The role of social support on frontline employees' revenge motivation in customer incivility: a case study of the banking industry in an emerging market

Abstract

Customer incivility is an increasingly important issue, particularly in the banking sector. This study investigates the factors contributing to customer incivility and its impact on frontline employees in Vietnam. Additionally, it examines the potential moderating influence of supervisor and co-worker support in the context of an uncivil work environment. A quantitative approach was employed, with surveys distributed to 806 bankers in Ho Chi Minh City who frequently encounter customer incivility. The collected data were thoroughly analyzed using structural equation modeling. The analysis reveals that a selling orientation, as opposed to a customer orientation, strongly contributes to customer incivility and its consequences such as banker revenge motivation and decreased job performance. Notably, co-worker support, rather than supervisor support, moderates the relationship between customer incivility and employee revenge motivation. This study emphasizes the vital role of co-worker support in mitigating negative intentions and deviant behaviors resulting from customer incivility in the banking sector. Managers can enhance teamwork and job performance by encouraging sympathy, sharing, and supporting their staff members. This study highlights the importance of addressing customer incivility and comprehensively exploring its root causes and effects. This highlights the distinctive role of co-workers in the Vietnamese banking industry.