Investigating the Role of Social Environment as Antecedents of Intercultural Communication Competence and its Effects on Customer Satisfaction

Abstract

The article aims to better understand the impact of intercultural communication and social environment on customer satisfaction and loyalty in grocery retailing. In this endeavour, the study illustrates the unique context of intercultural communication to highlight several improvements in the literature, and to encourage the advancement of the intercultural communication in the literature. To initiate the research, a survey approach was taken. 681 questionnaires were returned out of 1100 that were distributed within selected grocery retailers in Klang Valley, Malaysia. The measurement of the constructs and their interrelationships are examined based on partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings validate the proposed framework with statistically significant relationships among all constructs. Furthermore, it exposes additional insights into some practical and conceptual solutions for addressing the intercultural communication of culturally diverse encounters in the Malaysian grocery retail industry. These contributions postulate an impetus for future research in various service settings. Based on the theories, the study assesses the role of the social environment of grocery retail consumers on intercultural communication competence (ICC) and its impact on inter-role congruence and interaction comfort. It is anticipated that by filling this knowledge gap, the research will assist in strengthening retail communication strategies, which require intercultural communication adjustments in a multicultural business environment. The ICC is expected to improve the retail industry competitiveness when it positively influences inter-role congruence and interaction comfort among customers.