Mediating effects of students’ social bonds between self-esteem and customer citizenship behaviour in the context of international university branch campuses

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer empirical evidence on the role of self-esteem and social bonding in explaining citizenship behaviour of students at international university branch campuses (IBCs). Design/methodology/approach A sample of 400 students from four IBCs in Malaysia was administered in a questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS and partial least squares 3.0. Findings This research demonstrates that students’ self-esteem and social bonds have positive direct effects on customer citizenship behaviour (CCB). Moreover, self-esteem has an indirect effect on CCB via intervening of attachment, commitment and involvement of social bonds. Research limitations/implications CCB of IBC students can be explained by self-consistency theory via mediation of social bonds from social bonding theory. Practical implications To encourage CCB in IBCs, university management should target students who have high self-esteem, closely tied to parents and lecturers, committed to university, highly involved in co-curricular activities and comply with university regulations. Originality/value Greater understanding of students’ citizenship behaviour may help transnational universities to improve relationship marketing strategy and enhance students’ campus experience.