TY - JOUR
T1 - Culture's impact on consumer complaining responses to embarrassing service failure
AU - WAN, Lisa C.
PY - 2013/3
Y1 - 2013/3
N2 - Prior cultural research generally agrees that Asian consumers (collectivists), who emphasize social harmony, are less likely to complain but more likely to switch and to spread negative word-of-mouth than Western consumers (individualists) in service failures. Drawing from the face concern and embarrassment literature, this paper argues that collectivists are not necessarily less likely to complain than individualists. In fact, the impact of culture on consumer complaining responses will be contingent on the degree of embarrassment involved in the service failure. Results from a cross-cultural experiment indicate that only in a non-embarrassing failure will collectivists less likely complain than individualists. In an embarrassing failure, however, collectivists will more likely complain, as well as switch and spread negative word-of-mouth. These results not only yield interesting insights into cross-cultural consumer behaviors, but also provide rich managerial implications.
AB - Prior cultural research generally agrees that Asian consumers (collectivists), who emphasize social harmony, are less likely to complain but more likely to switch and to spread negative word-of-mouth than Western consumers (individualists) in service failures. Drawing from the face concern and embarrassment literature, this paper argues that collectivists are not necessarily less likely to complain than individualists. In fact, the impact of culture on consumer complaining responses will be contingent on the degree of embarrassment involved in the service failure. Results from a cross-cultural experiment indicate that only in a non-embarrassing failure will collectivists less likely complain than individualists. In an embarrassing failure, however, collectivists will more likely complain, as well as switch and spread negative word-of-mouth. These results not only yield interesting insights into cross-cultural consumer behaviors, but also provide rich managerial implications.
KW - Culture
KW - Face concern
KW - Service embarrassment
KW - Service failures
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84872382259&doi=10.1016%2fj.jbusres.2011.08.009&partnerID=40&md5=4a91e5f9c67b2f2b9f960ff2ed580370
U2 - 10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.08.009
DO - 10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.08.009
M3 - Journal Article (refereed)
SN - 0148-2963
VL - 66
SP - 298
EP - 305
JO - Journal of Business Research
JF - Journal of Business Research
IS - 3
ER -