IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v184y2024ics0148296324003850.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Customer backlash against pandemic Surcharges: The mediating role of inferred negative motives and implications for the “Surcharge Economy”

Author

Listed:
  • Joireman, Jeff
  • Karabas, Ismail
  • Munaganti, Pavan

Abstract

The services sector was adversely affected by the pandemic. Supply chain disruptions, staff shortages, and low customer traffic led revenues to decline. To offset these challenges, some businesses introduced pandemic surcharges, which were not well received by customers. The current work aimed to understand customer backlash against pandemic surcharges and test potential strategies to reduce negative reactions to such surcharges. Across three experiments, results offer evidence for a key mediator whereby surcharges increase perceived negative firm motives, which leads to lower purchase, return, and tipping intentions. Making the surcharge optional and justifying it based on lost business were ineffective in reducing negative response to the surcharge. However, explaining that the surcharge was needed to cover additional cleaning costs or buy safety equipment reduced inferred negative motives and consequently increased purchase and tipping intentions. Implications for a broader “surcharge economy” are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Joireman, Jeff & Karabas, Ismail & Munaganti, Pavan, 2024. "Customer backlash against pandemic Surcharges: The mediating role of inferred negative motives and implications for the “Surcharge Economy”," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:184:y:2024:i:c:s0148296324003850
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114881
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296324003850
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114881?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ryoo, Yuhosua & Jeon, Yongwoog Andy & Kim, WooJin, 2024. "The blame shift: Robot service failures hold service firms more accountable," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    2. Balaji, M.S. & Jha, Subhash & Sengupta, Aditi Sarkar & Krishnan, Balaji C., 2018. "Are cynical customers satisfied differently? Role of negative inferred motive and customer participation in service recovery," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 109-118.
    3. Xie, Chaohong & Chiang, Chung-Yean & Xu, Xianhao & Gong, Yeming, 2023. "The impact of buy-online-and-return-in-store channel integration on online and offline behavioral intentions: The role of offline store," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Hamby, Anne & Orazi, Davide & Moreau, Patrick, 2024. "Whose story is this? Source reveal as a communication tactic to increase consumers’ advocacy for social causes," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    5. Jabeen, Fauzia & Tandon, Anushree & Sithipolvanichgul, Juthamon & Srivastava, Shalini & Dhir, Amandeep, 2023. "Social media-induced fear of missing out (FoMO) and social media fatigue: The role of narcissism, comparison and disclosure," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    6. Li, Yaoqi & Zhang, Chun & Fang, Shujie, 2022. "Can beauty save service failures? The role of recovery employees’ physical attractiveness in the tourism industry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 100-110.
    7. Conor M. Henderson & Lena Steinhoff & Colleen M. Harmeling & Robert W. Palmatier, 2021. "Customer inertia marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(2), pages 350-373, March.
    8. Vannucci, Virginia & Dasmi, Costanza & Nechaeva, Olga & Pizzi, Gabriele & Aiello, Gaetano, 2023. "WHY do YOU care about me? The impact of retailers’ customer care activities on customer orientation perceptions and store patronage intentions," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    9. Dyussembayeva, Shynar & Viglia, Giampaolo & Nieto-Garcia, Marta & Mattila, Anna S., 2022. "Would you like to add a gratuity? When explicit requests hamper tipping," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 908-917.
    10. Mansur Khamitov & Yany Grégoire & Anshu Suri, 2020. "A systematic review of brand transgression, service failure recovery and product-harm crisis: integration and guiding insights," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 519-542, May.
    11. Kim, Do Yuon & Kim, Hye-Young, 2021. "Influencer advertising on social media: The multiple inference model on influencer-product congruence and sponsorship disclosure," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 405-415.
    12. Crossley, Craig D., 2009. "Emotional and behavioral reactions to social undermining: A closer look at perceived offender motives," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 14-24, January.
    13. Min, Hyounae (Kelly) & Joireman, Jeff & Kim, Hyun Jeong, 2019. "Understanding why anger predicts intention to complain among high but not low power customers: A test of competing models," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 93-102.
    14. Chaohong Xie & Chung-Yean Chiang & Xianhao Xu & Yeming Gong, 2023. "The impact of buy-online-and-return-in-store channel integration on online and offline behavioral intentions : The role of offline store," Post-Print hal-04343876, HAL.
    15. Kumar, Sushant & Murphy, Mikko & Talwar, Shalini & Kaur, Puneet & Dhir, Amandeep, 2021. "What drives brand love and purchase intentions toward the local food distribution system? A study of social media-based REKO (fair consumption) groups," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    16. Paolo Antonetti & Stan Maklan, 2016. "An Extended Model of Moral Outrage at Corporate Social Irresponsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 429-444, May.
    17. Berry, Christopher & Douglas Hoffman, K., 2023. "Communicating intent: Effects of employer-controlled tipping strategy disclosures on tip amount and firm evaluations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    18. Franziska Völckner & Alexander Rühle & Martin Spann, 2012. "To divide or not to divide? The impact of partitioned pricing on the informational and sacrifice effects of price," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 719-730, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hu, Jianhao & Zhang, Xuan & Chen, Hanyu(Yuki) & Li, Wanyue, 2024. "When it rains, it pours? The impact of weather on customer returns in the brick-and-mortar retail store," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Sharma, Neeru & Fatima, Johra Kayeser, 2024. "Influence of perceived value on omnichannel usage: Mediating and moderating roles of the omnichannel shopping habit," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    3. Agnihotri, Arpita & Bhattacharya, Saurabh & Vrontis, Demetris, 2024. "Can salespersons help firms overcome brand image crisis? Role of facial appearance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    4. Zhao, Lianxia & Guo, Wen & Fang, Shu-Cherng & An, Qi, 2024. "Enhancing supply chain coordination through transparency initiatives to mitigate product returns," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Valor, Carmen & Antonetti, Paolo & Zasuwa, Grzegorz, 2022. "Corporate social irresponsibility and consumer punishment: A systematic review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 1218-1233.
    6. Paolo Antonetti & Ilaria Baghi, 2023. "Projecting lower competence to boost apology effectiveness: Underlying mechanism and boundary conditions," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 695-715, May.
    7. Stefanie Wannow & Martin Haupt & Martin Ohlwein, 2024. "Is brand activism an emotional affair? The role of moral emotions in consumer responses to brand activism," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 31(2), pages 168-192, March.
    8. Saerom Lee & Lisa E Bolton & Karen Page Winterich & Vicki MorwitzEditor & Lauren BlockAssociate Editor, 2017. "To Profit or Not to Profit? The Role of Greed Perceptions in Consumer Support for Social Ventures," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 44(4), pages 853-876.
    9. Wei Zheng & Hongliang Qiu & Alastair M. Morrison, 2023. "Applying a Combination of SEM and fsQCA to Predict Tourist Resource-Saving Behavioral Intentions in Rural Tourism: An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-23, January.
    10. Apak, Ömer Ceyhun & Gürbüz, Ahmet, 2023. "The effect of local food consumption of domestic tourists on sustainable tourism," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    11. Dogra, Nikhil & Adil, Mohd & Sadiq, Mohd & Dash, Ganesh & Paul, Justin, 2023. "Unraveling customer repurchase intention in OFDL context: An investigation using a hybrid technique of SEM and fsQCA," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    12. Qiang Wang & Nathan A. Bowling & Qi-tao Tian & Gene M. Alarcon & Ho Kwong Kwan, 2018. "Workplace Harassment Intensity and Revenge: Mediation and Moderation Effects," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 213-234, August.
    13. G. Tomas M. Hult & Forrest V. Morgeson III & Udit Sharma & Claes Fornell, 2022. "Customer satisfaction and international business: A multidisciplinary review and avenues for research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(8), pages 1695-1733, October.
    14. Antonetti, Paolo, 2020. "More than just a feeling: A research agenda for the study of consumer emotions following Corporate Social Irresponsibility (CSI)," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 67-70.
    15. Tan, Fuqiang & Li, Xi & Agarwal, Reeti & Joshi, Yatish & Yaqub, Muhammad Zafar, 2024. "Does multilingual packaging influence purchasing in retail segment? Evidence from multiple experiments," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    16. Mandler, Timo & Sezen, Burcu & Chen, Jieke & Özsomer, Ayşegül, 2021. "Performance consequences of marketing standardization/adaptation: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 416-435.
    17. Mathieu Lajante & David Remisch, 2023. "Frontline Employees’ Empathy in Service Recovery: a Systematic Literature Review and Agenda for the Future," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, December.
    18. Muthaffar, Aisha & Vilches-Montero, Sonia, 2023. "Empowering retailers: A bounded rationality perspective to enhancing omnichannel journey satisfaction," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    19. van Gils, Suzanne & Horton, Kate E., 2019. "How can ethical brands respond to service failures? Understanding how moral identity motivates compensation preferences through self-consistency and social approval," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 455-463.
    20. Conde, Rita & Casais, Beatriz, 2023. "Micro, macro and mega-influencers on instagram: The power of persuasion via the parasocial relationship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:184:y:2024:i:c:s0148296324003850. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.