Although word-of-mouth (WOM) activity has been studied as an outcome variable of other constructs such as satisfaction, less attention has been given to the antecedents and moderators of WOM when considering WOM as a central construct. Hence, we propose a model of WOM antecedents and moderators using a meta-analytic review. The results show that all antecedents have significant effects on WOM activity, with customer commitment showing the strongest effect. The following hypotheses are also supported: (1) WOM valence is a significant moderator, (2) cross-sectional studies show a stronger influence of satisfaction and loyalty on WOM activity than longitudinal studies, and (3) studies of WOM behavior show a weaker link between loyalty and WOM activity than studies of WOM intentions. In addition, we show that satisfaction has a stronger relationship with positive WOM than loyalty, whereas (dis)loyalty has a stronger relationship with negative WOM than does (dis)satisfaction. We discuss this finding based on the different natures of positive and negative WOM.

The Service Recovery Paradox (SRP) has emerged as an important effect in the marketing literature. However, empirical research testing the SRP has produced mixed results, with only some studies supporting this paradox. Because of these inconsistencies, a meta-analysis was conducted to integrate the studies dealing with the SRP and to test whether studies' characteristics influence the results. The analyses show that the cumulative mean effect of the SRP is significant and positive on satisfaction, supporting the SRP, but nonsignificant on repurchase intentions, word-of-mouth, and corporate image, suggesting that there is no effect of the SRP on these variables. Additional analyses of moderator variables find that design (cross-sectional versus longitudinal), subject (student versus nonstudent), and service category (hotel, restaurant, and others) influence the effect of SRP on satisfaction. Finally, implications for managers and directions for future research are presented.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to propose and test a model that integrates the main predictors of consumers' attitude and behavioral intentions toward counterfeits; to help companies understand the main factors influencing consumer behavior toward counterfeits and create effective anti‐piracy strategies.Design/methodology/approachAn integrated model is proposed following the studies by Ang et al. and Huang et al. A survey with 400 consumers was conducted in the Brazilian market and the Structural Equation Modeling technique was used to test the hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe main contribution of the paper is to show that consumer intentions to buy counterfeited products are dependent on the attitudes they have toward counterfeits, which in turn are more influenced by perceived risk, whether consumers have bought a counterfeit before, subjective norm, integrity, price‐quality inference and personal gratification. The paper reinforces the mediator role of attitude in the relationship between these antecedents and behavioral intentions. Moreover, previous experience with counterfeits consumption does not have a direct effect on behavioral intentions, but only an indirect effect through attitude.Practical implicationsThe paper contributes to inform policy makers and managers of brands about the main predictors of consumer's attitudes toward counterfeits. In this way, ads intended to discourage consumption of counterfeits could use the perceived risk as the main message appeal.Originality/valueThis paper investigates the key antecedents and consequences of consumer attitudes toward counterfeits by integrating and testing two recent models dealing with this subject in the marketing literature.

R R R R RESUMO ESUMO ESUMO ESUMO ESUMOEste artigo traz à discussão o momentoso tema da satisfação de clientes. Para tanto, discute-se a importância e a oportunidade das pesquisas de medição de satisfação de clientes, o seu estadoda-arte, a apresentação detalhada do método concebido e utilizado no Brasil pelos autores deste trabalho, bem como suas limitações e implicações futuras para pesquisa. No desenvolvimento do artigo, tem-se o exame da literatura mais atualizada sobre satisfação de clientes e a descrição pormenorizada do método brasileiro desenvolvido pelos autores. Chega-se, ao longo do trabalho, à oferta de um método de pesquisa de satisfação de clientes que deriva da consideração do estado-da-arte sobre o tema, da experiência acumulada pelos autores em ensino, pesquisa e consultoria e pela realização de benchmarking em empresas pioneiras e reputadas nas práticas dessas pesquisas no Brasil.Palavras-chaves: satisfação do cliente; pesquisa de satisfação de clientes; comportamento do consumidor. A A A A ABSTRACT BSTRACT BSTRACT BSTRACT BSTRACTThis article presents a discussion about the important and quite up-to-date theme: customer satisfaction. In order to do that, one discusses the relevance and the opportunity of the survey for measuring customer satisfaction and its state of the art, presents in deails a method conceived and applied in Brazil by this paper's authors, and analyses method's limitations and its future implications in research. In the development of the paper, one has examined the most up-to-date literature about customer satisfaction and the datailed description of a Brazilian method developed by the authors. Along the work, it is raised a survey's method on customer satisfaction which has derived from the analysis of theme's state of the art, the authors' experience in teaching, researching and consulting, as well as the benchmarking some their great experience on that.

In order to evaluate the factors influencing consumers' responses to product recalls, two surveys were conducted among Brazilian automobile owners and two regression models tested. Results indicated that (i) product judgement was significantly affected by corporate social responsibility (CSR), blame attributed to the company and whether or not consumers had a car made by the brand considered; and (ii) behavioural intentions were significantly affected by CSR, consumers' involvement with the message, perceived danger, product judgement and whether or not consumers had a car made by the brand considered. Findings revealed, however, that CSR is a better predictor of the product judgement than of the behavioural intentions, in accordance with recent studies indicating that CSR affects consumer judgements and behaviour differently. Finally, these two models are discussed and compared with previous research.

O presente trabalho desenvolve e testa um modelo teórico baseado em hipóteses que analisam a relação entre a confiança, o valor percebido e a lealdade de usuários de Internet Banking em situações de trocas relacionais de serviço no Brasil. Uma pesquisa em todo o País com 611 usuários de Internet Banking de um grande banco de varejo e as análises através da técnica de Modelagem em Equações Estruturais validam, de forma geral, o modelo testado. As relações testadas no modelo levam à conclusão de que a confiança tem forte impacto no valor percebido pelos clientes que, por sua vez, também têm forte impacto na lealdade desses clientes à empresa. Valor foi identificado como uma variável mediadora parcial da relação entre confiança e lealdade. São apresentadas, ainda, conclusões acerca da atuação das empresas e sugestões para pesquisas futuras.

This study investigates the effects of problem severity and company responsiveness on consumer satisfaction, repatronage intentions, word-of-mouth and complaining intentions, in a context of service failure and recovery. The research model is an extension of previous studies, especially considering more recent developments in the service failure/recovery literature. A 2 x 2 factorial experiment was conducted, manipulating problem severity (low x high) and company responsiveness (low x high), in order to test the proposed relationships. Participants included 185 users of airline services. The main results indicate that consumer attitude toward complaining is an important moderator in the consumer reactions to service failure and recovery. In particular, findings revealed that the effects of failure on satisfaction are more prominent for those consumers with higher propensity to complain (i.e. the 'complainers'). Also, the final satisfaction of these complainers were positively influenced by company responsiveness and their final satisfaction had a stronger effect on complaining intentions, repurchase intentions and word-of-mouth. Finally, these results are discussed and compared to previous findings from the literature.

Persuasive messages are central to interpersonal influence in online communities, where consumers interact mainly through text. We employed a combination of netnography and computer-mediated discourse analysis to investigate how consumers exchange information related to products and brands in an online community. We identified a set of rhetorical strategies used by community members, including setting expectations, claiming expertise, prescribing, and celebrating acquiescence. Consumers employ these rhetorical strategies to influence each other's consumption decisions, report consumption decisions back to the community, and to gauge their influence on each other's choices. We compare this process to traditional types of interpersonal influence and discuss how our findings contribute to advancing the burgeoning literature on interpersonal influence in online contexts.