An Examination of Student Loans, Partisanship and Complaining Behavior: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Keywords:
complaints, partisanship, student loans, CFPBAbstract
This research examines consumer complaints within a government-to-consumer context. The study is focused on two highly discussed topics, student loans and partisanship. While student loans are widely promoted to college students, outstanding U.S. student loan debt trails only consumer debt. Similarly, a stark contrast exists between the views of the two major political parties within the U.S. Our examination provides a nuanced view of partisanship and its effect on complaining behaviors within the student loan realm. Specifically, our study investigates whether partisanship affects the level of student loan complaints submitted to a federal agency initiated during partisan division. Our contributions include the use of a diverse, integrated database that enables insights into complaining behaviors within an understudied area, the government-to-consumer context.
References
Ananthalakshmi, A. (2012). U.S. for-profit colleges spend big on marketing while slashing other costs. Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/28/net-us-forprofitcolleges-analysis-idUSBRE8AR0FJ20121128. Accessed 16 October 2018).
Andrews, J. C., Burton, S., Gundlach, G. T., Hill, R. P., Kees, J., Netemeyer, R. G., & Walker, K. L. (2022). What exactly is marketing and public policy? Insights for JPPM researchers. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 41(1), 10-33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/07439156211042018
Avery, C., & Turner, S. (2012). Student loans: do college students borrow too much – or not enough? The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 26(1), 165-192. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.26.1.165
Blaseg, D., Schulze, C., & Skiera, B. (2020). Consumer protection on Kickstarter. Marketing Science, 39(1), 211-233. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2019.1203
Blodgett, J. G., & Granbois, D. H. (1992). Toward an integrated conceptual model of consumer complaining behavior. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 5, 93-103. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/635
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (2014). Disclosure of consumer complaint narrative data. Docket No. CFPB-2014-0016.
Calleros, O. L., Rivera, H., Serrato, H., Delgado, M. A., León, C., Acevedo, A., ... & Ramírez, I. M. (2012). Development of the Mexican user satisfaction index (IMSU) to evaluate social government programs in Mexico: the case of the daycare social program. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 25, 118-129. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/120
Cohen, G. L. (2003). Party over policy: The dominating impact of group influence on political beliefs. Journal of personality and social psychology, 85(5), 808. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.5.808
College Board (2019). Trends in Student Aid 2019. https://research.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/trends-student-aid-2019-full-report.pdf
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (2017). CFPB Monthly Snapshot Spotlights Student Loan Complaints. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-monthly-snapshot-spotlights-student-loan-complaints/. Accessed 25 June 2019
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (2014a) CFPB sues for-profit college chain ITT for predatory lending. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. https:// www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-sues-for-profit-college-chain-itt-for-predatory-lending/ Accessed 11 November 2018).
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) (2014b). CFPB sues for-profit Corinthian Colleges for predatory lending scheme. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-sues-for-profit-corinthian-colleges-for-predatory-lending-scheme/ . Accessed 21 November 2018.
Day, R. L., & Landon, Jr., E. L. (1977) Towards a theory of consumer complaining behavior. In: Woodside, A., Sheth, J., & Bennett, P. (eds) Consumer and Industrial Buying Behavior, Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Company.
Dickson, H. C. (2021). The Excessive Growth of Student Loans. Higher Education’s Looming Collapse: Using New Ways of Doing Business and Social Justice to Avoid Bankruptcy, 81
Erevelles, S., & Leavitt, C. (1992). A comparison of current models of consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 5, 104-114. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/636
Fails, S. L., & Francis, S. K. (1996). Effect of demographic variables on self-concept of positive and negative word-of-mouth. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 9, 200-206. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/534
Federal Student Aid (2015) To qualify for federal student aid, you have to meet certain requirements. Federal Student Aid. https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/eligibility/basic-criteria Accessed 2 June 2015.
Friedman, Z. (2019) Student loan debt statistics in 2019: a $1.5 trillion crisis. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/02/25/student-loan-debt-statistics-2019/#62db088133fb Accessed 25 June 2019.
Gentzkow, M., & Shapiro, J. M. (2010). What drives media slant? Evidence from U.S. daily newspapers. Econometrica, 78(1), 35-71.
Gordon, B. R., Lovett, M. J., Shachar, R., Arceneaux, K., Moorthy, S., Peress, M., Rao, A., Sen, S., Soberman, D., & Urminsky, O. (2012). Marketing and politics: models, behavior, and policy implications. Marketing Letters, 23(2), 391-403. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-012-9185-2
Groeling, T. (2013). Media bias by the numbers: challenges and opportunities in the empirical study of partisan news. Annual Review of Political Science, 16, 129-151. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-040811-115123
Guo, W. C., & Lai, F. C. (2015). Media bias, slant regulation, and the public-interest media. Journal of Economics, 114(3), 291-308. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00712-014-0396-2
Hogarth, J., & English, M. (1997). Consumer satisfaction with the complaint resolution efforts of a US federal agency. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 10, 51-60. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/149
Hogarth, J. M., English, M., & Sharma, M. (2001). Consumer complaints and third parties: Determinants of consumer satisfaction with complaint resolution efforts. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 14, 74-87. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/510
Hogarth, J., Hilgert, M., Kolodinsky, J., & Lee, J. (2001). Problems with credit cards: An exploration of consumer complaining behaviors. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 14, 88-107. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/107
Hogarth, J., & Hilgert, M. (2004). Numbers versus words: A comparison of quantitative and qualitative data on satisfaction with complaint resolution efforts. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 17. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/65
Houston, Mark B. (2004). Assessing the validity of secondary data proxies for marketing constructs. Journal of Business Research, 57(2), 154-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(01)00299-5
Huddy, L., Mason, L., & Aarøe, L. (2015). Expressive partisanship: Campaign involvement, political emotion, and partisan identity. American Political Science Review, 109(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055414000604
Iyengar, S., & Westwood, S. J. (2015). Fear and loathing across party lines: New evidence on group polarization. American Journal of Political Science, 59(3), 690-707. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12152
Iyengar, S., Sood, G., & Lelkes, Y. (2012). Affect, not ideology: a social identity perspective on polarization. Public Opinion Quarterly, 76(3), 405-431. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfs038
Johnston, R. (1998). The effect of intensity of dissatisfaction on complaining behaviour. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 11, 69-77. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/195
Koff, S. (2015). With taxpayer money, for-profit colleges spend massively on marketing. Sherrod Brown wants to ban the practice. Cleveland. http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2015/06/with_taxpayer_money_for-profit_colleges_spend_massively_on_marketing_sherrod_brown_wants_to_ban_the_practice.html. Accessed 27 October 16, 2018.
Larsen, V., & Wright, N.D. (2020). Aggregate consumer satisfaction: The telos of marketing. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 33, 63-77. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/issue/view/32
Larsen, V., Wright, N.D., & Busbin, J. (1996). Segmenting consumer markets in the US and foreign countries by the use of politics and ideology. Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb046328
Liu, X., Montgomery, A., & Srinivasan, K. (2018). Analyzing bank overdraft fees with big data. Marketing Science, 37(6), 855-882. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2018.1106
Mason, L. (2013). The rise of uncivil agreement: Issue versus behavioral polarization in the American electorate. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(1), 140-159. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764212463363
McAlister, D. T., & Erffmeyer, R. C. (2003). A content analysis of outcomes and responsibilities for consumer complaints to third-party organizations. Journal of Business Research, 56(4), 341-351. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148-2963(02)00445-9
Mentzer, J. T., Bienstock, C. C., & Kahn, K. B. (1993). Customer satisfaction/service quality research: the defense logistics agency. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 6, 43-49. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/606
Miller, P. R., & Conover, P. J. (2015). Red and blue states of mind: Partisan hostility and voting in the United States. Political Research Quarterly, 68(2), 225-239. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912915577208
McConnell, C., Margalit, Y., Malhotra, N., & Levendusky, M. (2018). The economic consequences of partisanship in a polarized era. American Journal of Political Science, 62(1), 5-18. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12330
Montgomery, A. L. (1997). Creating micro-marketing pricing strategies using supermarket scanner data. Marketing Science, 16(4), 315-337. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.16.4.315
Nyer, P. (1999). Cathartic complaining as a means of reducing consumer dissatisfaction. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 12, 15-25. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/165
Palmatier, R. W., Dant, R. P., Grewal, D., & Evans, K. R. (2006). Factors influencing the effectiveness of relationship marketing: A meta-analysis. Journal of Marketing, 70(4), 136-153. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.70.4.136
Raval, D. (2020). Whose voice do we hear in the marketplace? Evidence from consumer complaining behavior. Marketing Science, 39(1), 168-187. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2018.1140
Rindfleisch, Aric, and Jan B. Heide (1997). Transaction cost analysis: Past, present, and future applications. Journal of Marketing, 61(4), 30-54. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299706100403
Russell-Bennett, R., Hartel, C., & Drennan, J. (2010). Consumer satisfaction and redress with a government third-party complaints agency. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 23, 65-82. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/23
Rutjens, B. T., Sutton, R. M., & van der Lee, R. (2018). Not all skepticism is equal: Exploring the ideological antecedents of science acceptance and rejection. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(3), 384-405. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217741314
Silver, L. and van Kessel P. (November 22, 2021). Both Republicans and Democrats prioritize family, but they differ over other sources of meaning in life. Pew Research Report. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/22/both-republicans-and-democrats-prioritize-family-but-they-differ-over-other-sources-of-meaning-in-life/
Simkovic, M. (2013). Risk-based student loans. Washington & Lee Law Review, 70, 527-565. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2110497
Singh, J. (1988). Consumer complaint intentions and behavior: definitional and taxonomical issues. Journal of Marketing, 52(1), 93-107. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224298805200108
Steenkamp, J. B. E. (2018). The future of the marketing department at business schools. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 46(2), 169-172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-017-0562-5
Swimberghe, K., Flurry, L. A., & Parker, J. M. (2011). Consumer religiosity: consequences for consumer activism in the United States. Journal of Business Ethics, 103(3), 453-467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-011-0873-2
Tajfel, Henri. 1981. Human Groups and Social Categories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (2004). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In Political psychology (pp. 276-293). Psychology Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203505984-16
Turner, J. C. (2010). Social categorization and the self-concept: A social cognitive theory of group behavior. In T. Postmes & N. R. Branscombe (Eds.), Rediscovering social identity (pp. 243–272). Psychology Press
Van Heerde, H. J., Mela, C. F., & Manchanda, P. (2004). The dynamic effect of innovation on market structure. Journal of Marketing Research, 41(2), 166-183. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.41.2.166.28669
Velez, E., Cominole, M., & Bentz, A. (2019). Debt burden after college: the effect of student loan debt on graduates’ employment, additional schooling, family formation, and home ownership. Education Economics, 27(2), 186-206. https://doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2018.1541167
Venkatesh, V., Morris, M. G., Davis, G. B., & Davis, F. D. (2003). User acceptance of information technology: toward a unified view. MIS Quarterly, 27(3), 425-478. https://doi.org/10.2307/30036540
Williams, M. D., Rana, N. P., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2015). The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT): a literature review. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 28(3), 443-488. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-09-2014-0088
Winer, Russell S. (1999). Experimentation in the 21st century: The importance of external validity. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 27(3), 349-358. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070399273005
Wright, N. D., & Larsen, V. (1993). Materialism and life satisfaction: A meta-analysis. The Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 6, 158-165. https://jcsdcb.com/index.php/JCSDCB/article/view/618
Xiang, Y., & Sarvary, M. (2007). News consumption and media bias. Marketing Science, 26(5), 611-628. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1070.0279
Zhang, Y., Wilcox, R. T., & Cheema, A. (2020). The effect of student loan debt on spending: The role of repayment format. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 39(3), 305-318. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915619847465
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Each volume is copyrighted by Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior. We encourage authors to submit published articles to research aggregators such as researchgate.net or academia.edu. You may use the PDF files from the published journal for submission to these aggregators.