Linking corporate digital responsibility and customer citizenship behavior

Purpose This study aims to examine how customers’ perception of corporate digital responsibility (CDR) influences their citizenship behavior (CCB) toward the company. The mediating roles of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and brand pride were examined, as well as the moderating role of customers’ subjective knowledge of CDR. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 288 South Korean customers who had used digital hospitality services in the two months prior to data collection. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses, and bootstrapping procedures with 5,000 resamples were used to examine mediating effects. The study also examined the moderating role of subjective knowledge in the proposed relationships. Findings Results indicate that perceived CSR mediates the relationship between perceived CDR and CCB. Sequential mediation of CSR and brand pride in the link between CDR and CCB was also supported. Customers’ subjective knowledge of CDR moderates the relationship between CDR and brand pride, such that the positive association is stronger among customers with higher subjective knowledge. Research limitations/implications The study extends the applicability of signaling theory by demonstrating that CDR can positively influence CCB through perceived CSR. It also draws on social exchange theory (SET) to explain how CDR practices generate a sense of relational obligation, with CSR perceptions and brand pride serving as the sequential mechanisms through which customers reciprocate through CCB. Originality/value This study addresses a gap in understanding CDR in the hospitality industry by examining how customers associate CDR practices with CSR and how these associations relate to their CCB toward the company. By integrating signaling theory and SET with CSR, brand pride and subjective knowledge, this research expands understanding of CDR and customer behavioral responses while providing both theoretical and practical insights.