Customer e-complaining behaviours using social media

Abstract

This paper develops a conceptual framework about customer complaining behaviours (CCB), using social media. Specifically, this research expands the current understanding of CCB by examining the differential impact of unfairness, firm response, retaliation, locus attribution, stability attribution, and personal identity on public complaining and private complaining using social media, and their subsequent impact on post-complaining satisfaction (PCS) and loyalty. Public complaining refers to customer complaints directed to a service provider, while private complaining refers to service failure complaints directed towards other customers. A structural equation model shows that high levels of unfairness, firm response, locus, and personal identity have a strong influence on public complaining, while desire for retaliation is a significant factor influencing private complaining. The findings contribute to practice by providing useful and pertinent information for developing suitable web care interventions to effectively deal with public complaining and private complaining through social media platforms.

Keywords:

• complaining behaviour
• service failure
• social media
• justice theory
• attribution theory

Acknowledgment

Research conducted at Taylor's University institution.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The research was funded by TRGS/ERFS/2/2013/TBS/002 grant for the first two authors.