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Online Complaint Handling: The Effects of Politeness and Grammaticality upon Perceived Professionalism and Loyalty

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  • Pierre-Nicolas Schwab
  • Sandra Rothenberger

Abstract

Positioned within the context of online complaint-handling, the present study aimed to examine the potentially mediating role of perceived professionalism in the relationships between message content (grammaticality) and form (politeness) on the one hand and customer loyalty on the other. A path analysis revealed that: (1) grammaticality impacts upon loyalty indirectly through the message recipients’ perceptions of the credibility and competence of the sender; (2) politeness impacts upon loyalty directly as well as indirectly through the message recipients’ perceptions of the credibility and competence of the sender, and (3) both perceptions of credibility and perceptions of competence strongly (positively) impact upon customer loyalty. These findings suggest that in an on-line, text-based complaint-handling context, the perceived professionalism of firm representatives plays a key explanatory role in the relationship between message form and content on the one hand and consumers’ repurchase intentions on the other. Implications for practitioners are discussed and recommendations formulated to better handle complaints enhance odds of repurchase intentions.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre-Nicolas Schwab & Sandra Rothenberger, 2015. "Online Complaint Handling: The Effects of Politeness and Grammaticality upon Perceived Professionalism and Loyalty," Working Papers CEB 15-015, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/199009
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fogarty, Timothy J., 1992. "Organizational socialization in accounting firms: A theoretical framework and agenda for future research," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 129-149, February.
    2. Pierre-Nicolas Schwab & Laurence Rosier, 2013. "Politeness strategies in firms’ answers to customer complaints," Working Papers CEB 13-023, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
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    5. 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.
    6. Katja Gelbrich & Holger Roschk, 2011. "Do complainants appreciate overcompensation? A meta-analysis on the effect of simple compensation vs. overcompensation on post-complaint satisfaction," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 31-47, March.
    7. del Río-Lanza, Ana Belén & Vázquez-Casielles, Rodolfo & Díaz-Martín, Ana M, 2009. "Satisfaction with service recovery: Perceived justice and emotional responses," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(8), pages 775-781, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    complaint handling; identity cues; politeness; grammaticality; professionalism; loyalty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M31 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Marketing and Advertising - - - Marketing

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