- Log In/Sign Up
- P-ISSN1738-3110
- E-ISSN2093-7717
- SCOPUS, ESCI
ISSN : 1738-3110
Customer Complaint Intention in the Service Distribution Industry : Types and Determinants
Abstract
Purpose - With growing competition in the service distribution industry, the importance of managing customer complaints has increased. If firms handle customer complaints effectively, they can strengthen customer loyalty and repurchase intention. Many studies have focused on customers expressing complaints, yet research on silent customers is scant. This study focuses on two types of complainers and non-complainers. In other words, this study is to examine the value of voice complaint intention and no-action intention. This study also investigates how perceptual and relational factors affect complaint intention. Research design, data, and methodology - This study was carried out using the survey with undergraduate students who have faced a service failure in a retail store(fast foods, electronics, apparel). And if such complaint were to occur again, respondents were asked about any possible action they would take. 300 questionnaires were distributed and a total of 279 respondents provided complete and usable data. The sample consisted of 158 males(56.6%) and 121 females(43.4%). The structural equation modeling analysis was used for the hypothesis test. Results - The results are as follows. First, attitude toward complaining, likelihood of successful complaint, and ease of complaint were positively related to voice complaint intention. Second, attitude toward complaining, likelihood of successful complaint, and ease of complaint were negatively related to no-action intention. Third, commitment was positively related to voice complaint intention but didn't have a significant negative impact on no action. Forth, voice complaint behavior reduced switching intention and no-action intention enhanced switching intention. Conclusions - The findings of this study confirm the value of complaint behavior and show voice complaint intention and no-action intention should be managed differently. Voice complaint intention is evaluated positively because it reflects customers' concerns about the company, while no-action intention is evaluated negatively. Attitude toward complaing is the most effective in increasing voice complaint intention and likelihood of successful complaint is a major factor in reducing no-action intention. Also, in explaining switching intention, voice complaint intention plays a more important role than no-action intention.
- keywords
- Perceptual Factor, Relational Factor, Voice Complaint Intention, No-Action Intention, Switching Intention
Reference
Anderson, J. C., & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended Two-Step Approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103(3), 411-423.
Andreassen, T. (2001). From disgust to delight: Do customers hold a grudge?. Journal of Service Research, 4, 39-49.
Blodgett, J. G., & Granbois, D. H. (1992). Toward an integrated conceptual model of consumer complaining behavior. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 5(1), 95-103.
Blodgett, J. G., Granbois, D. H., & Walters, R. G. (1993). The effects of perceived justice on complainants' negative word-of-mouth behavior and repatronage intentions. Journal of Retailing, 69(3), 399-428.
Bove, L. L., & Robertson, N. L. (2005), Exploring the role of relationship variables in predicting customer voice to a service worker. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 12, 83-97.
Chebat, J.-C., Davidow, M., & Codjovi, I. (2005). Silent voices: Why some dissatisfied customers fail to complain. Journal of Service Research, 7(4), 328-342.
Cheng, S., & Lam, T. (2008). The role of the customer- seller relationship in the intention of the customer to complain: A study of chinese restaurateurs. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 27(4), 552-562.
Chung, H. S. (2013). Discrimination between Silence and Voice Behavior in measurement and the incremental validity. Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issues, 19(1), 1-17.
Crie, D. (2003). Consumers' complaint behaviour: Taxonomy, typology and determinants: Towards a unified ontology. The Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management, 11(1), 60-79.
Davidow, M. (2003). Organizational responses to customer complaints: What works and what does not. Journal of Service Research, 5, 225-250.
De Wulf, K., & Odekerken-Schrӧder, G. (2003). Assessing the impact of a retailer's relationship efforts on consumers' attitudes and behavior. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 10(2), 95-108.
Evanschitzky, H., Brock, C., & Blut, M. (2011). Will you tolerate this? The impact of affective commitment on complaint intention and postrecovery behavior. Journal of Service Research, 14(4), 410-425.
Fullerton, G. (2005). The service quality-loyalty relationship in retail services: Does commitment matter?. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 12(2), 99-111.
Gregoire, Y., & Fisher, R. J. (2008). Customer betrayal and retaliation: When your best customers become your worst enemies. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36(2), 247-261.
Hibbard, J. D., Kumar, N., & Stern, L. W. (2001). Examining the impact of destructive acts in marketing channel relationships. Journal of Marketing Research, 38, 45-61.
Hirschman, A. O. (1970). Exit, Voice and Loyalty-Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States. Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press.
Huppertz, J. W. (2003). An effort model of first-stage complaining behavior. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 16(1), 132-144.
Huppertz, J. W. (2007). Firms' complaint handling policies and consumer complaint voicing. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(7), 428-437.
Kaur, P., & Sharma, S. K. (2015). A measure of consumer complaining behaviour in service industry: Scale validation. Paradigm, 19(1), 37-51.
Kim, C., Kim, K., Im, S., & Shin, C. (2003). The effect of attitude and perception on consumer complaint intentions. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 20(4), 352-371.
Kim, S. H. (2016). Is silence golden? Customer silence is another strong, influential message of customer. Korean Management Review, 45(2), 557-592.
Morgan, R. M., & Hunt, S. D. (1994). The commitment-trust theory of relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 20-38.
Mousavi, M., & Esfidani, M. R. (2013). A comprehensive model of customers' complaint behavior. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 3(5), 548.
Mowen, J. C. (1990). Consumer Behavior (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Oliver, R. L. (1980). A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions. Journal of Marketing Research, 17(4), 460-469.
Ping, R. A. (1993). The effects of satisfaction and structural constraints on retailer exiting, voice, loyalty, opportunism, and neglect. Journal of Retailing, 69(3), 320-352.
Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study (2006). Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study, Verde at Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Richins, M. L. (1980). Consumer perceptions of costs and benefits associated with complaining. in Hunt, H. K., & Day, R. L. (Eds.), Refining Concepts and Measures of Consumer Satisfaction and Complaining Behavior. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Richins, M. L. (1987). A multivariate analysis of responses to dissatisfaction. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 15(3), 24-31.
Ro, H. J. (2013). Customer complaining behaviors after restaurant service failure: Redress seeking complaint, friendly complaint, loyalty and neglect. International Journal of Tourism Science, 13(1), 27-46.
Roos, I. (1999). Switching processes in customer relationships. Journal of Service Research, 2(1), 68-85.
Singh, J. (1988), Consumer complaint intentions and behavior: Definitional and taxonomical issues. Journal of Marketing, 52(1), 93-107.
Singh, J. (1990). Voice, exit, and negative word-of-mouth behaviors: An investigation across three service categories. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 18(1), 1-15.
Singh, J., & Howell, R. D. (1985), Consumer complaining behavior: A review and prospectus. Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 1, 41-49.
Singh, J., & Wilkes, R. E. (1996). When consumers complain: A path analysis of the key antecedents of consumer complaint response estimates. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 24(4), 350-365.
Singh, V., Jain, A., & Choraria, S. (2016). Exploring the role of complaint handling among complaining consumers. Vision, 20(4), 331-344.
Son, Y. H. (2008). The effect of complaining behavior type and complaint handling's satisfaction on word- of-mouth and repurchase intention. Korean Journal of Consumer and Advertising Psychology, 9(1), 87-104.
Sweeney, J., & Swait, J. (2008). The effects of brand credibility on customer loyalty. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 15(3), 179-193.
Voorhees, C. M., Brady, M. K., & Horowitz, D. M. (2006). A voice from the silent masses: An exploratory and comparative analysis of noncomplainers. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences, 34(4), 514-527.
Zeelenberg, M., & Pieters, R. (2004), Beyond valence in customer dissatisfaction: A review and new findings on behavioral responses to regret and disappointment in failed services. Journal of Business Research, 57(4), 445-455.
- Downloaded
- Viewed
- 0KCI Citations
- 0WOS Citations