Who says waiting is boring? How consumer narratives within online communities help reduce stress while waiting

Abstract

Purpose Waiting is associated with pain and stress that leads to frustration. However, consumer narratives may help cope with the stress associated with such waiting. This study aims to understand consumer waiting behaviours within online communities. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered following a netnographic approach from a Facebook brand community (FBC) by downloading and archiving the threads related to members’ waiting behaviours. This resulted in 91 pages of data, with 438 individual comments and 179 distinct threads. Findings The data revealed that members of the sampled FBC exercised waiting behaviour. The authors confirm that waiting for a product is associated with both negative outcomes (frustration, boredom, etc.), but positive ones (create stronger ties with the brand and fellow members, etc.). Members of the FBC exhibited reduced consumer anxiety and stress during the waiting period. Research limitations/implications This study found 13 waiting behaviours within the FBC and supports the idea that new value-creating behaviours are noticed within the context of FBCs. Originality/value This study focuses on waiting within a goods-based context (waiting to be served has been examined predominantly within the service sector). The study explored the behaviours of consumers who use social media to complain about extended waiting periods to receive the product along with other consumer reactions to these waiting crowds to reduce the emotional pain associated with such delays.

Text-Based Detection of On-Hold Scripts in Contact Center Calls

“…According to [13], the abandonment behavior of callers depends on their contact history. The authors of [14] develop an estimator to analyze customer patience behavior, while paper [15] analyzes consumer waiting behaviors in online communities. The authors of [16] propose using personalized priority policies for clients based on past waiting times, and the authors of [17] explore how delayed information may impact customers' behavior, demonstrating the influence of proper announcements.…”

Influence of personality on skepticism toward online services information, consumer stress, and health: an experimental investigation

“…First, there is evidence of the negative effects of stress on consumers’ attitudes and behaviors. For example, consumer stress has been found to associate with reduced patronage intentions (Baker and Wakefield, 2012), well-being (Henkel et al , 2020), increased frustration (Hassan and Hassan, 2020) and early mortality, at worse (McEwen, 2017). Second, even though marketers and sellers are more concerned about consumer health and safety than ever before (Bove and Benoit, 2020), the phenomenon of consumer stress has become substantial in the wake of the ongoing pandemic.…”