Determinants of core value behavior in service brands

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of employees' core value behavior. For service brands, employees are most likely the most important vehicle in building and communicating brand core values. The paper aims to draw on two related theories on motivation to understand the basic psychological mechanisms involved, and to propose a set of hypotheses on determinants of core value behavior. Design/methodology/approach – In order to test the proposed model, a survey was conducted among employees in a Scandinavian bank. Regression analyses were used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings – Supportive of the hypotheses, the study data suggest that attitude towards core values and role model behavior are significant determinants of core value behavior. Moreover, employee role satisfaction is found to be a key moderator of such behavior. Attitudes towards the values affect behavior only for less satisfied employees, whereas role model behavior influences behavior only for highly satisfied employees. Practical implications – The findings provide clear managerial implications in terms of how to stimulate core value behavior for employees both high and low in role satisfaction. Originality/value – The present study introduces the concept of core value behavior (CVB) and represents the first empirical investigation on determinants of CVB for services brands. The study offers novel theoretical and empirical insight to an important, yet understudied topic in service marketing.