Shoppers Scorned

In recent years the popular press has documented
increasing levels of consumer dissatisfaction.
Previous research has shown that dissatisfaction
coupled with anger can intensify consumer responses.
Despite the plethora of work conducted in the area
of (dis)satisfaction, questions remain of when and
why consumers choose to respond. This research
examines the causes of consumer anger and the
consequences of it on behavioral decisions and
future consumer usage of firm services and products.
This study explores the causes of consumer anger
using a qualitative technique and then examines the
consequences using a quantitative method. The
results of this study show that angering customers
comes with significant consequences. This research
shows that while many consumers did decide to
terminate their relationships with firms a
significant number of consumers who had prior
relationships with firms chose to stay and still
punished the firm for the anger evoking incident by
reducing or withholding their patronage.

Autorentext
Dr. Funches is a Marketing Professor at Auburn University Montgomery. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Alabama, her M.B.A. from the Univ of Ala at Birmingham and her B.S. in Marketing from Tulane University. Her research focuses on service failure and consumer dissatisfaction in the marketplace and its resulting dysfunctions.

Klappentext
In recent years the popular press has documented increasing levels of consumer dissatisfaction. Previous research has shown that dissatisfaction coupled with anger can intensify consumer responses. Despite the plethora of work conducted in the area of (dis)satisfaction, questions remain of when and why consumers choose to respond. This research examines the causes of consumer anger and the consequences of it on behavioral decisions and future consumer usage of firm services and products. This study explores the causes of consumer anger using a qualitative technique and then examines the consequences using a quantitative method. The results of this study show that angering customers comes with significant consequences. This research shows that while many consumers did decide to terminate their relationships with firms a significant number of consumers who had prior relationships with firms chose to stay and still punished the firm for the anger evoking incident by reducing or withholding their patronage.