Customer reactions to bank hypocrisy: the moderating role of customer–company identification and brand equity

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of perceived corporate hypocrisy on customer mistreatment behaviors within the banking industry and the moderating effects of customer–company identification (CCI) and brand equity on the hypocrisy-mistreatment behavior relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Using multistage sampling, 567 South Korean banking service users participated in an online survey. Structural equation modeling (confirmatory factor analysis) and hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Findings: Perceived corporate hypocrisy was positively related to customer mistreatment behaviors. CCI and brand equity differentially moderated the positive relationship between perceived corporate hypocrisy and customer mistreatment behaviors. Specifically, CCI and brand equity strengthened and weakened the positive relationship between perceived corporate hypocrisy and customer mistreatment behaviors, respectively. Practical implications: Marketers and banking service managers should pay careful attention to customer evaluations of their social activities and communication about the ethical values and actions of their firms. Since CCI and brand equity have contrasting moderating effects on the corporate hypocrisy-aggressive behavior relationship, marketers should devise different strategies to manage the adverse effects of such corporate crises on company-identified and brand-committed customers. For example, managers should focus on customers who actively express their deep sense of disappointment or profound anger in response to corporate hypocrisy (e.g. those with high levels of CCI) because they are likely to exhibit aggressive behaviors toward the company or its employees. Managers need to devise customized relationship-recovery strategies for such customers (e.g. forging a personal connection between the customer and service provider). Originality/value: The present findings delineate the adverse effects of perceived corporate hypocrisy on customer behaviors and the moderating effect of customer relationship quality on the corporate hypocrisy-mistreatment behavior relationship within the banking industry.