Customer deviance: A framework, prevention strategies, and opportunities for future research

Abstract

The phrase the "customer is always right" assumes that customers provide universal benefits for firms. However, in recent years, customer deviance is on the rise and the academic literature has provided little insight into the drivers of deviance, the actual behaviors, and strategies for how managers can better manage a customer base that cannot be classified as universally benign. This article addresses customer deviance ranging from classic examples like shoplifting to engaging in hostile to anti-brand behaviors on social media or even breaking established norms such as trespassing in stores after closing hours. In an effort to spur new research into customer deviance, we propose a customer deviance framework encompassing the triggers, behaviors, and consequences of customer deviance with attention given to differentiating firms, employees, and other customers as the possible targets of deviant behaviors. We outline prevention strategies that comprise social, design, and technological-oriented factors, which in turn can help firms better manage deviant behavior. In doing so, we identify gaps in the literature and close with an actionable agenda for future research that can help firms curtail these negative customer behaviors.

Don’t Forget About the Frontline Employee During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Preliminary Insights and a Research Agenda on Market Shocks

“…Not only did it add to their emotional stress, it at times led to violence. Consumer deviance has received attention in past research (Fombelle et al 2020), but again not in the presence of a market shock. Future research needs to understand both the short- and long-term impact that market shocks have on the mental and physical well-being of FLEs.…”

Examining unauthorized events & gatherings in the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Literature from the management domain has examined how customer deviance behavior impacts firms, customers, and other customers. Fombelle et al (2020) proposes a customer deviance process framework that includes customer deviance triggers, customer deviance behaviors targeting, and customer deviance consequences, and customer prevention strategies to explain how consumers proactively engage in deviance behavior. Event scholars may consider customer deviance as a plausible framework to explain how attendees actively defy local or national ordinances and recommendations by public health officials to choose to meet and gather during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Street harassment is marketplace discrimination: The impact of street harassment on young female consumers’ marketplace experiences

“…Although many service researchers have explored the positive aspects of C2C interactions in physical and virtual commercial and non-commercial service settings (e.g., Harris and Baron, 2004 ; Zeithaml et al, 2018 ), considerably fewer researchers have explored negative experiences from other customers and unacquainted strangers ( Fombelle et al, 2019 ; Nicholls, 2010 ). The reason for this research void may be that while managers can encourage C2C interactions by modifying consumption settings (e.g., furniture, open spaces, entertainment) or by encouraging the formation of social or online customer communities ( Libai et al, 2010 ), they are mostly powerless to stop negative C2C interactions that occur for brief moments ( Colm et al, 2017 ).…”

“…To date, many customer-to-customer studies have shown that negative service experiences are often benign intrusions or interruptions that often transpire when customers have to wait in queues together, converse with language difficulties, or when they have to share space with small children. However, sometimes, customer-to-customer incivility may also result in physical harm, or even death, ( Fombelle et al, 2019 ). In the following sections, this paper turns its attention to exploring customer-to-customer incivility that transpires in under-researched settings, i.e.…”