Sander Svari and Lars Erling Olsen
Companies often find that customers fail to complain directly to the company when they experience a negative service incident. One explanation for such behavior may be found in…
Abstract
Purpose
Companies often find that customers fail to complain directly to the company when they experience a negative service incident. One explanation for such behavior may be found in customers' emotions caused by the incident. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how emotions and customer complaint behaviors are related.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies were performed. The first was a survey of customers who experienced negative service incidents in the Norwegian travel industry. In a second study, an experiment used another service context to validate the findings.
Findings
The results indicated that negative service incidents that are wholly attributed to the company increase the likelihood of customers complaining directly to the company. However, negative service incidents for which customers attribute responsibility wholly or partly to themselves, customers will be more likely to complain anonymously through social media and blogs, and hence to be a source of negative word‐of‐mouth about the company.
Originality/value
The paper establishes that increased levels of emotions, regardless of whether these emotions are internal or external in nature, increase customers complaints via negative word‐of‐mouth via social media and blogs.
Details
Keywords
Sander Svari, Göran Svensson, Terje Slåtten and Bo Edvardsson
The purpose of this paper is to describe and test a construct of perceived justice and its DIP‐dimensions (i.e. distributive, interactional, and procedural) in the context of both…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and test a construct of perceived justice and its DIP‐dimensions (i.e. distributive, interactional, and procedural) in the context of both the consumers' initial negative service experiences' and the following processes of complaint handling. The objective is also to investigate similarities and differences of perceived justice in negative service experiences and complaint handling, and the validity of the constructs over time.
Design/methodology/approach
A triangular approach is used, based upon interviews and a survey in the Norwegian tourism industry. This paper reports on the results from a survey consisting of 3,104 customers. Comparative and confirmatory testing of perceived justice during the initial service encounter and subsequent complaint‐handling process has been performed.
Findings
The DIP‐dimensions of the construct of perceived justice in the service encounters tested have indicated a satisfactory fit, validity, and reliability.
Research limitations/implications
The empirical findings provide a seed for future research to refine and extend corporate endeavors in managing critical incidents of both service encounters and service recovery.
Practical implications
Strategies to manage the perceived justice in negative service encounters and complaint handling should aim at managing the DIP‐dimensions of negative incidents in service encounters.
Originality/value
The DIP‐construct brings together, complements and fortifies existing theory and previous research in the context of justice in service encounters and complaint handling. Addressing both pre‐ and post‐complaint processes provides a complementary contribution to the field in focus.
Details
Keywords
Sander Svari, Terje Slåtten, Göran Svensson and Bo Edvardsson
The objective of this paper is to test the validity and reliability of a SOS construct and its dimensions (i.e. self, other and situational) of negative emotions in the context of…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to test the validity and reliability of a SOS construct and its dimensions (i.e. self, other and situational) of negative emotions in the context of consumers' service experience (CSE) and the following processes of service recovery by firms (SRF).
Design/methodology/approach
A triangular approach was used, based on interviews and a survey in the Norwegian tourism industry. This paper reports the results from the survey consisting of 3,104 customers.
Findings
Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses have been used to examine and test the SOS construct of negative emotions in CSE and SRF. The SOS construct tested has indicated an acceptable fit, validity and reliability.
Research limitations/implications
The SOS construct of CSE and SRF may be seen as a seed for future research in refining and extending endeavors of managing critical incidents in CSE and SRF.
Practical implications
Strategies to manage CSE and SRF should be aimed at solving the three different SOS dimensions of negative incidents in service encounters, namely those that are caused by the customer, the company, or the situation.
Originality/value
The SOS construct brings together, complements and fortifies existing theory and previous research in the context of negative emotions in CSE and SRF.
Details
Keywords
Christine F. De Meyer, Daniel J. Petzer, Sander Svari and Göran Svensson
The purpose of this paper is to describe and test a construct of perceived justice from an airline and hospital industry perspective. Furthermore, the similarities and differences…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and test a construct of perceived justice from an airline and hospital industry perspective. Furthermore, the similarities and differences of perceived justice in negative service encounters within the airline and hospital setting, and the validity of the constructs in the two different contexts is investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reports on the results obtained from a South African survey on respondents who experienced a negative service incident in the last year in the airline and hospital industries. The two service settings being used purposely to reveal possible differences in the constructs in settings where life and health are at risk compared to a more hedonistic service. Comparative and confirmatory testing of perceived justice during service encounters in a hospital and airline setting was performed.
Findings
Three dimensions of the perceived justice construct tested in the airline and hospital service encounters presented a satisfactory fit and were found to be valid and reliable. The three dimensions are distributive, interactional and procedural justice.
Research limitations/implications
The main research limitations of this paper include that the construct has only been tested on a sample consisting of specific customer‐firm service encounters in airlines and hospitals in South Africa, which may indicate less applicability in other contexts. Yet, the empirical findings provide a basis for future research to refine and extend corporate endeavors in managing negative incidents in both the health care and tourism industries.
Practical implications
The findings indicate that the notion of perceived justice is the same regardless of service industry. However, the average perception of justice is lower within hospital than in the airline industry. The similarities within these two industries imply that cross‐industry strategies can be developed to understand and manage the perceived justice in negative service encounters based on three justice dimensions.
Originality/value
The paper adds value by complementing and fortifying current theory and research on the justice construct from a service encounter and complaint handling perspective. By comparing the justice hospital and airline industries, this paper contributes to and complements the overall field of study by identifying similarities and the applicability of the justice concept across service industries.
Details
Keywords
Daniel J. Petzer, Christine F. De Meyer, Sander Svari and Göran Svensson
The purpose of this paper is to examine service receivers' negative emotions in two different service settings, namely at an airport and in a hospital.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine service receivers' negative emotions in two different service settings, namely at an airport and in a hospital.
Design/methodology/approach
A descriptive, convenience sampling survey method was used to collect data in South Africa consisting of a sample of 294 respondents at an airport and 288 respondents in a hospital. Data analysis included an exploratory factor analysis, and the results reported in this paper are based on the critical incident technique.
Findings
The findings indicate both similarities and differences in service receivers' negative emotions between the two service settings. Furthermore, the results were found to be valid and reliable.
Research limitations/implications
The results obtained pertaining to the negative emotions that service receivers experience in two service settings in South Africa may provide the foundation for further research and replication in other countries. Furthermore, the results can aid in refining and extending service providers' efforts of managing critical incidents in different service settings in airline and hospital service settings.
Practical implications
Three main aspects of negative incidences in service encounters should be considered in strategies to manage critical incidents, namely those that are caused by: the service receiver; the service provider; or the service encounter context.
Originality/value
This study complements and reinforces existing theory pertaining to the negative emotions service receivers' experience in negative service encounters.