Customer incivility in hospitality and banking industry: the roles of green orientation and religious beliefs

Purpose This study explores the antecedents and impacts of customer incivility (CI) on frontline employees (FLEs) in Vietnam’s banking sector and eco-friendly hotel industry with religious beliefs (RB) and internal green marketing orientation (IGMO) as moderators. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzed two surveys completed by 390 bankers and 520 hotel staff using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the proposed relationships based on the conservation of resources (COR) and social cognitive theory (SCT) frameworks. Findings Customer orientation (CO) is inversely related to CI, suggesting that higher levels of CO are associated with lower CI. Moreover, CI indirectly influences service performance (SP) through psychological mechanisms, notably emotional exhaustion (EE) among banking employees and forgiveness (FG) among hotel staff. RB among FLEs in the banking sector moderates the relationship between CI and EE, whereas IGMO moderates the link between CI and FG in the hospitality industry. Practical implications Strong IGMO within hospitality organizations enhances FLEs’ ability to forgive, thereby improving their emotional resilience and SP. Similarly, RB among banking employees reduces EE, which improves their SP. Organizations can boost employee performance and well-being by incorporating targeted internal communication initiatives and tailored training programs to cultivate a more positive, resilient and high-performing workforce with a sustainable service culture and improved organizational effectiveness. Originality/value This study investigates CI and its effects on FLEs through the unique moderating roles of RB and IGMO in Vietnam’s banking and hospitality sectors.