A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Business Complaint Management Expectations

Henneberg, Stephan C.; Gruber, Thorsten; Reppel, Alexander; Naudé, Peter; Ashnai, Bahar; Hüber, Frank; Chowdhury, Ilma Nur

doi:10.1080/10696679.2015.1032392

Cited by 10 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…Values list was used to code the end value categories as it provides an overview of generally held values and has been effectively used in previous laddering studies (e.g., Barnett et al, 2014;Henneberg et al, 2015). Schwartz (1994) Table 6 about here…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a deeper understanding of positive customer feedback

Nasr

Burton

Gruber

2017

JSM

Self Cite

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance and extend the understanding of the under researched concept of personal Positive Customer Feedback (PCF). By comparing and contrasting Front-Line Employees' (FLEs) and customers' perspectives, this study aims to develop a deeper understanding of the main elements, characteristics of PCF, its various impacts, and the perceived importance of this phenomenon for both parties. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory research study was conducted using a novel integrated methodological approach combining two well-established qualitative techniques: structured Laddering interviews and various elements of the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET). In total, personal interviews with 40 participants consisting of 20 customers and 20 FLEs were conducted. Findings: This study conceptualizes personal PCF in the service literature by identifying the various PCF elements and characteristics. We extend PCF understanding beyond what the current literature shows (i.e. gratitude, compliments) by identifying nine characteristics of PCF. This study also proposes a number of impacts on both customers and FLEs. While both customers and FLEs have a similar understanding of the various elements and characteristics of PCF, the significance of the various elements and the subsequent impacts vary between the two groups. Finally, three key themes in PCF handling that help position PCF within the extant customer management literature are identified and discussed. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to a well-rounded understanding of customer feedback by counterbalancing the prevailing focus on customer complaining behaviour and proposing a complimentary look at the positive valence of personal feedback. It also provides managerial implications concerning the management of positive service encounters, an emerging topic within service research.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a deeper understanding of positive customer feedback

Nasr

Burton

Gruber

2017

JSM

Self Cite

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“…Even when monetary compensation is offered as part of complaint handling, an immediate response usually has a stronger recovery effect than delayed monetary compensation (Roschk and Gelbrich, 2014). In the B2B context, it has been found that 'taking quick action' is one of the most important attributes of complaint resolution management, which highlights the importance of quickly addressing the issue, analyzing the problem and reaching a resolution (Henneberg et al, 2009;Henneberg et al, 2015). However, Gilly (1987) reports that response time has no effect on consumers' perceptions of company image, while Blodgett et al(1997) find it does not affect repurchase intentions.…”

Section: Complaint Handling and Response Timementioning

confidence: 99%

Complaint handling on social media: The impact of multiple response times on consumer satisfaction

Istanbulluoğlu

2017

Computers in Human Behavior

100

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With the increasing popularity of social media, understanding online consumer behaviors is becoming increasingly important for researchers in this field and practitioners who manage social media accounts. The focus of this study is one of the critical aspects of online complaint handling: response time. Using data collected from consumers who complained on Facebook or Twitter, the study explores how the response times of multiple company responses on social media influence consumer satisfaction. Specifically, the first response after the complaint and the conclusive response that closed the complaint file were investigated in regard to consumers' objectives for complaining. Participants in the study stated that they expected companies to reply to their complaints within 1-3 hours on Twitter and within 3-6 hours on Facebook. The analysis reveals that both a quicker first response and a quicker conclusive response lead to higher satisfaction with complaint handling. Furthermore, in contrast to previous research on response time in offline redress-seeking situations, which has suggested that when consumers receive redress, response time does not have an effect on satisfaction, the findings of this study suggest that a speedy response increases satisfaction regardless of the consumers' objectives. These findings provide implications for researchers and practitioners.

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“…In a similar vein, the study of Chang et al (2012) found that customers with high transaction frequency—who are also typically B2B customers (Brock et al, 2013)—focus less on favorable employee behavior and more on timeliness. However, Henneberg et al (2015), who adopted a more qualitative approach, nuanced these findings by demonstrating that interactional aspects, such as showing empathy and transparency, are equally expected by customers in effective B2B complaint management.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, studies have shown that the importance of interpersonal attention differs across cultures (Henneberg et al, 2015; Mattila & Patterson, 2004; McFarlin & Sweeney, 2001). For instance, from Henneberg et al’s (2015) study, it appears that in the British business culture, softer relationship aspects are highlighted by placing greater importance on attributes such as empathy, openness, and honesty, compared with a German business culture.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the literature review, one could expect an email with more interpersonal attention to positively affect perceived interactional justice, perceived appropriateness, repurchase intentions, positive word-of-mouth intentions, credibility, and brand trust. Indeed, several studies have underlined the relative importance of favorable employee behavior (Gelbrich & Roschk, 2010; Henneberg et al, 2015; Orsingher et al, 2010; Packard et al, 2018; Van Vaerenbergh et al, 2019). In addition, research into the effect of language mistakes (as markers of sloppiness and carelessness, and thus less interpersonal attention) in a variety of professional communication genres has shown that errors negatively affect customer outcomes such as credibility and repurchase intentions (Appelman & Bolls, 2011; Jansen, 2010; Maesschalck, 2015; Mozafari et al, 2017).…”

Section: Experiment: Effectiveness Of Textbook Advice Versus Actual Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Interpersonal Strategies in E-Complaint Refusals: Textbook Advice Versus Actual Situated Practice

Decock

Clerck

Herck

2020

Business and Professional Communication Quarterly

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This article reports on the representation and operationalization of interpersonal attention in complaint management by comparing business textbooks, service recovery research, and situated practice. While textbooks commonly recommend the use of interpersonal strategies when writing complaint refusals, service recovery research points toward contextual differences in this regard. We use an authentic sample of complaint refusals from an intercultural business-to-business setting to show that the decontextualized recommendations in textbooks are not always applied in actual practice and that this lack of interpersonal attention need not be problematic.

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A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Business Complaint Management Expectations

Cited by 10 publications

References 85 publications

Developing a deeper understanding of positive customer feedback

Developing a deeper understanding of positive customer feedback

Complaint handling on social media: The impact of multiple response times on consumer satisfaction

Interpersonal Strategies in E-Complaint Refusals: Textbook Advice Versus Actual Situated Practice

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