Retail store environment, store attachment and customer citizenship behaviour

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of physical and social retail store environment, referred to as "storescape", retail store attachment and employee citizenship behaviour towards customers on customer citizenship behaviour.

Design/methodology/approach: The research employed a descriptive quantitative, cross-sectional design with a self-administered survey. Data were collected through an online research panel provider from 415 customers of department and discount department stores in Australia.

Findings: The findings show social storescape predicts customer citizenship behaviour directly, and that store attachment mediates the effect of both physical and social storescape on this behaviour. Employee citizenship behaviour towards customers was found to moderate the effect of storescape on customer citizenship behaviour. In addition, the effect of both positive physical and social storescape was found to be greater in discount department stores than department stores.

Practical implications: In addition to highlighting the factors that drive customer citizenship behaviour, the study shows that storescape factors and their effect vary for department stores versus discount department stores.

Originality/value: This study shows the effect of storescape on customer citizenship behaviour. Drawing on resource exchange theory, this study is the first-known to identify storescape as both physical and social resources which can influence retail store attachment and customer citizenship behaviour. The study provides new insights into the differential effect of storescape in department versus discount department stores in motivating customers to engage in citizenship behaviour. Further, the study makes an important contribution by demonstrating the moderating role of employee citizenship behaviour towards customers.