Does the collectivism/individualism cultural orientation determine the effect of customer inspiration on customer citizenship behaviors?

Calls for more research on how marketing signals inspire consumers into helpful behaviors across cultures have been made in previous research. This paper responds to these calls by examining the moderating role of cultural orientation (CO) on the relationship between customer inspiration (CI) and customer citizenship behaviors (CCBs) in the fast food restaurant setting. Results from two vignette experiments show significant differentials in how consumers experience inspiration and undertake CCBs across cultures. Specifically, the effects of CI on CCBs was stronger for collectivists than individualists. Additionally, the indirect effect of inspired-by on CCBs through inspired-to is moderated by CO. Our study is unique because it demonstrates the mechanism through which CCBs occur in the fast food restaurant setting for consumers with CO differences. We show that it is vital to consider how customer citizenship behaviors result from customer inspiration in light of consumers’ cultural orientation.