Designing a model of citizenship behavior for the customers of foreign household appliances based on the Grounded Theory

The globalization of industries and the emergence of an open international economy are forcing companies to continuously increase their competitiveness and pay more attention to their customers in order to develop their competitiveness. Target customers are exposed to and selected by foreign brands in the wider global markets than before. Behavioral variables are very important nowadays in social science topics such as marketing. Customer citizenship behavior actually emphasizes the non-purchasing behavior of customers. Constructive and positive customer behavior can help organizations achieve their goals. Negative and destructive behaviors can, however, disrupt the work of the organization, which indicates the undeniable position of customers in the performance of organizations. The purpose of this study is to provide a model for the citizenship behavior in customers of foreign home appliances. The researchers intend to provide a comprehensive model to explain this behavior. Therefore, the study seeks to identify the categories that lead to appropriate customer citizenship behavior as well as the strategies needed to achieve this behavior.

This research was done by the Ground Theory (data theory). The sampling was continued until theoretical saturation is reached and the required data are collected through interviews. The statistical population of the study was the industry experts in the field of selling household appliances sales and university professors in the field of marketing. The expertise criterion was at least ten years of experience in the field of household appliances or at least five years of experience in teaching in the field of marketing with a history of research in the field of consumer behavior. In total, 13 interviews were conducted with the appliance industry experts and the university professors. The data analysis was performed through open, participatory and selective coding. In order to evaluate the reliability, "pluralism in method" and "pluralism in the researcher" were used. The MAXQDA software was also used to achieve the research model.

After the description of the categories in the selective coding step and the statement of the main variable or underlying process in the data, the corresponding procedure and the outcomes were plotted. In this model, the central category was introduced along with the customer citizenship behavior and the concepts of "tolerance", "verbal advertising", "loyalty", "presence at the time of acquaintances 'purchase", and "helping the seller in recognizing customers' needs". Discussions were also made of the categories of "buying experience", "incentives to buy foreign products", "incentives to buy domestic products", "customer characteristics", "barriers to buying domestic product", "barriers to buying foreign product", "manufacturer’s characteristics" and "product features" as causal factors underlying citizenship behavior, "producer behavior" and "seller behavior" as interfering factors, "economic, social, cultural and political" factors, " westernization" and "customer characteristics" as context factors and "the role of government" and "the role of companies" as strategies. "purchase", "repurchase", "profitability", "purchase intention" and "competitive advantage" are some of the outcomes achieved in this research.

The results indicate that the above-mentioned "buying experience", "incentives to buy foreign products", "incentives to buy domestic products", "customer characteristics", "barriers to buying domestic product", "barriers to buying foreign product", "manufacturer’s characteristics" and "product Features" are causal conditions causing customer citizenship behavior. When customers show this behavior, research strategies, i.e., the role and position of companies and governments, can be effective in perpetuating this behavior as well as the intention to buy. Through value creation and providing additional value and services to customers, organizations can create the conditions for customers to understand added value, and lay the grounds for the emergence of customer citizenship behavior. As the findings indicate, service providers not only benefit from customer citizenship behavior but also customers hope to benefit more from the implementation of citizenship behavior. Using this understanding is useful to develop a strategy for service providers to disseminate customer citizenship behavior. In the marketing and sales of products, the behavior of producers and sellers can also be the basis of customer citizenship behavior. Customer satisfaction has the greatest impact on the intention to repurchase. Therefore, customers make the organization profitable by repurchasing. The concept of competitive advantage is directly related to the customer's desired values. Successful organizations always focus on their competitive advantage. Creating a sustainable competitive advantage is valuable to customers. This feature, which includes a category of competencies, has a strategic value, requires a lot of knowledge and skills, and is based on knowing the customer, understanding the customer's needs and focus on him as well as improving processes from the customer's point of view.