[01] Syed Hamad Hassan Shah, Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, Shanghai, China; Lyallpur Business School, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan. [02] Shen Lei, Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, Shanghai, China. [03] Saleha Noor, School of Information Science and Technology, East China Science and Technology University, Shanghai, China. [04] Tayyaba Akram, Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, Shanghai, China.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of customer perceived ethicality on repurchase intentions and word of mouth in the fast food industry empirically. The self-administered questionnaires were used to collect the data from 396 regular customers of fast food restaurants (e.g., Pizza Hut, KFC, Subway, and local fast foods chains) operating in Pakistan. Social desirability bias and common method variance were measured before testing hypotheses, and a conceptual model was tested through the PLS-SEM technique. The results showed a positive direct effect of customer perceived ethicality on repurchase intentions and also an indirect effect through the partial mediator of brand image. Furthermore, repurchase intentions effects positively on word-of-mouth. This study confirms the explicit contribution of customer perceived ethicality on customers’ behavioral intentions in the fast food industry in Pakistan. The results of this study propose that ethical concerns should be considered at the corporate strategy formulation level and aligned with marketing plans to improve customers’ behavioral intentions.

"Pakistan, Customer Perceived Ethicality, Brand Image, Repurchase Intentions, Word of Mouth, Fast Food, Social Desirability Bias, Common Method Variance "

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