“…Price increases also lead to customer responses such as negative emotions (Maxwell et al, 2013;Rotemberg, 2005), negative word-ofmouth (WOM) and complaints (Monroe and Xia, 2006;Richins, 1983), search for alternatives (Maxwell et al, 2013) and lower repurchase intentions (Calabuig et al, 2014;Homburg et al, 2005). Further, studies on the reasons or justifications for price increases showed that cost-related explanations increase perceived fairness (Bolton and Alba, 2006;Bolton et al, 2003;Dickson and Kalapurakal, 1994;Gielissen et al, 2008;Kachelmeier et al, 1991;Schein, 2002;Urbany et al, 1989;Vaidyanathan and Aggarwal, 2003).…”