An Investigation of the Effect of Lifestyle, Sex Roles, and Demographics on the Complaining Behavior of New Zealand Women

Abstract

Recent conceptualizations suggest that complaining behaviors represent one possible outcome of consumer decision-making as individuals attempt to manage their marketplace interactions. Yet it is surprising to note the weak relationships in the literature between variables reflecting various aspects of personality and consumer complaints--particularly in comparison to demographic variables. This paper examines the impact of two types of decision-making--problem-solving "style" and norm-referral. The first is predicated on the assumption that:
" ... people are similar in many respects. The reasons for this may very well be that there are common problems that people face as they mature and, since groups of people within a culture or subculture face similar socializing agents, they may learn similar ways of adapting" (Merrill, 1985:7).
The second is based on the assumption that many decisions that consumers make during marketplace interactions are influenced to a large extent by reference to internalized sex role norms (Venkatesh, 1980; 1985). The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between these variables, as well as demographic variables (IQ, store type, and so forth), and various consumer complaint behaviors. In addition, comparisons between the total sample and a subset of respondents who acted on their product dissatisfaction ("do somethings") will be made. To this end, a sample of 197 New Zealand women were surveyed regarding their consumer grocery product experiences.