Webcare’s effect on constructive and vindictive complainants

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolfgang J. Weitzl
Keyword(s):  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Goal Orientations ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Online Experiment ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Defensive Responses

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate that online complainants’ reactions to a company’s service recovery attempts (webcare) can significantly vary across two different types of dissatisfied customers (“vindictives” vs “constructives”), who have dramatically diverging complaint goal orientations. Design/methodology/approach Online multi-country survey among 812 adult consumers who recently had a dissatisfying brand experience and turned to a marketer-generated social media site to voice an online complaint for achieving their ultimate complaining goals. Scenario-based online experiment for cross-validating the survey findings. Findings Results suggest that “vindictive complainants” – driven dominantly by brand-adverse motives – are immune to any form of webcare, while “constructive complainants” – interested in restoring the customer-brand relationship – react more sensitively. For the latter, “no-responses” often trigger detrimental brand-related reactions (e.g. unfavorable brand image), whereas “defensive responses” are likely to stimulate post-webcare negative word-of-mouth. Research limitations/implications This research identifies the gains and harms of (un-)desired webcare. By doing so, it not only sheds light on the circumstances when marketers have to fear negative effects (e.g. negative word-of-mouth) but also provides insights into the conditions when such effects are unlikely. While the findings of the cross-sectional survey are validated with an online experiment, findings should be interpreted with care as other complaining contexts should be further investigated. Practical implications Marketers have to expect a serious “backfiring effect” from an unexpected source, namely, consumers who were initially benevolent toward the involved brand but who received an inappropriate response. Originality/value This research is one of the first research studies that enables marketers to identify situations when webcare is likely to backfire on the brand after a service failure.

Impacts of crisis emotions on negative word-of-mouth and behavioural intention: evidence from a milk crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oanh Dinh Yen Nguyen ◽  
Jenny (Jiyeon) Lee ◽  
Liem Viet Ngo ◽  
Tran Ha Minh Quan
Keyword(s):  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Behavioural Intention ◽  
Consumer Loyalty ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Consumption ◽  
Loyalty Intention ◽  
Consumption Situation ◽  
Context Specific

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how emotions felt by the public during a crisis influenced consumer loyalty intention and negative word-of-mouth (WOM). Considering the context-specific nature of emotions, the existing crisis emotions were further validated in a product consumption situation. Drawing on the theories of attribution and social sharing, a conceptual model, positing that crisis-specific emotions [attribution-independent, external-attribution-dependent (EAD) and internal-attribution-dependent (IAD) emotions] influenced negative WOM through behavioural intention, was constructed and empirically tested. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from 240 Vietnamese consumers by using a scenario-based survey related to a fictional milk crisis. Findings The study findings showed that all but one crisis emotion had negative effects on both WOM and loyalty intention. Of these emotions, EAD and IAD were the strongest predictors of negative WOM and behavioural intention, respectively. It was also found that all crisis emotions significantly affected negative WOM through behavioural intention. Originality/value Although some efforts have been made to identify crisis emotions, the validity of the existing scales have not been affirmed in other crises related to product consumption situations. The results of the present study, thus, made contributions by enhancing an understanding of crisis emotions and their impacts on consumer loyalty intention and WOM communications.

Managing negative word-of-mouth: the interplay between locus of causality and social presence

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Yi He ◽  
Ilyoung Ju ◽  
Qimei Chen ◽  
Dana L. Alden ◽  
Hong Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Presence ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Interaction Effects ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Locus Of Causality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Affective Processes ◽  
Support Seeking ◽  
Service Managers

Purpose This paper aims to describe the results of four studies that examine the interaction effects between locus of causality and social presence on consumers’ emotional response to a service failure and how they subsequently cope with the negative emotional experiences through support-seeking or vindictive negative word-of-mouth (NWOM). Design/methodology/approach To evaluate the research hypotheses, one online content analysis study and three experiments were conducted. Findings The results of the four studies show that when locus of causality information is not available (Studies 1 and 2), consumers are more likely to engage in support-seeking NWOM when there is social presence (versus no social presence). When a service failure is externally/internally attributed, social presence leads to less/more vindictive NWOM (Studies 3 and 4). The results clarify the underlying affective processes (frustration, anger and embarrassment) that account for the unique interaction effects involving locus of causality and social presence on NWOM. Originality/value Despite promising progress in both social presence and service failure research, scholarly attempts aiming to draw the theoretical linkages between these two streams are relatively scarce, and it remains unknown regarding whether and how social presence influences NWOM in the event of service failure. Against this backdrop, this research examines the effects of social presence on consumer NWOM in service failure. The authors further contribute to both research streams by testing the effects of an important set of emotions as mediators, as well by exploring the conditions under which a particular emotion is more predictive of its corresponding outcomes. These findings offer important insights that help service managers effectively mitigate customer NWOM at the point of service delivery.

Moral judgment and perceived justice in service recovery

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Ma ◽  
Xin Zhong
Keyword(s):  
Moral Judgment ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Mediation Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Justice ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Monetary Compensation

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effect of perceived justice and consumer's moral judgment of a service failure on recovery outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe research model is examined by adopting a field study approach followed by an experiment. The SPSS program with the PROCESS tool was used to analyze the simple moderation and moderated mediation effects.FindingsThe research findings show that consumer's moral judgment of a service failure moderates the relationship between service recovery (psychological compensation vs monetary compensation) and recovery outcomes (recovery satisfaction, negative word of mouth and repurchase intention). Moreover, the conditional indirect effect of service recovery on recovery outcomes through perceived justice is significant when service failure is seen as less moral. Specifically, consumers report lower perceived justice and react negatively to recovery measures when service failure is seen as less moral. In contrast, when consumers perceive a service failure as moral, a psychological compensation outperforms a monetary compensation, lessening negative word of mouth (NWOM).Originality/valueThese findings provide important insights into recovery measure development when considering consumer moral perspectives.

Customers’ emotion regulation strategies in service failure encounters

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 960-982 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.S. Balaji ◽  
Sanjit Kumar Roy ◽  
Ali Quazi
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Perceived Injustice ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Repurchase Intentions ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to determine the role of emotions in customer evaluation of service failures; and second, to examine how customers’ emotion regulation impacts customer satisfaction and behavioural responses (e.g. repurchase intentions and negative word-of-mouth). Design/methodology/approach A scenario-based survey was used to elicit responses in a hospitality setting. Structural equation modelling and hierarchical regression analysis were used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings Results show that both positive and negative emotions mediate the relationship between perceived injustice and customer satisfaction. The emotion regulation of customers through suppression and reappraisal influences the effects of satisfaction on both negative word-of-mouth and repurchase intentions. Practical implications This study advances service managers’ understanding of customer experience during service failure by demonstrating how emotion regulation influences customer response behaviours. With a better understanding of customers’ emotion regulation strategies, managers and frontline employees can more effectively develop and execute recovery strategies which adapt to customer emotions while eliciting more satisfying outcomes. Originality/value This research is one of the first to examine the moderating role of customers’ emotion regulation strategies in determining their behavioural responses. Conducted in the hospitality services context, this study provides support for relationships among perceived injustice, customer emotions, emotion regulation, customer satisfaction, negative word-of-mouth and repurchase intentions.

Antecedents and consequences of pharmacy loyalty behavior

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amod S. Athavale ◽  
Benjamin F. Banahan, III ◽  
John P. Bentley ◽  
Donna S. West-Strum
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Regression Coefficient ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Technical Competence ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
General Satisfaction ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences

Purpose – This paper aims to identify antecedents and consequences of pharmacy loyalty behavior. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional study was conducted. Constructs involved were measured using an online self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic and linear regression. Findings – In all, 400 usable responses were obtained. General satisfaction (odds ratio [OR] = 1.52; p < 0.01; 95 per cent confidence interval [CI] = 1.12 to 2.06) and trust (OR = 1.81; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 1.32 to 2.50) were found to have statistically significant relationships with loyalty behavior. General satisfaction (regression coefficient = 0.20; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 0.09 to 0.31), explanation component of satisfaction with service quality (regression coefficient = 0.13; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 0.04 to 0.21), consideration and technical competence components of satisfaction with service quality (regression coefficient = 0.18; p = 0.02; 95 per cent CI = 0.03 to 0.33) and trust (regression coefficient = 0.33; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = 0.21 to 0.45) were statistically significantly related to positive word-of-mouth promotion. General satisfaction (regression coefficient = −0.29; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = −0.3 to −0.18), consideration and technical competence components of satisfaction with service quality (regression coefficient = −0.17; p = 0.02; 95 per cent CI = −0.31 to −0.03) and trust (regression coefficient = −0.21; p < 0.01; 95 per cent CI = −0.33 to −0.10) had statistically significant relationships with negative word-of-mouth promotion. Research limitations/implications – Pharmacists can utilize these results to develop better marketing strategies. These results can be used by researchers to forward this area of research. This study had some study design limitations that may affect its generalizability. Originality/value – Effect of satisfaction as a multidimensional construct on pharmacy loyalty behavior and word-of-mouth promotion, identification of drivers of negative word-of-mouth promotion and effect of pharmacy trust on pharmacy loyalty behavior and word-of-mouth promotion are some of the major contributions of this study.

scholarly journals The offline spill-over of signing online petitions against companies

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 969-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Antonetti ◽  
Danae Manika
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Behavior ◽  
Irresponsible Behavior ◽  
The People ◽  
Dual Pathway

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions caused by online petition campaigns against cases of perceived corporate malpractice, while also contributing to the ongoing debate over the spill-over effects of online activism to offline contexts. A dual pathway model is advanced based on the individual’s motivation to help the people affected by irresponsible corporate behavior and punish the deviant corporation. Design/methodology/approach Two studies (USA and UK) are used to gather cross-sectional and longitudinal data, which are analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings Online petition campaigns relying on the display of victims affected by irresponsible behavior trigger feelings of compassion and anger. While the former leads to campaign support motivated by a desire to help, the latter causes intentions to punish. Intentions to support the petition resulting from this dual pathway influence the actual signing of the petition online and self-reported offline negative word of mouth against the company. Social implications Both identified pathways should be activated by online petition campaigns to increase online support and spreading offline negative word of mouth. To do so, such campaigns need to increase perceptions of unfairness and victim’s similarity, and likeability. Originality/value Scant research has examined the psychological processes that explain the effectiveness of online petition campaigns against businesses and the motivations to sign an online petition and engage in subsequent offline behavior. Implications for businesses are also discussed.

The direct and interactive effects of retail community engagement

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald J. Lund ◽  
John D. Hansen ◽  
Robert A. Robicheaux ◽  
Clara Cid Oreja
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Customer Relationships ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Results

Purpose This paper aims to examine the direct and interactive effects of community engagement and economic value on customers’ trust in, and commitment to, the retailer. This paper also examines the extent to which these variables, in turn, drive desirable behavioral outcomes in the form of positive word of mouth communications and share of customer. Design/methodology/approach Study results are derived from a cross-sectional survey of 1,757 respondents. Findings The authors find that retailer community engagement positively impacts word of mouth and share of customer indirectly through commitment and trust. As hypothesized, the results support a suppressing interaction between community engagement and economic value on trust. Contrary to the hypothesis, the interactive effects on commitment are positive. Research limitations/implications The study uses cross-sectional, single-sourced data. Incorporating secondary data or using experiments would reinforce these findings. This research is limited to local community engagement, future studies could broaden the focus to strategies that benefit communities outside the local area. Practical implications Study results indicate that managers can indeed build stronger customer relationships through community engagement as customers are more apt to be trusting of and committed to retailers perceived to be more actively engaged in the community. These findings are particularly important considering that community engagement is typically less expensive than other marketing strategies. Community investments are inexpensive initiatives that retailers can leverage to generate a big impact in the hearts and minds of their customers. Originality/value While it seems logical to assume that community engagement will benefit retailers in the form of stronger customer relationships, the authors empirically validate this assumption. The finding that community engagement simultaneously serves as both an antecedent and moderator is novel, albeit counterintuitive in the sense that the variable negatively moderates the economic value-trust relationship while positively moderating the economic value-commitment relationship. Taken in their totality, these findings indicate that community engagement serves to simultaneously drive stronger customer relationships while also differentially affecting the way customers arrive at their assessments.

Supervisor incivility and how it affects subordinates’ performance: a matter of trust

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 709-726 ◽  
Author(s):  
I.M. Jawahar ◽  
Bert Schreurs
Keyword(s):  
Work Engagement ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Citizenship Performance ◽  
The Impact

Purpose To enhance the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the effects of incivility on outcomes, the purpose of this paper is to propose and test work engagement as a mediator of the impact of supervisor-initiated incivility on subordinates’ task and citizenship performance. Further, the authors propose that this mediated relationship would be conditional on the influence of trust in supervisor, such that the relationship would be exacerbated for subordinates who have high levels of trust in the supervisor. Design/methodology/approach Data came from a cross-sectional survey of 350 professionals employed in diverse occupations and organization types. Findings The authors found support for the mediating role of work engagement for citizenship performance, but not for task performance. As predicted, this explanation only held for employees who reported at least average levels of trust in their supervisors, supporting the “mediation is moderated” explanation. Originality/value Understanding how and for whom supervisor incivility affects task and citizenship performance is vital to advancing theory as well as for designing interventions to mitigate the negative effects. This manuscript is one of very few to pursue this line of research and makes important contributions to theory and practice.

Service blueprint 4.0: a service design for hotels beyond COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Pandey ◽  
Ruchika Kulshrestha
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Customer Service ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Hotel Service ◽  
Service Blueprint

PurposeThis study examines changes in customer service encounter patterns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during stays at hotels. The study re-visits the hotel services delivery process and examines how the hotel service blueprint has been re-framed.Design/methodology/approachThe study implemented an exploratory and qualitative research design to identify changes in customer service encounters and the hotel service delivery process. The research applied a cross-sectional survey-based design, which involved open-ended and closed interview questions with hoteliers in the Delhi/NCR region.FindingsThe study identified an increase in contactless service during the service delivery process and in customer service encounters while staying at hotels. In so doing, the various service touchpoints in hotels need to transition from personalized service to contactless service encounters such as at check-in and payment, contactless room key access with available and accessible hand sanitizers, masks, room purifiers, automated room cleaning machines and the deployment of other smart artificial intelligence-based technologies.Practical implicationsThis paper profiles a revised service blueprint model for hotels, which could assist hotel service managers to address potential sources of customer dissatisfaction and service failure during the COVID-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThe paper explores ongoing changes in the hotel service delivery process during the COVID-19 situation and reveals ways in which the service blueprint has been re-framed.

EXPRESS: Religious Belief, Religious Priming, and Negative Word-of-Mouth in Everyday Service Failure Encounters

2021 ◽  
pp. 002224372110111
Author(s):  
Riza Casidy ◽  
Adam Duhachek ◽  
Vishal Singh ◽  
Ali Tamaddoni
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
Religious Belief ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Online Reviews ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Fairness Norms ◽  
Strategic Variable

This research examines the effects of religious belief and religious priming on negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) behavior. Drawing on social exchange and norm paradigms, we theorize and find evidence of the unique effects of religious belief and religious priming on NWOM in everyday service failure encounters. Specifically, we find that religious belief is associated with higher NWOM, driven by a greater sensitivity to violations of fairness norms, which in turn reduces forgiveness. However, exposure to religious priming attenuates NWOM among more religious consumers by reducing sensitivity to violations of fairness norms, which in turn enhances forgiveness. A field study involving over 1.2 million online reviews of actual restaurant experiences, in addition to four lab studies, provides support for our theorized effects. Our study sheds light on the religion–forgiveness discrepancy by establishing the mediating role of sensitivity to fairness violations on the relationship between religion and forgiveness in the NWOM context. Further, our results demonstrate the importance of religion as a strategic variable in the management of service failure experiences, providing theoretical implications for the literature on the effects of religion on consumer behavior.

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