao Volume 27 · Number 2 · 2013 · 130 –140

Analysis and results between pairs of variables, discriminant validity was also
confirmed (Fornell and Larcker, 1981).
Assessment of measurement model
Tables I and II show the results of the measurement model Testing of hypothesized relationships
assessment. To confirm the measurement validity of the To test the proposed linkages, structural equation modeling
constructs, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using (SEM) with maximum likelihood estimation was carried out
AMOS 18.0. The fit statistics of a reduced measurement using AMOS 18.0 software package and results are displayed
model composed of 23 items revealed adequate fit: in Table III. The proposed model showed acceptable fit:
x2 ¼ 470:797, df ¼ 202, p , 0:05, x2 =df ¼ 2:331, x2 ¼ 487:225, df ¼ 209, p , 0:05, x2 =df ¼ 2:331,
CFI ¼ 0:948, TLI ¼ 0:935, NFI ¼ 0:913, and RMSEA ¼ CFI ¼ 0:946, TLI ¼ 0:935, NFI ¼ 0:910, and RMSEA ¼
0:08 (Hair et al., 2010). The Cronbach’s alpha of all 0:08 (Hair et al., 2010).
constructs ranged from 0.868 to 0.961, confirming the H1, which addresses the relationship between facilitating
reliability of each construct. Average variance explained conditions and e-shopper’s satisfaction of the e-retailer was
(AVE) by each construct ranged from 0.699 to 0.901 supported (b ¼ 0:351, t-value ¼ 5:419). For H2, the findings
validating the unidimensionality of each construct. revealed that facilitating conditions in an e-store setting
Composite reliability of each construct ranged from 0.873 positively and significantly influenced an e-shopper’s level of
to 0.961, further confirming the high reliability of each loyalty towards an e-retailer (b ¼ 0:261, t-value ¼ 3:862). H3,
construct. Therefore, convergent validity was confirmed which proposed a positive pathway linking facilitating
(Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Because the AVE for each conditions to an e-shopper’s level of commitment towards
construct was higher than the squared correlation estimates the e-retailer was also supported ( b ¼ 0:363,
t-value ¼ 5:130).
Supporting H4, familiarity with an e-retailer’s store was
Table I Results of confirmatory factor analysis
found to predict e-shopper satisfaction of an e-retailer
Standardized (b ¼ 0:502, t-value ¼ 7:686). H5 examined the relationship
Construct/items factor Critical ratio a between familiarity with an e-store and e-shopper loyalty
towards an e-retailer. As expected, the results supported this
Familiarity 0.862 *
hypothesis (b ¼ 0:504, t-value ¼ 7:333), thus showing that
Fam_1 0.927a –
prior exposure to an online retail store increases e-retailer
Fam_2 0.930 15.188 patronage. Commitment to an e-retailer was also tested as a
Facilitating conditions 0.868 consequence of e-store familiarity in H6. The hypothesis was
Fc_1 0.905a – supported (b ¼ 0:402, t-value ¼ 5:733). The positive impact
Fc_2 0.873 14.687 of e-store familiarity on online commitment attests to how
Fc_3 0.719 11.371 important it is that e-retailers make good initial impressions
E-satisfaction 0.961 on their website using helpful navigational tools.
E-sat_1 0.947a – The last three hypotheses examined the impact of e-shopper
E-sat_2 0.925 24.867 satisfaction, commitment, and loyalty on facets of e-CCB. As
E-sat_3 0.960 29.134 predicted, e-shopper’s satisfaction with an e-retailer had a
E-loyalty 0.934 significant influence on recommendation (H7a: b ¼ 0:214,
E-loy_1 0.953a – t-value ¼ 6:789). Contrary to the other two proposed linkages,
E-loy_2 0.965 30.757 e-shopper satisfaction did not predict mutual help between
E-loy_3 0.826 17.671 customers (H7b: b ¼ 20:174, t-value ¼ 21:225) and service
E-commitment 0.942 firm facilitation (H7c: b ¼ 20:214, t-value ¼ 21:109).
E-comm_1 0.921a – In testing H8, we found that an e-shopper’s level of
E-comm_2 0.943 22.637 commitment with an e-retailer appears to significantly predict
E-comm_3 0.894 19.705 only two e-CCB dimensions. Specifically, an e-shopper’s
E-CCB: recommendation 0.902 * commitment produces an insignificant influence on an e-
Rec_1 0.951a – shopper’s willingness to recommend the e-retailer (H8a:
b ¼ 0:058, t-value ¼ 1:186). With regards to helping, the
Rec_2 0.948 26.827
results showed that committed e-shoppers are willing to help
E-CCB: helping behavior 0.961
other buyers in the online shopping experience (b ¼ 0:401,
Help_1 0.910a –
t-value ¼ 6:005). The impact of commitment on service firm
Help_2 0.937 22.229
facilitation illustrated that committed e-shoppers have a greater
Help_3 0.951 23.177 propensity to provide assistance to the e-retailer in order to
E-CCB: service firm facilitation 0.951 facilitate improvements in overall service performance
Sff_1 0.915a – (b ¼ 0:510, t-value ¼ 5:609).
Sff_2 0.932 22.011 Findings pertaining to the relationship linking e-shopper
Sff_3 0.914 20.759 loyalty to dimensions of e-CCB produced results that further
Sff_4 0.882 18.914 delineate the differences between CCB in an e-retail context
Notes: aFixed parameter; *correlation (sig. at p , 0:01); FC – facilitating versus a conventional store perspective. For example, our
conditions; FAM – e-store familiarity; E-SAT – e-satisfaction; E-LOY – e- results failed to reveal a statistically significant effect from e-
loyalty; E-COMM – e-commitment; REC – recommendation; HELP – loyalty to service firm facilitation (H9c: b ¼ 0:288,
helping behavior; SFF – service firm facilitation t-value ¼ 1:626). This result is contrary to Bartikowski and
Walsh’s (2011) finding that loyalty significantly influences

135
 Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship behaviors Journal of Services Marketing
Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao Volume 27 · Number 2 · 2013 · 130 –140

Table II Psychometric results

Variable Mean Std dev. CR 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1. Familiarity 5.362 1.560 0.925 0.862
2. Facilitating conditions 4.315 1.450 0.873 0.072 * 0.699
3. E-commitment 4.236 1.601 0.942 0.234 * 0.198 * 0.846
4. E-satisfaction 5.211 1.440 0.961 0.326 * 0.207 * 0.387 * 0.891
5. E-loyalty 5.216 1.413 0.942 0.327 * 0.156 * 0.319 * 0.767 * 0.841
6. E-ccb: recommendation 5.341 1.438 0.948 0.279 * 0.122 * 0.301 * 0.740 0.680 * 0.902
7. E-ccb: helping behavior 4.887 1.528 0.952 0.234 * 0.127 * 0.413 * 0.530 * 0.458 * 0.570 * 0.870
8. E-ccb: service firm facilitation 4.121 1.618 0.951 0.066 * 0.203 * 0.254 0.147 * 0.125 * 0.141 * 0.354 * 0.829
Notes: *p , 0:01; Diagonal entries are AVE of each construct and off-diagonal entries are the squared correlation estimates between constructs. CR:
composite reliability

Table III Structural equation modeling results 2003; Casalo et al., 2008), and loyalty (Chen and Barnes,
2007; Flavián et al., 2006). Next, the links between facilitating
Path Proposed linkages b t-value ( p) Path conditions and e-shopper satisfaction, loyalty, and
H1 FC ! E-SAT 0.351 5.419 * Supported commitment were also supported indicating that assistance
H2 FC ! E-LOY 0.261 3.862 * Supported provided by e-retailers can increase customers’ satisfaction
H3 FC ! E-COMM 0.363 5.130 * Supported and intention to keep long term relationship with e-retailers.
H4 FAM ! E-SAT 0.502 7.686 * Supported Finally, e-shoppers’ satisfaction, loyalty, and commitment
were found to play critical roles influencing different types of
H5 FAM ! E-LOY 0.504 7.333 * Supported
e-CCB behaviors.
H6 FAM ! E-COMM 0.402 5.733 * Supported
Theoretically, familiarity, a customers’ understanding of an
H7a E-SAT ! REC 0.214 6.789 * Supported
e-store (Gefen et al., 2003), can reduce the confusion and
H7b E-SAT ! HELP 20.174 2 1.225ns Not supported
complexity associated with e-shopping process (Flavián et al.,
H7c E-SAT ! SFF 20.214 2 1.109ns Not supported 2006), and can further increase e-shopper’s satisfaction with
H8a E-COMM ! REC 0.058 1.186ns Not supported e-stores and lead to future purchase intention (Chen and
H8b E-COMM ! HELP 0.401 6.005 * Supported Barnes, 2007; Flavián et al., 2006). In addition, familiarity
H8c E-COMM ! SFF 0.510 5.609 * Supported can build trusting relationships between e-shoppers and e-
H9a E-LOY ! REC 0.684 6.789 * Supported retailers, which can decrease the possibility of customers
H9b E-LOY ! HELP 0.692 5.206 * Supported leaving (Gefen, 2000; Gefen et al., 2003; Komiak and
H9c E-LOY ! SFF 0.288 1.626ns Not supported Benbasat, 2006). Furthermore, the results of this study
Notes: *p , 0:001; ns denotes not significant; FC – facilitating conditions,
revealed that familiarity positively influences e-shoppers’
FAM – e-store familiarity, E-SAT – e-satisfaction, E-LOY – e-loyalty, E- satisfaction, loyalty, and commitment with e-retailers.
COMM – e-commitment, REC – recommendation, HELP – helping The results found that facilitating conditions provided by e-
behavior, SFF – service firm facilitation retailers can increase e-shoppers’ satisfaction, loyalty, and
commitment with e-retailers. This revealed that facilitating
conditions can increase online shopping efficiency and
helping the company. Next, our results disclosed that e- pleasure (e.g. Chen and Wells, 2001; Schaupp and
shopper loyalty with an e-retailer positively influenced the Belanger, 2005) by reducing complexity and customers’
likelihood for recommending the e-retailer to other doubt associated with the e-shopping process (Khalifa and
prospective shoppers (b ¼ 0:684, t-value ¼ 6:789), and Limayem, 2003).
helping other e-shoppers with their online purchases Finally, recommendation, helping behavior, and service
(b ¼ 0:692, t-value ¼ 5:206). firm facilitation are three different types of voluntary and
discretionary behaviors with different targets and having
different motivations. Viewing them as a single construct
Discussion and conclusion might generate misleading results. Therefore, this study
treated e-CCB as three constructs to investigate the specific
Research on e-CCB is still in its infancy, given the increasing effect of e-shoppers’ satisfaction, commitment, and loyalty on
popularity of online shopping and increasing competition each dimension of e-CCB. This study found that e-shoppers’
that e-retailers face. This study contributes to the literature on loyalty influences customer’s intention to recommend
e-CCB by empirically investigating its antecedents, namely product/service to other customers, and can promote
familiarity and facilitating conditions, which were mutual help between customers. E-shoppers’ commitment
seldom examined in previous studies. The links between was found to only impact customer’s mutual helping behavior
familiarity and e-shopper satisfaction, loyalty, and and service firm facilitation, while a satisfied shopping
commitment with e-retailers were supported. When experience will motivate a customer to recommend the e-
customers are more familiar with e-shopping environment, store to other customers.
they are more satisfied with e-stores and are more loyal to and The results of this study have clear implications for e-
commitment with e-retailers. This is consistent with previous retailers. First, given that familiarity can influence e-CCB
studies on customer satisfaction (Balasubramanian et al., through the effects of e-shoppers’ satisfaction, loyalty, and

136
 Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship behaviors Journal of Services Marketing
Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao Volume 27 · Number 2 · 2013 · 130 –140

commitment in e-store setting, e-retailers should incorporate Although, research shows that e-shoppers respond positively
organizational mechanisms and practices to help customers to both price and store attributes when shopping online
get familiar with e-shopping environment, such as (Ganesh et al., 2010; Jiang and Rosenbloom, 2005), it may be
demonstrating shopping process by diagrams, updating necessary to explore if product price strengthens or weakens
Q&A, e-help desk, and etc. In addition, e-retailers are the effects of facilitating conditions on commitment,
recommended to maintain sitemap icons that list where satisfaction, and loyalty to the e-retailer. Furthermore, while
information can be found on their websites. Such simplistic research has looked at citizenship behaviors when it comes to
sitemaps are useful for e-shoppers with advanced online blog retailing (Ng and Matanda, 2009), little is known
skills who want to spend a limited amount of time searching about how e-retailers credit loyal and committed shoppers
for information in comparison to detailed demonstrations and who form e-social shopping groups or become e-store
e-help desk services that assist novice e-shoppers with little to bloggers and e-idea generators. Therefore, future research
no online skills about how to go about making e-purchases. can build on this research by investigating how such discounts
Second, this study also revealed that facilitating conditions is facilitate e-CCB.
conductive to e-CCB. Therefore, e-retailers should install
necessary equipment and employ effective practices to help
References
customers fulfill the e-shopping process successfully and
efficiently, such as designing personalized interface, providing Anderson, E. and Weitz, B. (1992), “The use of pledges to
interactive supports, and offering real time information about build and sustain commitment in distribution channels”,
order status or product/service. Third, e-shoppers’ Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 29 No. 1, pp. 18-34.
satisfaction, commitment, and loyalty exert different effects Atchariyachanvanich, K., Okada, H. and Sonehara, N.
on three dimensions of e-CCB. Therefore, there is no (2006), “What keeps online customers repurchasing
“one size fits all” strategy. Thus, e-retailers should utilize through the internet”, ACM SIGecom Exchanges, Vol. 6
their limited resources wisely to realize organizational goals. No. 2, pp. 47-57.
E-retailers can strategically address customer’s needs to Auh, S., Bell, J.S., McLeod, C.S. and Shih, E. (2007), “Co-
increase their satisfaction and to further attract more potential production and customer loyalty in financial services”,
customers. E-retailers can also employ loyalty and Journal of Retailing, Vol. 83 No. 3, pp. 359-70.
commitment programs, such as building a virtual Bailey, J.J., Gremler, D.D. and McCollough, M.A. (2001),
community for ideal customers and providing customized “Service encounter emotional value: the dyadic influence of
product/service to stimulate mutual help among customers, customer and employee emotions”, Services Marketing
attract new customers, and encourage customer service firm Quarterly, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 1-24.
facilitating behaviors. Balasubramanian, S., Konana, P. and Menon, N.M. (2003),
“Customer satisfaction in virtual environments: a study of
online investing”, Management Science, Vol. 49 No. 7,
Limitations and future research
pp. 871-89.
While offering insights into understanding e-CCB in e- Bartikowski, B. and Walsh, G. (2011), “Investigating
retailing context, this study has some limitations. First, this mediators between corporate reputation and customer
study investigates e-CCB of university students. Thus, citizenship behaviors”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 64
whether the findings can be generalized to all e-shoppers No. 1, pp. 39-44.
is unclear. To address this, future studies can test Basavaiah, S. and Velayudhan, S. (2009), “A strategic insight
the hypothesized model on samples of broader range of e- into retail loyalty”, ITC Infotech, available at: www.
customers. It may also be necessary to compare e-CCB across itcinfotech.com/Uploads/GUI/knowledgecentre/
different consumer profiles in future research. STRATEGY_PAPER.pdf (accessed August 8, 2012).
Second, with the development of internet and Bettencourt, L.A. (1997), “Customer voluntary performance:
communication technology, e-customers may come from customers as partners in service delivery”, Journal of
every corner of the world and their behaviors may bear strong Retailing, Vol. 73 No. 3, pp. 383-406.
cultural labels. This study examined e-CCB in US customers Bettencourt, L.A., Ostrom, A.L., Brown, S.W. and
and the current results may not be generalized to international Roundtree, R.I. (2002), “Client co-production in
customers. Future research can include cultural differences knowledge-intensive business services”, California
when interpreting the antecedents of e-CCB. Third, this Management Review, Vol. 44 No. 4, pp. 100-27.
study only included two facets of e-shopping encounter, Blau, P.M. (1964), Exchange and Power in Social Life, John
namely familiarity and facilitating conditions, and may not Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.
fully capture the characters of encounter in an e-retailing Bove, L., Robertson, N. and Pervan, S. (2003), “Customer
context. Future studies would benefit from further citizenship behaviours: towards the development of a
investigating other facets of encounter in e-store setting. typology”, in Kennedy, R. (Ed.), ANZMAC 2003:
Fourth, this study utilized cross sectional data with a limited A Celebration of Ehrenberg and Bass: Marketing Discoveries,
sample size to examine how familiarity and facilitating Knowledge and Contribution, Conference Proceedings,
conditions influence e-CCB, which may not capture the University of South Australia, Adelaide, pp. 331-8.
evolving of e-CCB. Future research may want to embark on Bove, L., Pervan, S.J., Beatty, S.E. and Shiu, E. (2009),
longitudinal designs to better examine e-CCB. “Service worker in encouraging customer organizational
In addition, given that e-shoppers tend to be more price citizenship behaviors”, Journal of Business Research, Vol. 62
conscious than offline shoppers (Degeratu et al., 2000), there No. 7, pp. 698-705.
is reason to speculate that the impact of facilitating conditions Carlson, J. and O’Cass, A. (2010), “Exploring the
could be challenged by the presence of product price. relationships between e-service quality, satisfaction,

137
 Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship behaviors Journal of Services Marketing
Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao Volume 27 · Number 2 · 2013 · 130 –140

attitudes and behaviours in content-driven e-service web Gefen, D. (2000), “E-commerce: the role of familiarity and
sites”, Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 2, trust”, Omega: The International Journal of Management
pp. 112-27. Science, Vol. 28 No. 6, pp. 725-37.
Casalo, L., Flavián, C. and Guinaliu, M. (2008), “The role of Gefen, D., Karahanna, E. and Straub, D.W. (2003), “Trust
perceived usability, reputation, satisfaction and consumer and TAM in online shopping: an integrated model”, MIS
familiarity on the website loyalty formation process”, Quarterly, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 51-90.
Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 24 No. 2, pp. 325-45. Groth, M. (2005), “Customers as good soldiers: examining
Chen, M-J., Chen, C.-D. and Farn, C-K. (2010), “Exploring citizenship behaviors in internet service deliveries”, Journal
determinants of citizenship behavior on virtual of Management, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 7-27.
communities of consumption: the perspective of social Gruen, T.W. (1995), “The outcome set of relationship
exchange theory”, International Journal of Electronic Business marketing in consumer markets”, International Business
Management, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 195-205. Review, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 447-69.
Chen, Q. and Wells, W.D. (2001), “.Com satisfaction and.com Gulati, R. and Sytch, M. (2008), “Does familiarity breed
dissatisfaction: one or two constructs?”, in Gilly, M.C. and trust? Revisiting the antecedents of trust”, Managerial and
Meyers-Levy, J. (Eds), Advances in Consumer Research, Decision Economics, Vol. 29 Nos 2-3, pp. 165-90.
Vol. 28, Association for Consumer Research, Valdosta, GA, Hair, J.F. Jr, Black, W.C., Babin, B.J. and Anderson, R.E.
pp. 34-9. (2010), Multivariate Data Analysis, Prentice Hall,
Chen, Y.-H. and Barnes, S. (2007), “Initial trust and online Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
buyer behaviour”, Industrial Management & Data Systems, Hein, K. (2000), “Cyber dialogue uncovers the 90/20 rule”,
Vol. 107 No. 1, pp. 21-36. Direct Marketing News, available at: www.dmnews.com/
Chevalier, J.A. and Mayzlin, D. (2006), “The effect of word cyber-dialogue-uncovers-the-9020-rule/article/68326/
of mouth on sales: online book reviews”, Journal of (accessed August 1, 2012).
Marketing Research, Vol. 43 No. 3, pp. 345-54. Hennig-Thurau, T., Gwinner, K.P. and Gremler, D.D.
Chonko, L.B. (1986), “Organizational commitment in the (2002), “Understanding relationship marketing outcomes:
sales force”, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales an integration of relationship benefits and relationship
Management, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 19-27. quality”, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 4 No. 3,
Christodoulides, G. and Michaelidou, N. (2011), “Shopping pp. 230-47.
motives as antecedents of e-satisfaction and e-loyalty”, Jarvenpaa, S.L., Tractinsky, N. and Vitale, M. (2000),
Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 27 Nos 1-2, “Consumer trust in an internet store”, Information
pp. 181-97. Technology and Management, Vol. 1 Nos 1-2, pp. 45-71.
De Ruyter, K., Moorman, L. and Lemmink, J. (2001), Jiang, P. and Rosenbloom, B. (2005), “Customer intention to
“Antecedents of commitment and trust in customer- return online: price perception, attribute-level performance,
supplier relationships in high technology markets”, and satisfaction unfolding over time”, European Journal of
Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 30 No. 3, pp. 271-86. Marketing, Vol. 39 Nos 1/2, pp. 150-74.
Degeratu, A.M., Rangaswamy, A. and Wu, J. (2000), Jones, T., Fox, G.L., Taylor, S. and Fabrigar, L.R. (2010),
“Consumer choice behavior in online and traditional “Service customer commitment and response”, Journal of
supermarkets: the effects of brand name, price, and other Services Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 1, pp. 16-28.
search attributes”, International Journal of Research in Keh, H.T. and Teo, C.W. (2001), “Retail customers as partial
Marketing, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 55-78. employees in service provision: a conceptual framework”,
Dong, B., Evans, K.R. and Zou, S. (2008), “The effects of International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management,
customer participation in co-created service recovery”, Vol. 29 No. 8, pp. 370-8.
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 36 No. 1, Khalifa, M. and Limayem, M. (2003), “Drivers of internet
pp. 123-37. shopping”, Communications of the ACM, Vol. 46 No. 12,
Dowling, G.R. and Uncles, M. (1997), “Do customer loyalty pp. 233-9.
programs really work?”, Sloan Management Review, Vol. 38 Komiak, S.Y.X. and Benbasat, I. (2006), “The effects of
No. 4, pp. 71-82. personalization and familiarity on trust and adoption of
Flavián, C., Guinaliu, M. and Gurrea, R. (2006), “The recommendation agents”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 30 No. 4,
influence of familiarity and usability on loyalty to online pp. 941-60.
journalistic services: the role of user experience”, Journal of Koo, D-M. (2006), “The fundamental reasons of
Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 13 No. 5, pp. 363-75. e-consumers’ loyalty to an online store”, Electronic
Fornell, C. and Larcker, D.F. (1981), “Evaluating structural Commerce Research and Applications, Vol. 5 No. 2,
equation models with unobservable variables and pp. 117-30.
measurement error”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 18 Kotler, P. (2000), Marketing Management, Prentice Hall,
No. 1, pp. 39-50. Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Ganesh, J., Reynolds, K.E., Luckett, M. and Pomirleanu, N. Kuttner, R. (1998), “The net: a market too perfect for
(2010), “Online shopper motivations, and e-store profits”, Bloomberg Business Week, May 11, available at:
attributes: an examination of online patronage behavior www.businessweekcom/archives/1998/b3577045 (accessed
and shopper typologies”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 86 No. 1, February 12, 2012).
pp. 106-15. Lai, T.-J. and Chen, C.-Y. (2008), “Virtual community and
Garma, R. and Bove, L.L. (2011), “Contributing to well- customer participations in user centric internet service
being: customer citizenship behaviors directed to service ventures”, PICMET: Portland International Center for
personnel”, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol. 19 No. 7, Management of Engineering and Technology, Proceedings,
pp. 633-49. pp. 1020-7.

138
 Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship behaviors Journal of Services Marketing
Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao Volume 27 · Number 2 · 2013 · 130 –140

Lin, H-F. (2007), “Predicting consumer intentions to shop Walters, J., Kuo, Y., Jap, W. and Hsu, H. (2011), “The
online: an empirical test of competing theories”, Electronic world’s next e-commerce superpower: navigating China’s
Commerce Research and Application, Vol. 6 No. 4, pp. 433-42. unique online-shopping ecosystem”, BCG Report, available
Lohse, G.L. and Spiller, P. (1998), “Electronic shopping”, at: www.china-brain.com/ckfinder/userfiles/files/China-%
Communications of the ACM, Vol. 41 No. 7, pp. 81-8. 20The%20next%20E-commerce%20superpower.pdf
McCullan, R. and Gilmore, A. (2008), “Customer loyalty: an (accessed August 1, 2012).
empirical study”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 42 Yen, H.R., Hsu, S.H-Y. and Chun-Yao, H. (2011), “Good
Nos 9/10, pp. 1084-94. soldiers on the web: understanding the drivers of
Miyazaki, A.D. and Fernandez, A. (2001), “Consumer participation in online communities of consumption”,
perceptions of privacy and security risks for online International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 15 No. 4,
shopping”, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 89-120.
pp. 27-44. Yi, Y. and Gong, T. (2006), “The antecedents and
Morgan, R.M. and Hunt, S.D. (1994), “The commitment- consequences of service customer citizenship and badness
trust theory of relationship marketing”, Journal of behavior”, Seoul Journal of Business, Vol. 12 No. 2,
Marketing, Vol. 58 No. 3, pp. 20-38. pp. 145-76.
Mudambi, S.M. and Schuff, D. (2010), “What makes a Yoon, S-J. (2002), “The antecedents and consequences of
helpful online review? A study of customer reviews on trust in online-purchase decisions”, Journal of Interactive
Amazon.com”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 185-99. Marketing, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 47-63.
Mukherjee, A. and Nath, P. (2007), “Role of electronic trust Zaheer, A., McEvily, B. and Perrone, V. (1998), “Does trust
in online retailing: a reexamination of the commitment- matter? Exploring the effects of interorganizational and
trust theory”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 41 Nos 9/ interpersonal trust on performance”, Organization Science,
10, pp. 1173-202. Vol. 9 No. 2, pp. 141-59.
Ng, J.Y. and Matanda, M. (2009), “The role of citizenship Zeithaml, V. and Bitner, M.J. (2003), Service Marketing:
behaviour in e-service quality delivery in blog retailing”, Integrating Customer Focus across the Firm, McGraw-Hill,
ANZMAC 2009, available at: www.duplication.net.au/ New York, NY.
ANZMAC09/papers/ANZMAC2009-562.pdf (accessed
January 5, 2012). About the authors
Oracle Corporation (2006), “Gaining competitive advantage
through effective retail loyalty programs”, Oracle white Nwamaka A. Anaza is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at
paper, available at: www.oracle.com/us/products/ Francis Marion University. Her research interests focus on
applications/siebel/047119.pdf (accessed August 8, 2012). studying employees in service roles with particular interest
Rosenbaum, M.S. and Massiah, C.A. (2007), “When directed to sales professionals, public and non-profit
customers receive support from other customers”, Journal employees in service-based settings. She is also interested in
of Service Research, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 257-70. online consumption and online consumer behavior. Examples
Schaupp, L.C. and Belanger, F. (2005), “A conjoint analysis of her work can be found in The Journal of Marketing Theory
of online consumer satisfaction”, Journal of Electronic and Practice, Managing Service Quality, and The Journal of
Commerce Research, Vol. 6 No. 2, pp. 95-111. Marketing Channels. Nwamaka A. Anaza is the corresponding
Shankar, V., Urban, G.L. and Sultan, F. (2002), “Online author and can be contacted at: [email protected]
trust: a stakeholder perspective concepts, implications, and Jing Zhao is a Postdoctoral Fellow of Marketing,
future directions”, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Department of Marketing and Tourism Management,
Vol. 11 Nos 3-4, pp. 325-44. Wuhan University, China.
Srinivasan, S.S., Anderson, R. and Ponnavolu, K. (2002),
“Customer loyalty in e-commerce: an exploration of its Executive summary and implications for
antecedents and consequences”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 78
managers and executives
No. 1, pp. 41-50.
Stambor, Z. (2010), “E-retailer will influence 53% of This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives
purchases by 2014, Forrester says”, Internet Retailer, a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a
available at: www.internetretailer.com/2010/03/08/e-retail- particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in
will-influence-53-of-purchases-by-2014-forrester-says toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the
(accessed December 12, 2011). research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of the
Swan, J.E. and Oliver, R.L. (1989), “Postpurchase material present.
communications by consumers”, Journal of Retailing,
Vol. 65 No. 4, pp. 516-33. Everyone wants shopping to be easy, successful and a pleasant
Thompson, R.L., Higgins, C.A. and Howell, J.M. (1991), all-round experience. In fact bricks-and-mortar stores have
“Personal computing: toward a conceptual model of been at pains to point out that the pleasant activity of
utilization”, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 124-43. browsing round their establishment cannot be beaten by
Triandis, H.C. (1980), “Values, attitudes, and interpersonal sitting at home in front of your computer, shopping online.
behavior”, in Howe, H.E. Jr and Page, M.M. (Eds), 1979 They have a point, but online shopping is here to stay – and
Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, University of Nebraska growing at a breathtaking pace – and the online retailers are
Press, Lincoln, NB, pp. 195-259. anxious to make their experience as good as they can. They
Vatanasombut, B., Stylianou, A.C. and Igbaria, M. (2004), have to because the very success of the phenomenon of
“How to retain online customers”, Communications of the shopping via the internet has fueled intense competition
ACM, Vol. 47 No. 6, pp. 65-9. among them.

139
 Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship behaviors Journal of Services Marketing
Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao Volume 27 · Number 2 · 2013 · 130 –140

Given this competition and the surge in e-customers, two a means of spreading knowledge about the firm itself and/or
important questions emerge for e-retailers to address: the firm’s products/services. The third dimension – helping –
1 How will they maintain interest and web traffic through refers to constructive behaviors by e-shoppers for the sole
loyalty and commitment programs? purpose of assisting other customers during the online service
2 How will they build good customer citizens in an process.
environment where buyers “run the show”? The study builds on social exchange theory as the
theoretical underpinning for citizenship behaviors in an e-
In a highly-technological mediated e-shopping context, the
retailing context. The theory is based on the premise that
success of online shopping depends on the collaborative
people develop and maintain relationships with others over
efforts of both the e-retailers and the e-shoppers. E-shopper
time because they believe that doing so will benefit both the e-
collaborative efforts are categorized as two participatory
shopper and e-retailer.
perspectives – in-role and extra-role participation. Compared
to traditional bricks-and-mortar stores, studies have found Clear implications were discovered for e-retailers. First,
that e-stores depend heavily on customer extra-role behaviors given that familiarity can influence e-CCB through the effects
for their continued success and survival. of e-shoppers’ satisfaction, loyalty, and commitment in e-store
The relevance of citizenship behavior in an encounter- setting, e-retailers should incorporate organizational
oriented e-retailing environment is critical for successful mechanisms and practices to help customers get familiar
service/product delivery, especially given that personal with e-shopping environment, such as demonstrating
interactions between service providers and customers are shopping process by diagrams, updating Q&A, e-help desk
absent. Moreover, now that customers are more etc.
knowledgeable about products/services due to the rapid In addition, e-retailers are recommended to maintain
growth of the internet, the customers’ “initiative” is now more sitemap icons that list where information can be found on
valuable to e-retailers than ever before. their websites. Such simplistic sitemaps are useful for e-
In “Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer citizenship shoppers with advanced online skills who want to spend a
behaviors” Nwamaka A. Anaza and Jing Zhao examine a limited amount of time searching for information in
customer citizenship behavior model in an e-retailing setting comparison to detailed demonstrations and e-help desk
using e-store familiarization and facilitating conditions as the services that assist novice e-shoppers with little to no online
primary determinants for developing e-store attitudes and skills about how to go about making e-purchases.
behaviors among shoppers. They offer e-retailers a way to stay The study also recommends that e-retailers should install
ahead of their competitors by focusing on online attributes necessary equipment and employ effective practices to help
that are difficult to duplicate when it comes to customer customers fulfill the e-shopping process successfully and
relationship-building such as e-loyalty, e-commitment, and e- efficiently, such as designing personalized interface, providing
customer citizenship behaviors. interactive supports, and offering real-time information about
E-customer citizenship behavior (e-CCB) refers to the order status or product/service.
voluntary and discretionary behaviors expressed by e- E-shoppers’ satisfaction, commitment, and loyalty exert
shoppers in an internet service environment to facilitate the different effects on the dimensions of e-CCB. There is no
delivery, purchase, and consumption of e-services, while at “one size fits all” strategy. Thus, e-retailers should utilize their
the same time helping the firm service success. The voluntary resources wisely to realize organizational goals. E-retailers can
role that customers play in the production and delivery of strategically address customers’ needs to increase their
services helps companies generate knowledge-based solutions satisfaction and to further attract more potential customers.
directly from the information provided by their customers, They can also employ loyalty and commitment programs,
which can in turn be translated into large economic returns. such as building a virtual community for ideal customers and
The first dimension of citizenship behavior is service firm providing customized product/service to stimulate mutual
facilitation which addresses the issue of an e-shopper’s help among customers, attract new customers, and encourage
willingness to help the firm and its employees by providing customer service firm facilitating behaviors.
useful information that the company then uses to improve
future service performance. The second dimension – (A précis of the article”Encounter-based antecedents of e-customer
recommendation – refers to the voluntary creation and citizenship behaviors”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for
distribution of messages by e-shoppers to other e-shoppers as Emerald.)

To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email protected]

Or visit our web site for further details: www.emeraldinsight.com/reprints

140