Cue the complaint: the visual cues of Facebook business pages and their influence on consumer complaint behaviour

Abstract

ABSTRACT The visual cues of websites have been found to affect consumer attitudes and behaviours. Facebook business pages (FBPs) also exhibit visual cues, several of which are pertinent to consumers considering whether to make a complaint on a FBP. Drawing on social cognitive theory (SCT), we explore the role of these visual cues in consumers’ social learning and reveal their influence on consumers’ likelihood to complain and attitude towards the firm. Four experiments examine the influence of three visual cues: the presence of complaints by other consumers, firm responsiveness, and evidence of redress. Results indicate that consumers are more likely to complain when complaints of others are present on a FBP, and any form of redress has a greater positive effect than firm responsiveness. Moreover, a consumer’s perceived likelihood of a successful complaint was found to explain the impact of visual cues on their likelihood to complain and attitude towards the firm.