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Illegitimate returns as a trigger for customers’ ethical dissonance

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  • Seger-Guttmann, Tali
  • Vilnai-Yavetz, Iris
  • Wang, Chen-Ya
  • Petruzzellis, Luca

Abstract

This study investigates the combined impact of customer merchandise return circumstances (legitimate or illegitimate) and service employee responses on customer outcomes (loyalty and ingratiation), through the lens of the ethical dissonance framework. Respondents (N = 916) were randomly divided among six experimental conditions in a 2 × 3 between-subjects design. As predicted, returns circumstances moderated the relationship between employee responses and customer outcomes: Despite employees’ angry response to delinquent customers, the latter's levels of loyalty toward the business as well as ingratiation toward the service employees were less damaged than in the case of normative customers exposed to the same employee angry response. This, we suggest, reflects an intention to quiet the dissonance on the part of the customers upon realizing that their delinquent behavior was evident to the service employee.

Suggested Citation

  • Seger-Guttmann, Tali & Vilnai-Yavetz, Iris & Wang, Chen-Ya & Petruzzellis, Luca, 2018. "Illegitimate returns as a trigger for customers’ ethical dissonance," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 120-131.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joreco:v:45:y:2018:i:c:p:120-131
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.08.014
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    3. Jung, Jin Ho & Brown, Tom J. & Zablah, Alex R., 2022. "How Customer Requests Influence Frontline Employee Job Outcomes: The Role of Personal Appraisal Tendencies and Situational Customer Demandingness," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 315-334.
    4. Chang, Hsiu-Hua & Yang, Ting-Shan, 2022. "Consumer rights or unethical behaviors: Exploring the impacts of retailer return policies," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    5. Huang, Wen-Hsien & Hsieh, Shao-Yu, 2023. "The impact of animal metaphors on consumer response to courtesy advertising," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    6. Zhang, Danni & Frei, Regina & Senyo, P.K. & Bayer, Steffen & Gerding, Enrico & Wills, Gary & Beck, Adrian, 2023. "Understanding fraudulent returns and mitigation strategies in multichannel retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).

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