Societal Norms, Need for Closure, and Service Recovery

Abstract

There is an increasing need for an understanding of how culture shapes consumers' service encounter evaluations. This study introduces a new aspect of culture (societal tightness or looseness) to the global marketing literature. In addition, the authors examine the role of a novel individual-level factor (Need for Closure) in influencing fairness judgments. Findings of this quasi-experimental study suggest that consumers faced with strict societal norms have more negative reactions to socially deviant employee behaviors than their counterparts in looser societies. Moreover, high Need-for-Closure individuals perceived equal compensation as more fair than either under-or overcompensation vis-à-vis other customers. The article concludes with a discussion of managerial implications for global service providers.

The influence of culture on consumer perceptions of deceptiveness

“…The effect of tightness-looseness on perceived deceptiveness A bulk of research investigating deception with cross-cultural lenses has considered Hofstede's cultural dimensions, while largely ignoring the role of external influences such as social norms and the degree of tolerance to deviance within cultures (Mattila and Choi, 2012).…”