The impact of other customers and gender on consumer complaint behaviour in the Ecuadorian restaurant setting

Abstract

Abstract:Customer complaint behaviour, in response to service failures, has been shown to vary based on numerous factors, such as the nature of the service encounter, the setting, culture, gender and the presence of others. The gender-based study reported in this paper demonstrates the impact of two of these factors, i.e. the presence of others and gender, on the intent of Ecuadorian customers to voice their complaints about service failures in a restaurant setting. Employing a theoretical framework of impression management and cultural orientation, and with specific reference to Hofstede's work on cultural differences, this study found that Ecuadorian customers were less likely to complain in the presence of other customers than when they were alone. Impression management and concern for others were shown to be more significant among women than men. Women were found to be more motivated to manage their public image and create positive impressions in other people's minds, leading to less intent to complain in the presence of other customers than when they were alone. Male customers, on the other hand, exhibited less concern for others and did not show any significant difference in their complaint intentions, whether they were alone or in the presence of others. EJTHR 2016; 7(1):21-29

The impact of linguistic style on customer satisfaction: a cross-cultural empirical study in Ecuador

“…In the extant cross-cultural research, cultural comparisons are predominantly made between the United States or Western Europe on the one side and Asian countries on the other. Research conducted on this topic in a South American context is scarce (Fan et al , 2016; Ruiz-Equihua et al , 2020). To fill this gap, this research examines the effects of culture-bound customer responses to hotel manager communications with guests in a hotel setting in Ecuador, a South American country that has extraordinary tourism resources and that is trying to develop conventional tourism as an important economic activity (Ruiz-Ballesteros, 2011).…”