Examining the boundary conditions of customer citizenship behaviour: a focus on consumption ritual

Customer citizenship behaviour (CCB) is discretionary activity by a customer, over and above the normal requirements of an exchange, which benefit the firm. In this study, a review is conducted of the range of activity positioned as customer citizenship behaviour and a call is made to broaden the boundary conditions within which this activity falls. A four by three framework is developed in terms of exchange focus and time of exchange. Through this lens, new behaviours are identified, including marketing hype and consumption rituals. Qualitative research is presented on consumption rituals in a major sporting event: premiership rugby. Findings suggest that managers need to understand the time, space and practices within which their brands can have relevance. This will enable firms to position their brands to both benefit from CCB activity as well as form part of CCB activity.