Call for Papers for a Special Issue of the International Journal of Bank Marketing
“Incivility in the Contemporary Service Banking Context”
Co-Guest editors: Chaouali W & Souiden N
Deadline: 29 November 2025
The salutary role of civility (e.g., kindness, empathy, and moral behaviour) in service interactions and its positive outcomes is well-documented in the literature (e.g., Aránega et al., 2023). These positive outcomes create a virtuous cycle, leading to improved customer experience and organizational performance. However, incivility represents the antithesis of such actions. Incivility refers to behaviors that breach the generally accepted standards of conduct in service interactions (Boukis et al., 2023). Incivility occurs in various ways including verbal rudeness, shoplifting, vandalism, smoking cigarettes in prohibited areas, consumption of illegal narcotics, arrogance, hubris, and, even, rage/violence (Gong and Wang, 2023). Broad definitions of incivility encompass actions such as involvement in corruption, pollution, unsustainable use of natural resources, or the exploitation of workers/vulnerable people (e.g., children) and violations of their rights (Cuervo-Cazurra et al., 2021). Thus, customer/employee incivility is too important to ignore (Chaudhuri et al., 2023) and firms’, including banks’, incivility is a “hot” topic as it can damage their reputation (Souiden et al., 2022).
Incivility poses challenges as we are overwhelmed with news reports and stories about problematic customers (Fennel et al., 2023) and difficult professional service employees (Woodside and Mir-Bernal, 2020). This situation is likely to be exacerbated when using online services and artificial intelligence. Bacile (2020) reports that online incivility (e.g., rude offensive behaviours and insulting comments) can lead to a weakened service climate and experiential value. Likewise, the evolving usage of artificial intelligence and the development of well-trained algorithms and programs are likely to efficiently assist managers in identifying and offsetting uncivil comments (Wilms et al., 2024). Consequently, the automated identification of incivility, such as hate speech, toxicity, and offensive language, has become a significant focus in machine learning research (e.g., Zampieri et al., 2023). Harris and Daunt (2013, p. 289) conclude that “poorly behaving customers [or employees or firms] are sufficiently endemic that the consequences of their behavior are both direct and indirect and therefore must be considered as a management issue that requires strategic and tactical attention.” Nonetheless, despite such calls, prior literature underlines the regrettable conclusion that a compelling need remains for research into customer and employee incivility (Istanbulluoglu and Harris, 2024), particularly in the context of banks.
In this special issue, authors are encouraged to explore the various aspects of incivility, its causes and consequences in relation to the banking service context. They are also invited to consider the contemporary technological business environment, where digital and AI-assisted banking services are increasingly pervasive.
List of Topic Areas
This special issue welcomes conceptual and empirical papers, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. Papers are sought exploring topics such as (but not limited to):
– The role of individual characteristics (e.g., personality traits) in contributing to incivility.
– Theories (e.g., anger management), that may explain consumers’ or employees’ incivility.
– Organizational factors that encourage or impede incivility in customer and employee interactions.
– The influence of customer and employee diversity on perceptions and enactment of incivility.
– The role of leadership in addressing incivility.
– Cultural variations in the expression and perception of incivility.
– The role of incivility in technology-mediated banking interactions.
– Drivers and inhibitors of customers’ and/or employees’ and/or banks’ incivility.
– Direct and indirect consequences of customers’ and/or employees’ and/or banks’ incivility.
– Employees’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses toward customers’ and/or banks’ incivility and/or the reverse.
– Systematic literature reviews and/or bibliometric studies on customers’/employees’/banks’ incivility.
– The role of technology in exacerbating or offsetting incivility.
– Complaining behavior and incivility.
– Antecedents and/or consequences of any perceived bad reputation/hypocrisy of banks (among customers and/or employees).
Submissions Information
Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available here.
Author guidelines must be strictly followed.
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to ““Please select the issue you are submitting to”.
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.
Key Deadlines
Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 28/03/2025
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 28/11/2025
Guest Editors
– Walid Chaouali, Department of Management, Faculty of Law, Economics and Management of Jendouba, University of Jendouba, Jendouba, Tunisia
– Nizar Souiden, Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business Administration, Laval University, Quebec, Canada
Full call available here.
