Customer Dissemination of Negative Word-of-Mouth: Influence of Expected or Unexpected Events

Abstract

We examined how expected or unexpected costs affect restaurant customers' attitudes toward the dissemination of negative word-of-mouth (WOM) when service failure occurs. A 2 (customer punishment: expected and unexpected) × 3 (relationship type: encounter, pseudo, and intimate) mixed factorial experimental design was adopted to examine the dissemination of negative WOM. The results indicated that service failure exerted significant and nonsignificant primary effects on expected punishment and relationship type, respectively. A significant interaction was observed between expected punishment and both encounter and intimate relationship types, but not between expected punishment and the pseudo relationship type. In sum, expected punishment and relationship type influenced negative WOM.

Investigating consumer responses to online group buying service failures

“…This finding is arguably the result of higher expectations leading to greater disappointment. However, this finding is dissimilar to Tsai et al ’s (2014) investigation of the interaction effects of customer punishments and service relationship types on negative eWOM in the context of restaurant service failures. They noted no significant difference in intention to spread negative eWOM based on true or pseudo service types.…”

“…During interactions, each party continues to accumulate information on the other, which is utilized to improve the service process. As a result, a true service relationship is built up over times and is based on the inputs and the expectations of each party (Tsai et al , 2014). Examples of this type of relationship include consumer–hairdresser and patient–physician relationships.…”

“…A delivery failure in OGB can occur in situations such as when consumers purchase online coupons, but the number of orders overloads the seller’s supplies until preventing the sale, or the seller replies too slowly (Langviniene et al , 2016; Kuo et al , 2011). Compounding this problem, if the OBG website does not respond quickly or effectively enough to a service failure, consumers are likely to become upset or angry, which often results in dissatisfaction and complaints, and even a possible withdrawal from the relationship (Tsai et al , 2014). Social media provides consumers a more direct, convenient, and effective manner to complain than ever before (Balaji et al , 2015).…”

“…employee or firm). Interaction frequency leads to different types of offering relationships between consumers and the sellers (Tsai et al , 2014). OGB websites offer various popular categories of products and services, such as food, beauty products, spa services, sporting trips, hotel accommodations, and restaurants meals, as well as transportation and entertainment offers (Kim et al , 2014; Shiau and Chau, 2015).…”

“…Because the OGB market contains both service and product sales (Zhang and Gu, 2015), the relationship between the consumer and the seller’s offering can be considered a variable that helps determine customer reactions to service failures. Although Tsai et al (2014) investigated the impact of relationship type on the relationship between consumer punishments and spreading negative eWOM, their study was conducted in the context of restaurant service failures and focused only on service type of relationships between consumer and the seller. Issues pertaining to whether the seller’s offering (including product and service type) moderates consumer responses to service failures in the OGB context have been neglected in the existing literature.…”