Abstract
A customer’s revenge can significantly impact a company’s reputation. After a service failure, a desire for revenge is created and customers can decide to either commit direct or indirect revenge. With direct revenge, customers have a direct altercation with the company’s staff and albeit negative, it allows companies the opportunity for service recovery. Indirect revenge, on the other hand, is much more damaging where customers partake in negative Word Of Mouth (WOM) both online and offline. Therefore, better understanding customer revenge behaviour is important for marketing managers. Two key issues have not been resolved in the customer revenge debate: first, what the influence of relationship quality is. Does relationship quality negatively impact desire for revenge or the so-called “love is blind” approach; or does relationship quality increase the likelihood of desire for revenge and eventual revenge behaviour; or the “love is hate” approach. The second issue is what the role of consumer power and empowerment has on whether consumers partake in direct or indirect revenge. Through a self-completion survey, this study finds support for the “love is blind” approach, finding that relationship satisfaction reduces the desire for revenge. In addition, it shows that power was positively related to customers’ desire for revenge and empowerment positively related to their direct revenge behaviours, the better of the two evils. The study outlines how firms can use customer relationship management to manage customer satisfaction and empowerment in order to protect their equity and reputation in the event of a service failure. Key words: Relationship satisfaction, desire for revenge, revenge behaviour, power, empowerment.
Highlights
Revenge and retaliation are terms used in the literature to describe a multitude of negative actions a customer may take towards a firm in the event of a service failure (Bechwati and Morrin, 2003; Fitness, 2001; Gregoire and Fisher, 2006)
It shows that power was positively related to customers’ desire for revenge and empowerment positively related to their direct revenge behaviours, the better of the two evils
Customers have been known to carry out their desire for revenge through direct forms of revenge in reaction to a service failure. This leads to the third hypothesis this study aims to test: H3: In the event of service failure/s, a customer’s desire for revenge will have a positive influence on her acting out direct revenge behaviours
Summary
Revenge and retaliation are terms used in the literature to describe a multitude of negative actions a customer may take towards a firm in the event of a service failure (Bechwati and Morrin, 2003; Fitness, 2001; Gregoire and Fisher, 2006). Firms have had to acknowledge that customers are wielding increasing power over them and have the potential to harm their equity and reputation thereby deterring future customers (Hansen et al, 1996; Ward and Ostrom, 2006). It is in the best interest of firms to be aware of the path a consumer may take from frustration and dissatisfaction to radical action, so that they may protect themselves against aggressive brand attacks (Ling, 2008). How relationship satisfaction impact desire for revenge, is still
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