Osakwe, Christian NeduAdeola, OgechiMaduku, Daniel K.2025-09-252025-09-252025Christian Nedu Osakwe, Ogechi Adeola, Daniel K. Maduku; Cultural norms, commercial friendship, and customer citizenship behaviour. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 2025; https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-07-2024-0317.0959-0552 (print)1758-6690 (online)10.1108/IJRDM-07-2024-0317http://hdl.handle.net/2263/104457PURPOSE : This study investigates the relationships between cultural norms, including personal cultural orientations and religiosity, commercial friendship, and customer citizenship behaviour in the subsistence retail marketplace – an underexplored context in retail and marketing research. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH : Following a positivist philosophical stance and a deductive approach, survey data were gathered from 414 participants using self-administered questionnaires. FINDINGS : The findings underscore the significant impact of cultural norms on friendship development, specifically with regard to independence, power distance, long-term orientation, and religiosity. Furthermore, the results indicate a positive relationship between commercial friendships and customer citizenship behaviours, including resistance to negative information, feedback provision, tolerance, and word-of-mouth communication. ORIGINALITY/VALUE : This research offers an original contribution to literature by examining the influence of cultural norms on customer-firm relationships and the role of commercial friendship in fostering customer citizenship behaviours. This study is the first to investigate these relationships within the context of the subsistence retail marketplace, thereby advancing scholarship in retail and marketing.en© Emerald Publishing Limited.Commercial friendshipCustomer citizenship behaviourPersonal cultural orientationReligiositySubsistence retail marketplaceSpaza shopsPostprint Article