Even though customer satisfaction and loyalty have been studied at length, few if any studies have focused on antecedents to customer loyalty for dissatisfied complaining customers. In this article, a theoretical model focusing on negative affect, satisfaction with complaint resolution, and corporate image as antecedents to customer loyalty is proposed and tested empirically. First, satisfaction with complaint resolution has a positive impact on customer loyalty. Complaint resolution is thus an important element of the company’s customer retention strategy. Second, negative affect caused by the initial service failure has a negative impact on satisfaction with complaint resolution and customer loyalty. From this finding, one can imply that the customer starts the resolution process from a deficit. Finally, corporate image has a positive impact on customer loyalty. Thus, corporate image plays a role not only in attracting new customers but also in retaining existing dissatisfied customers.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Anderson, J. C.
and D. W. Gerbing (1988), “Structural Equation Modeling in Practice: A Review and Recommended Two-Step Approach,”Psychological Bulletin, 103 (3), 411-423.
2.
Andreassen, T. W.
(forthcoming), “Antecedents to Satisfaction with Complaint Resolution,”European Journal of Marketing.
3.
Andreassen, T. W.
and B. Lindestad (1998a), “Complex Services and Customer Loyalty: The Significance of Corporate Image on Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty for Customers with Varying Degrees of Service Expertise,•International Journal of Service Industry Management, 9 (1), 7-23.
4.
Andreassen, T. W.
and B. Lindestad (1998b), “The Effect of Corporate Image in the Formation of Customer Loyalty,”Journal of Service Research, 1 (1), 82-92.
5.
Bearden, W. O.
and J. E. Teel (1983a), “An Investigation of Personal Influences on Consumer Complaining,”Journal of Marketing Research, 20 (February), 21-28.
6.
Bearden, W. O.
and J. E. Teel, eds. (1983b), Selected Determinants of Consumer Satisfaction and Complaint Reports. Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research.
7.
Bollen, K. A.
(1989), Structural Equations with Latent Variables. New York: John Wiley.
8.
Bolton, R. N.
and J. H. Drew (1991), “A Multistage Model of Customers’ Assessment of Service Quality and Value,”Journal of Consumer Research, 54 (April), 69-82.
9.
Bradburn, N. M.
(1969), The Structure of Psychological Well-Being. Chicago: Aldine.
10.
Brewer, W. F.
and G. V. Nakamura (1984), “The Nature and Functions of Schemas,” in Handbook of Social Cognition, Vol. 1, R. S. Wyer, Jr. and T. K. Srull, eds. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 119-160.
11.
Day, R. L.
and E. L. Landon (1976), “Collecting Comprehensive Consumer Complaint Data by Survey Research,” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 3, B. B. Anderson, ed.
12.
Dowling, G. R. (1988), “Corporate Image: Meaning, Measurement and Management,” working paper, University of New South Wales, Australia.
13.
Fiske, S. T.
and P. W. Linville (1980), “What Does the Schema Concept Buy Us?”Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 6, 543-557.
14.
Fiske, S. T.
and S. E. Taylor (1991), Social Cognition, 2d ed.New York: McGraw-Hill.
15.
Folkes, V.
(1984), “Consumer Reactions to Product Failure: An Attribution Approach,”Journal of Consumer Research, 10 (March), 398-409.
16.
Folkes, V.
(1988), “Recent Attribution Research in Consumer Behavior: A Review and New Directions,”Journal of Consumer Research, 14 (March), 548-565.
17.
Fornell, C.
(1989), “The Blending of Theoretical and Empirical Knowledge in Structural Equations with Unobservables,” in Theoretical Empiricism, H. Wold, ed. New York: Paragon House.
18.
Fornell, C.
and B. Wernerfeldt (1987), “Defensive Marketing Strategy by Customer Complaint Management: A Theoretical Analysis,”Journal of Marketing Research, 24 (November), 337-346.
19.
Fornell, C.
and B. Wernerfeldt (1988), “Model for Customer Complaint Management,”Marketing Science, 7 (Summer), 271-286.
20.
Fornell, C.
and Y. Yi (1992), “Assumptions of the Two-Step Approach to Latent Variable Modeling,”Sociological Methods & Research, 20 (February), 291-320.
21.
Gilly, M. C.
and B. D. Gelb (1982), “Post-Purchase Consumer Processes and the Complaining Customer,”Journal of Consumer Research, 9 (December), 323-328.
22.
Hair, J. F.
, R. E. Anderson, R. L. Tatham, and W. C. Black (1995), Multivariate Data Analysis: With Readings, 4th ed.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
23.
Hirschman, A. O.
(1970), Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
24.
Holbrook, M. B.
and K. P. Corfman (1985), “Quality and Value in the Consumption Experience: Phaedrus Rides Again,” in Perceived Quality, J. Jacoby and J. Olson, eds. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 31-57.
25.
Hunt, H. K.
(1977), “CS/D-Overview and Future Research Direction,” in Conceptualization and Measurement of Customer Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction, H. K. Hunt, ed. Cambridge, MA: Marketing Science Institute.
26.
Johnson, M. D.
and C. Fornell (1991), “A Framework for Comparing Customer Satisfaction across Individuals and Product Categories,”Journal of Economic Psychology, 12, 267-286.
27.
Johnston, R.
(1995), “Service Failure and Recovery: Impact, Attributes and Processes,”Advances in Services Marketing and Management: Research and Practice, 4, 211-228.
28.
Jöreskog, K. G.
(1993), “Testing Structural Equation Models,” in Testing Structural Equation Models, K. A. Bollen and J. S. Long, eds. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 294-316.
29.
Jöreskog, K. G.
and D. Sörbom (1989), LISREL 7: A Guide to the Program and Applications, 2d ed.Chicago: SPSS.
30.
Keller, K.
(1993), “Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer Based Equity,”Journal of Marketing, 57 (January), 1-22.
31.
Mano, H.
and R. L. Oliver (1993), “Assessing the Dimentionality and Structure of Consumption Experiences: Evaluation, Feeling, and Satisfaction,”Journal of Consumer Research, 20 (December), 451-466.
32.
Markus, H.
(1977), “Self-Schemata and Processing Information about the Self,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 63-78.
33.
Medsker, G. J.
, L. J. Williams, and P. J. Holahan (1994), “A Review of Current Practices for Evaluating Causal Models in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources Management Research,”Journal of Management, 20 (2), 439-464.
34.
Nunnally, J. C.
(1967), Psychometric Theory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
35.
Nunnally, J. C.
(1978), Psychometric Theory, 2d ed.New York: McGraw-Hill.
36.
Oliver, R. L.
(1981), “Measurement and Evaluation of Satisfaction Process in Retailer Selling,”Journal of Retailing, 57 (Fall), 25-48.
37.
Oliver, R. L.
(1992), “An Investigation of the Attributes Basis of Emotion and Related Affects in Consumption: Suggestions for a Stage-Specific Satisfaction Framework,” in Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 19, J. Sherry and B. Sternhalt, eds. Provo, UT: Association of Consumer Research, 237-244.
38.
Oliver, R. L.
(1993), “A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and Service Satisfaction: Compatible Goals, Different Concepts,” in Advances in Services Marketing and Management: Research and Practice, Vol. 2, T. A. Swartz, D. E. Bowen, and S. W. Brown, eds. Greenwich, CT: JAI.
39.
Oliver, R. L.
(1997), Satisfaction: A Behavioral Perspective on the Consumer. New York: McGraw-Hill.
40.
Olshavsky, R.W.
(1985), “Perceived Quality in Consumer Decision Making: An Integrated Theoretical Perspective,” in Perceived Quality, J. Jacoby and J. Olson, eds. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 3-29.
41.
Olsson, U. H. (1996), “Effekten av feilspesifisering og estimeringsmetode på teoretisk og empirisk tilpasning. En sammenligning av Maximum Likelihood og Generalized Least Squares i LISREL” [Theoretical Fit and Empirical Fit: The Performance of Maximum Likelihood versus Generalized Least Squares Estimation in Structural Equation Models], doctor scientarium thesis, Agricultural University of Norway, Oslo.
42.
Peterson, R. A.
(1994), “A Meta-Analysis of Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha,”Journal of Consumer Research, 21 (September), 381-391.
43.
Plutchik, R.
(1980), Emotion: A Psychoevolutionary Synthesis. New York: Harper & Row.
44.
Reichheld, F.
and W. E. Sasser (1990). “Zero Defections: Quality Comes to Services,”Harvard Business Review, 68 (September-October), 105-111.
45.
Richins, M.
(1983), “Negative Word-of-Mouth by Dissatisfied Consumers: A Pilot Study,”Journal of Marketing, 47 (Winter), 68-78.
46.
Richins, M.
(1987), “A Multivariate Analysis of Responses to Dissatisfaction,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 15 (3), 24-31.
47.
Robinson, L. M.
(1978), “Consumer Complaint Behavior: A Review with Implications for Future Research,” in New Dimensions of Consumer Satisfaction and Complaining Behavior, R. L. Day and H. K. Hunt, eds. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 41-50.
48.
Rothbart, M.
(1981), “Memory Processes and Social Beliefs,” in Cognitive Processes in Stereotyping and Intergroup Behavior, D. Hamilton, ed. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 145-182.
49.
Russel, J. A.
(1980), “A Circumplex Model of Affect,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39 (December), 1161-1178.
50.
Rust, R. T.
, B. Subramanian, and M. Wells (1992), “Making Complaints a Management Tool,”Marketing Management, 3, 40-45.
51.
Schwartz, N.
and G. L. Clore (1983), “Mood, Misattribution, and Judgments of Well-Being,”Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64 (April), 654-664.
52.
Simon, J. L.
(1974), “Interpersonal Welfare Comparison Can Be Made and Used for Redistribution Decisions,”Kyklos, 27, 68-98.
53.
Singh, J.
(1990), “Voice, Exit, and Negative Word-of-Mouth Behaviors: An Investigation across Three Service Categories,”Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 18 (1), 1-15.
54.
Watson, D.
and A. Tellegen (1985), “Toward a Consensual Structure of Mood,”Psychological Bulletin, 98 (September), 219-235.
55.
Westbrook, R. A.
(1980), “Intrapersonal Affective Influences upon Consumer Satisfaction with Products,”Journal of Consumer Research, 7 (June), 49-54.
