The era of consumer entitlement: investigating entitlement after a perceived brand failure
ISSN: 0736-3761
Article publication date: 22 September 2021
Issue publication date: 11 November 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the antecedents of consumer entitlement among loyal consumers in response to a perceived brand failure, as well as the effect of consumer entitlement on satisfaction and behavioral intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire asked 226 Game of Thrones viewers about their reactions to the final season of the series. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was the analysis method for testing the hypotheses.
Findings
Investment, perceived justice and collective fairness are all predictors of entitlement. Fan identification increases feelings of investment. Entitlement has a negative relationship with satisfaction, and satisfaction is positively related to relational behaviors.
Practical implications
Loyal, highly entitled consumers can make life difficult for a brand in customer service encounters, on social media and financially. The manuscript offers managers an understanding of which consumers and situations may elicit entitlement and how to mitigate entitlement.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to attempt to model antecedents of consumer entitlement and to study entitlement among highly loyal consumers in response to a perceived brand failure. The study furthers existing research by pointing out the effect of entitlement on the relationship with the brand and consequences for the brand, as opposed to past studies, which have largely explored the effects of working with entitled consumers on front-line employees.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Gordon Ford College of Business at Western Kentucky University for a summer grant supporting this research.
Citation
Melancon, J.P., Gardner, M.J. and Dalakas, V. (2021), "The era of consumer entitlement: investigating entitlement after a perceived brand failure", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 38 No. 7, pp. 780-790. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-09-2020-4138
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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