IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joreco/v20y2013i6p599-608.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The influence of empathy in complaint handling: Evidence of gratitudinal and transactional routes to loyalty

Author

Listed:
  • Simon, Françoise

Abstract

While most studies on complaint handling are focused on performance outcomes, analysis of the processes that reinforce relationship quality is lacking. Building on the relationship marketing theory of reciprocal behaviours, this research proposes and tests a model of the effects of empathy as a particular relationship recovery investment. Addressing for the first time the role of gratitude in a complaint-handling context, this model assumes that both gratitude and transactional satisfaction mediate the influence of empathy on consumers' trust and commitment. Data from a cross-industry survey of phone and online complaints confirmed the proposed model.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon, Françoise, 2013. "The influence of empathy in complaint handling: Evidence of gratitudinal and transactional routes to loyalty," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 599-608.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:20:y:2013:i:6:p:599-608
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2013.05.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096969891300060X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretconser.2013.05.003?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. Homburg, Christian & Stock, Ruth, 2005. "Exploring the Conditions Under Which Salesperson Work Satisfaction Can Lead to Customer Satisfaction," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 35543, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    2. Kim, Stephen K. & Hibbard, Jonathan D. & Swain, Scott D., 2011. "Commitment in Marketing Channels: Mitigator or Aggravator of the Effects of Destructive Acts?," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 521-539.
    3. Todd Mooradian & Kurt Matzler & Lisa Szykman, 2008. "Empathetic responses to advertising: Testing a network of antecedents and consequences," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 79-92, June.
    4. Andrea C. Morales, 2005. "Giving Firms an "E" for Effort: Consumer Responses to High-Effort Firms," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 31(4), pages 806-812, March.
    5. Mary J. Culnan & Pamela K. Armstrong, 1999. "Information Privacy Concerns, Procedural Fairness, and Impersonal Trust: An Empirical Investigation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(1), pages 104-115, February.
    6. Joseph B. Walther, 1995. "Relational Aspects of Computer-Mediated Communication: Experimental Observations over Time," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(2), pages 186-203, April.
    7. Escalas, Jennifer Edson & Stern, Barbara B, 2003. "Sympathy and Empathy: Emotional Responses to Advertising Dramas," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 29(4), pages 566-578, March.
    8. Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E M & Baumgartner, Hans, 1998. "Assessing Measurement Invariance in Cross-National Consumer Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 25(1), pages 78-90, June.
    9. Sparks, Beverley A. & McColl-Kennedy, Janet R., 2001. "Justice strategy options for increased customer satisfaction in a services recovery setting," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 209-218, December.
    10. Homburg, Christian & Stock, Ruth, 2005. "Exploring the Conditions Under Which Salesperson Work Satisfaction Can Lead to Customer Satisfaction," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 60481, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ngo, Liem Viet & Nguyen, Thi Nguyet Que & Tran, Nam The & Paramita, Widya, 2020. "It takes two to tango: The role of customer empathy and resources to improve the efficacy of frontline employee empathy," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    2. Mortimer, Gary & Fazal-e-Hasan, Syed Muhammad & Strebel, Judi, 2021. "Examining the consequences of customer-oriented deviance in retail," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    3. von Janda, Sergej & Polthier, Andreas & Kuester, Sabine, 2021. "Do they see the signs? Organizational response behavior to customer complaint messages," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 116-127.
    4. Kuo-Lun Hsiao & Chia-Chen Chen & Kuan-Yu Lin & Hui-Ya Hsu, 2023. "What drives online-to-offline purchase intention in a VR store? An examination of affective and cognitive factors," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 3499-3521, August.
    5. Hyunju Shin & Riza Casidy & Alyssa Yoon & So-Hyang Yoon, 2016. "Brand trust and avoidance following brand crisis: A quasi-experiment on the effect of franchisor statements," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(5), pages 1-23, September.
    6. Bambauer-Sachse, Silke & Rabeson, Landisoa, 2015. "Determining adequate tangible compensation in service recovery processes for developed and developing countries: The role of severity and responsibility," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 117-127.
    7. Sammon, Rachel & Kwon, Kyoung-Nan, 2015. "Host׳s interpersonal influence on guests in a home sales party," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 32-38.
    8. Pierre-Nicolas Schwab, 2015. "Online complaint handling practices: Company strategies and their effects upon post-complaint satisfaction," Working Papers CEB 15-005, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    9. Michael F. Walsh & Annie Peng Cui & Deborah J. MacInnis, 2019. "How to successfully introduce logo redesigns," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(4), pages 365-375, July.
    10. Hani, Umme & Akter, Shahriar & Wickramasinghe, Ananda & Kattiyapornpong, Uraiporn, 2021. "How does relationship quality sustain the rich world’s poorest businesses?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 297-308.
    11. Neele Inken Abend & María D. De-Juan-Vigaray & Mandy Nuszbaum, 2023. "An Experimental Study of How Missing Employee Empathy in Failed Service Interactions Affects Empathetic Customers’ EWoM-Giving Behaviour," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-19, May.

    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. Stefan Markovic & Oriol Iglesias & Jatinder Jit Singh & Vicenta Sierra, 2018. "How does the Perceived Ethicality of Corporate Services Brands Influence Loyalty and Positive Word-of-Mouth? Analyzing the Roles of Empathy, Affective Commitment, and Perceived Quality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(4), pages 721-740, April.
    2. Gordon Liu & Catherine Liston-Heyes & Wai-Wai Ko, 2010. "Employee Participation in Cause-Related Marketing Strategies: A Study of Management Perceptions from British Consumer Service Industries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 92(2), pages 195-210, March.
    3. Simona-Mihaela TRIF, 2012. "Antecedents and consequences of relationship quality. A case study of banking sector in Romania," Timisoara Journal of Economics, West University of Timisoara, Romania, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 5(18), pages 253-271.
    4. Besser, T. & Mann, S., 2015. "Which farm characteristics influence work satisfaction? An analysis of two agricultural systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 107-112.
    5. Basant Kumar Purohit, 2010. "Leveraging the Integration of Sales Career Cycle with Brand Life Cycle in Indian Pharmaceutical Firms," Working Papers id:2725, eSocialSciences.
    6. Abosag, Ibrahim & Baker, Thomas L. & Hall, Kristina Lindsey & Voulgari, Aliki-Dimitra & Zheng, Xiaoyuan, 2017. "Antecedents and consequences of liking in retail service relationships in China and Greece," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 566-578.
    7. Hae-Ryong Kim & So-Yeon Yoon, 2020. "How to Help Crowded Destinations: Tourist Anger vs. Sympathy and Role of Destination Social Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, March.
    8. Laros, Fleur J.M. & Steenkamp, Jan-Benedict E.M., 2005. "Emotions in consumer behavior: a hierarchical approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(10), pages 1437-1445, October.
    9. Jacob, Frank & Kleipaß, Ulrich & Pohl, Alexander, 2014. "Nature and role of customer satisfaction in the solution business," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 487-498.
    10. Evanschitzky, Heiner & Wangenheim, Florian v. & Wünderlich, Nancy V., 2012. "Perils of Managing the Service Profit Chain: The Role of Time Lags and Feedback Loops," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 356-366.
    11. Kalra, Ashish & Briggs, Elten & Schrock, Wyatt, 2023. "Exploring the synergistic role of ethical leadership and sales control systems on salesperson social media use and sales performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    12. Ch. V. V. S. N. V. Prasad, 2018. "An Empirical Study on TQM Practices and its Influence on Employee Satisfaction and Performance in Technical Institutions: Teachers' Perspectives," GATR Journals jmmr195, Global Academy of Training and Research (GATR) Enterprise.
    13. Jan Wieseke & Johannes Ullrich & Oliver Christ & Rolf Dick, 2007. "Organizational identification as a determinant of customer orientation in service organizations," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 265-278, December.
    14. Fanny Poujol, 2008. "Le rôle des comportements relationnels des commerciaux dans la GRC," Post-Print hal-03122145, HAL.
    15. Brown, Steven P. & Lam, Son K., 2008. "A Meta-Analysis of Relationships Linking Employee Satisfaction to Customer Responses," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 84(3), pages 243-255.
    16. Vishal Bindroo & Xin He & Raj Echambadi, 2016. "Satisfaction—Repurchase Intentions Relationship: Exploring the Contingent Roles of Consideration Set Size and Price Consciousness," Customer Needs and Solutions, Springer;Institute for Sustainable Innovation and Growth (iSIG), vol. 3(3), pages 115-125, December.
    17. Wendelien Van Eerde & Paul Peper, 2008. "Deviant service behaviour: coming soon to a theatre near you?," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 85-93, January.
    18. Burmann, Christoph & Jost-Benz, Marc & Riley, Nicola, 2009. "Towards an identity-based brand equity model," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 390-397, March.
    19. Purohit, Basant Kumar, 2010. "Leveraging the Integration of Sales Career Cycle with Brand Life Cycle in Indian Pharmaceutical Firms," IIMA Working Papers WP2010-07-01, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.
    20. Melnyk, Valentyna, 2014. "Resisting temptation: gender differences in customer loyalty in the presence of a more attractive alternative," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 335-341.

    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:joreco:v:20:y:2013:i:6:p:599-608. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing-and-consumer-services .

    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.