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DIGITAL DYSFUNCTION: CONSUMER GRUDGEHOLDING AND RETALIATION IN THE DIGITAL ERA
Abstract
Consumers respond to suboptimal outcomes in a variety of ways, including dysfunctional approaches that may range from passive grudgeholding to aggressive retaliation directed against an offending firm. This paper examines the causes and outcomes of dysfunctional consumer responses through a review of relevant literature , with a focus on the changes that have occurred in what is known as the modern digital era. The impact of the digital era on consumers and on marketers is considered in the context of a shift in power from the marketer to the consumer. Implications and recommendations for future research are included.
References
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Aron, David and Albert Muniz (2002). “Antecedents and desired outcomes of consumer created brand hate sites.” Presented at the American Psychological Association Summer Annual Conference, August, 2002.
Aron, David (2001). “Consumer grudgeholding: Toward a conceptual model and research agenda.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, 14, 108-119.
Aron David, Kimberly Judson, Timothy Aurand and Geoffrey Gordon (2006). “Consumer grudgeholding: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Marketing Management Journal, 16 (1), 158-73.
Babin, Barry J. and Laura A. Babin (1996). “Effects of moral cognitions and consumer emotions on shoplifting intention.” Psychology and Marketing, 13 (8), 785-802.
Bechwati Nada Nasr and Maureen Morrin (2003). “Outraged consumers: Getting even at the expense of getting a good deal.” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 13 (4), 440-53.
Bennett Roger (1997). “Anger, catharsis and purchasing behavior following aggressive customer complaints.” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14 (2), 156-72.
Biddle, Bruce J. (1979). Role Theory: Expectations, Identities and Behaviors, Academic Press Inc., New York, NY.
Bougie Roger, Rik Pieters and Marcel Zeelenberg (2003). “Angry customers don’t come back, they get back: The experience and behavioral implications of anger and dissatisfaction in services.” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31 (4), 377-93.
Broderick, Anne J. (1998). “Role theory, role management and service performance.” Journal of Services Marketing, 12 (5), 348-361
Clee, Mona A. and Robert A. Wicklund (1980). “Consumer Behavior and Psychological Reactance.” Journal of Consumer Research, 6 (4), 389-405.
Dahl, Andrew and Jimmy Peltier (2015). “A historical review and future research agenda for the field of consumer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and complaining behavior.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior 28, 5-25.
Edelman, David C. and Marc Singer (2015). "Competing on Customer Journeys." Harvard Business Review, November, 88–94, 96, 98, 100.
Einwiller, Sabine A. and Sarah Steilen (2015). “Handling complaints on social network sites: An analysis of complaints and complaint responses on Facebook and Twitter pages of large US companies.” Public Relations Review 41 (2). 195–204.
Flacy, Mike (2012, January 27). “Amazon merchant caught bribing customers for five-star reviews.” Retrieved December 1, 2016 from http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/amazon-merchant-caught-bribing-customers-for-five-star-reviews/
Friman, Margareta and Bo Edvardsson (2003). “A content analysis of complaints and compliments.” Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 13 (1), 20-26.
Fullerton, Robert A. and Girish N. Punj (1993). “Choosing to misbehave: A structural model of aberrant consumer behavior. Advances in Consumer Research, 20, 570–574.
Fullerton, Robert A. and Girish N. Punj (1997). “What is consumer misbehavior?” Advances in Consumer Research, 24, 336-339.
Gabriel, Yiannis and Tim Lang (1997). The unmanageable consumer: Contemporary consumption and its fragmentations, Sage: London.
Gettman, H.J. and M.J. Gelfand (2007). “When the customer shouldn’t be king: Antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment by clients and customers.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 93 (3), 757-770.
Goffman, Erving (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, New York, NY.
Goffman, Erving (1967). Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face to Face Encounters. Aldine, Chicago, IL.
Goodman John and Diane Ward (1993). “The importance of customer satisfaction.” Direct Marketing, 56 (8), 23-4.
Gregoire Yani and Robert J. Fisher (2005) The effects of prior relationships on consumer retaliation. Advances in Consumer Research, (32), 98-99.
Harris, Lloyd C. and Kate L Daunt (2013). “Managing customer misbehavior: Challenges and strategies.” Journal of Services Marketing, 27 (4), 281-293.
Harris, Lloyd C. ,Raymond Fisk, and Hana Sysalova (2016). “Exposing Pinocchio customers: Investigating exaggerated service stories.” Journal of Service Management, 27 (2), 63-90.
Harris, Lloyd C. and Kate L. Reynolds (2003). “The consequences of dysfunctional customer behavior.” Journal of Service Research, 6 (2), 144-161.
Harris, Lloyd C. and Kate L. Reynolds (2004). “Jaycustomer behavior: An exploration into the types and motives in the hospitality industry.” Journal of Services Marketing, 18 (5), 339-357.
Hirschman, Albert O. (1970) Exit, Voice and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations and States. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
http://www.davecarrollmusic.com
Huefner, Jonathan C. and Hunt, H. Keith (2000). “Consumer retaliation as a response to dissatisfaction.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 13, 61-82.
Hunt, H. Keith, H. David Hunt, Tacy C. and Hunt (1988). “Consumer grudge holding.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, 1, 116-118.
Kähr, Andrea, Bettina Nyffenegger, Harley Krohmer, and Wayne D.
Hoyer (2016) “When hostile consumers wreak havoc on your brand: The phenomenon of consumer brand sabotage.” Journal of Marketing, 80 (3), 25-41.
Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein (2010). “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media.” Business Horizons 53 (1), 59–68.
Kim J. (1996). “Got a big consumer complaint? Don’t get mad; get results.” Money, 25 (11), 195-6.
Koprowski, Wayne and David Aron (2013). “Planning for the apes: Coping with guerrilla consumer behavior when the courts won’t help.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 26.
Lau, Lawrence J. (2003). "Economic growth in the digital era," Symposium on Welcoming the Challenge of the Digital Era. Kwoh-Ting Li Forum, Taipei, November 2003.
Lee, Young Lyoul and Seokwoo Song. 2010. “An empirical investigation of electronic word-of-mouth: Informational motive and corporate response strategy.” Computers in Human Behavior 26 (5), 1073–1080.
Lessne, Greg and M. Venkatesan (1989). “Reactance theory in consumer research: The past, present, and future.” In NA-Advances in Consumer Research (16). Ed. Thomas K. Srull. Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, 76-78)
Lovelock, Christopher (2001), Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy, 4th ed., Prentice-Hall, Sydney.
Mcgregor, Jena (2008). “Consumer vigilantes.” Retrieved September 21, 2016, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-02-20/consumer-vigilantes
Moschis, George P. and Dena Cox (1989). “Deviant consumer behavior.” Advances in Consumer Research, 16, 732- 737.
Nelms, D.W. (1998). “Passenger violence.” Air Transport World, 35 (3), 34-43.
Otto Sean D., Brian L. Parry, Collin R. Payne, Jonathan C. Huefner and H. Keith Hunt (2004). “When consumers get upset: modeling the cost of store avoidance.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 17, 42-53.
Phau I. and R. P. Sari, (2004) “Engaging in complaint behavior: an Indonesian perspective.” Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 22 (4), 407-426.
Reynolds, Kate L. and Lloyd C. Harris (2006). “Deviant customer behavior: An exploration of frontline employee tactics.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 14 (2), 95-111.
Richins, Marsha L. (1983). “An Analysis of Consumer Interaction Styles in the Marketplace.” Journal of Consumer Research, 10, 73-82.
Rose, Randall L. and Mandy Neidermeyer (1999). “From rudeness to roadrage: the antecedents and consequences of consumer aggression.” Advances in Consumer Research, 26, 12-17.
Sargeant, Adrian and Douglas C. West (2001). Direct and Interactive Marketing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sheth, Jagdish N. (1967). “A Review of Buyer Behavior.” Management Science, 13, 8718-8756
Singh Jagdip and Robert E. Wilkes (1996). “When consumers complain: A path analysis of the key antecedents of consumer complaint response estimates.” Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 24, (4), 350-365.
Tax Stephen, Stephen W. Brown and Murali Chandrashekaran (1998). “Customer evaluations of service complaint experiences: Implications for relationship marketing.” Journal of Marketing, 62 (2), 60-76.
Thota, Sweta C. and Newell D. Wright (2006), “Do consumers hold grudges and practice avoidance forever? A Markov Chain model of the decay of grudgeholding and avoidance attitudes,” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, 19, 87-102.
Tonglet, Michele (2001). “Consumer misbehavior: An exploratory study of shoplifting.” Journal of Consumer Behavior, 1 (4), 336-354.
Traut-Mattausch, Eva, Sara Wagner, Olga Pollatos, and Eva Jonas (2015). “Complaints as starting point for vicious cycles in customer–employee-interactions.” Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1454. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.0145
van Noort, Guda, and Lotte M. Willemsen (2012). “Online damage control: The effects of proactive versus reactive webcare interventions in consumer-generated and brand-generated platforms.” Journal of Interactive Marketing 26 (3), 131– 140.
What is Showrooming? - Definition from Techopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2016, from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/28277/showrooming
Aron, David and Albert Muniz (2002). “Antecedents and desired outcomes of consumer created brand hate sites.” Presented at the American Psychological Association Summer Annual Conference, August, 2002.
Aron, David (2001). “Consumer grudgeholding: Toward a conceptual model and research agenda.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, 14, 108-119.
Aron David, Kimberly Judson, Timothy Aurand and Geoffrey Gordon (2006). “Consumer grudgeholding: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Marketing Management Journal, 16 (1), 158-73.
Babin, Barry J. and Laura A. Babin (1996). “Effects of moral cognitions and consumer emotions on shoplifting intention.” Psychology and Marketing, 13 (8), 785-802.
Bechwati Nada Nasr and Maureen Morrin (2003). “Outraged consumers: Getting even at the expense of getting a good deal.” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 13 (4), 440-53.
Bennett Roger (1997). “Anger, catharsis and purchasing behavior following aggressive customer complaints.” Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14 (2), 156-72.
Biddle, Bruce J. (1979). Role Theory: Expectations, Identities and Behaviors, Academic Press Inc., New York, NY.
Bougie Roger, Rik Pieters and Marcel Zeelenberg (2003). “Angry customers don’t come back, they get back: The experience and behavioral implications of anger and dissatisfaction in services.” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 31 (4), 377-93.
Broderick, Anne J. (1998). “Role theory, role management and service performance.” Journal of Services Marketing, 12 (5), 348-361
Clee, Mona A. and Robert A. Wicklund (1980). “Consumer Behavior and Psychological Reactance.” Journal of Consumer Research, 6 (4), 389-405.
Dahl, Andrew and Jimmy Peltier (2015). “A historical review and future research agenda for the field of consumer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and complaining behavior.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior 28, 5-25.
Edelman, David C. and Marc Singer (2015). "Competing on Customer Journeys." Harvard Business Review, November, 88–94, 96, 98, 100.
Einwiller, Sabine A. and Sarah Steilen (2015). “Handling complaints on social network sites: An analysis of complaints and complaint responses on Facebook and Twitter pages of large US companies.” Public Relations Review 41 (2). 195–204.
Flacy, Mike (2012, January 27). “Amazon merchant caught bribing customers for five-star reviews.” Retrieved December 1, 2016 from http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/amazon-merchant-caught-bribing-customers-for-five-star-reviews/
Friman, Margareta and Bo Edvardsson (2003). “A content analysis of complaints and compliments.” Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 13 (1), 20-26.
Fullerton, Robert A. and Girish N. Punj (1993). “Choosing to misbehave: A structural model of aberrant consumer behavior. Advances in Consumer Research, 20, 570–574.
Fullerton, Robert A. and Girish N. Punj (1997). “What is consumer misbehavior?” Advances in Consumer Research, 24, 336-339.
Gabriel, Yiannis and Tim Lang (1997). The unmanageable consumer: Contemporary consumption and its fragmentations, Sage: London.
Gettman, H.J. and M.J. Gelfand (2007). “When the customer shouldn’t be king: Antecedents and consequences of sexual harassment by clients and customers.” Journal of Applied Psychology, 93 (3), 757-770.
Goffman, Erving (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Garden City, New York, NY.
Goffman, Erving (1967). Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face to Face Encounters. Aldine, Chicago, IL.
Goodman John and Diane Ward (1993). “The importance of customer satisfaction.” Direct Marketing, 56 (8), 23-4.
Gregoire Yani and Robert J. Fisher (2005) The effects of prior relationships on consumer retaliation. Advances in Consumer Research, (32), 98-99.
Harris, Lloyd C. and Kate L Daunt (2013). “Managing customer misbehavior: Challenges and strategies.” Journal of Services Marketing, 27 (4), 281-293.
Harris, Lloyd C. ,Raymond Fisk, and Hana Sysalova (2016). “Exposing Pinocchio customers: Investigating exaggerated service stories.” Journal of Service Management, 27 (2), 63-90.
Harris, Lloyd C. and Kate L. Reynolds (2003). “The consequences of dysfunctional customer behavior.” Journal of Service Research, 6 (2), 144-161.
Harris, Lloyd C. and Kate L. Reynolds (2004). “Jaycustomer behavior: An exploration into the types and motives in the hospitality industry.” Journal of Services Marketing, 18 (5), 339-357.
Hirschman, Albert O. (1970) Exit, Voice and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations and States. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
http://www.davecarrollmusic.com
Huefner, Jonathan C. and Hunt, H. Keith (2000). “Consumer retaliation as a response to dissatisfaction.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 13, 61-82.
Hunt, H. Keith, H. David Hunt, Tacy C. and Hunt (1988). “Consumer grudge holding.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, 1, 116-118.
Kähr, Andrea, Bettina Nyffenegger, Harley Krohmer, and Wayne D.
Hoyer (2016) “When hostile consumers wreak havoc on your brand: The phenomenon of consumer brand sabotage.” Journal of Marketing, 80 (3), 25-41.
Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein (2010). “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media.” Business Horizons 53 (1), 59–68.
Kim J. (1996). “Got a big consumer complaint? Don’t get mad; get results.” Money, 25 (11), 195-6.
Koprowski, Wayne and David Aron (2013). “Planning for the apes: Coping with guerrilla consumer behavior when the courts won’t help.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 26.
Lau, Lawrence J. (2003). "Economic growth in the digital era," Symposium on Welcoming the Challenge of the Digital Era. Kwoh-Ting Li Forum, Taipei, November 2003.
Lee, Young Lyoul and Seokwoo Song. 2010. “An empirical investigation of electronic word-of-mouth: Informational motive and corporate response strategy.” Computers in Human Behavior 26 (5), 1073–1080.
Lessne, Greg and M. Venkatesan (1989). “Reactance theory in consumer research: The past, present, and future.” In NA-Advances in Consumer Research (16). Ed. Thomas K. Srull. Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research, 76-78)
Lovelock, Christopher (2001), Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy, 4th ed., Prentice-Hall, Sydney.
Mcgregor, Jena (2008). “Consumer vigilantes.” Retrieved September 21, 2016, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2008-02-20/consumer-vigilantes
Moschis, George P. and Dena Cox (1989). “Deviant consumer behavior.” Advances in Consumer Research, 16, 732- 737.
Nelms, D.W. (1998). “Passenger violence.” Air Transport World, 35 (3), 34-43.
Otto Sean D., Brian L. Parry, Collin R. Payne, Jonathan C. Huefner and H. Keith Hunt (2004). “When consumers get upset: modeling the cost of store avoidance.” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, 17, 42-53.
Phau I. and R. P. Sari, (2004) “Engaging in complaint behavior: an Indonesian perspective.” Marketing Intelligence and Planning, 22 (4), 407-426.
Reynolds, Kate L. and Lloyd C. Harris (2006). “Deviant customer behavior: An exploration of frontline employee tactics.” Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 14 (2), 95-111.
Richins, Marsha L. (1983). “An Analysis of Consumer Interaction Styles in the Marketplace.” Journal of Consumer Research, 10, 73-82.
Rose, Randall L. and Mandy Neidermeyer (1999). “From rudeness to roadrage: the antecedents and consequences of consumer aggression.” Advances in Consumer Research, 26, 12-17.
Sargeant, Adrian and Douglas C. West (2001). Direct and Interactive Marketing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sheth, Jagdish N. (1967). “A Review of Buyer Behavior.” Management Science, 13, 8718-8756
Singh Jagdip and Robert E. Wilkes (1996). “When consumers complain: A path analysis of the key antecedents of consumer complaint response estimates.” Academy of Marketing Science Journal, 24, (4), 350-365.
Tax Stephen, Stephen W. Brown and Murali Chandrashekaran (1998). “Customer evaluations of service complaint experiences: Implications for relationship marketing.” Journal of Marketing, 62 (2), 60-76.
Thota, Sweta C. and Newell D. Wright (2006), “Do consumers hold grudges and practice avoidance forever? A Markov Chain model of the decay of grudgeholding and avoidance attitudes,” Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior, 19, 87-102.
Tonglet, Michele (2001). “Consumer misbehavior: An exploratory study of shoplifting.” Journal of Consumer Behavior, 1 (4), 336-354.
Traut-Mattausch, Eva, Sara Wagner, Olga Pollatos, and Eva Jonas (2015). “Complaints as starting point for vicious cycles in customer–employee-interactions.” Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1454. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.0145
van Noort, Guda, and Lotte M. Willemsen (2012). “Online damage control: The effects of proactive versus reactive webcare interventions in consumer-generated and brand-generated platforms.” Journal of Interactive Marketing 26 (3), 131– 140.
What is Showrooming? - Definition from Techopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2016, from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/28277/showrooming
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