IMPACT OF CUSTOMER COMPLAINING BEHAVIOUR ON DEFECTION BEHAVIOUR: AN INVESTIGATION ON RETAIL FORMATS IN INDIA

Pankaj Kumar

doi:10.29121/granthaalayah.v4.i12.2016.2411

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of complaining behaviour on defection behaviour based on demographics (gender, age, marital status, education and, income level) of the dissatisfied customers of retail stores. A structured questionnaire was successfully distributed to 600 respondents, who had made purchases from sixty retail formats operated in Delhi and Gurugram belonging to the domain of Shopping Malls, Hypermarket, Supermarket, Department Stores, Discount stores and Category Killers through systematic stratified sampling for the collection of data. Out of 377 valid ones questionnaires for analysis, a set of 89 responsents have shown dissatisfaction about the retail store products and services and have taken in this study (N=89). Multiple regression analysis with forward selection was employed to predict the effect of complaining actions on defection behaviour based on demographics (gender, age, marital status, education and, income level) of the dissatisfied customers of retail stores. The study has found a significant effect of complaining actions on defection behaviour of dissatisfied customers of retail stores based on their education qualification and income level. However, gender, age and maritial status of dissatisfied customers did not moderate the the relationship between complaining actions and switching behaviour. The recommendations for managers are also discussed.

Highlights

Understanding the complaining and defection behaviour of dissatisfied customers of retail stores has long been an important agenda of marketers and researchers
The results in Table-3 shows that gender, age and marital status of the respondents do not moderate the relationship between dissatisfied complaint actions and defection behaviour
The study found a significant effect of complaining action on defection behaviour of dissatisfied customers of retail stores based on their education qualification and income level

Summary

Introduction

Understanding the complaining and defection behaviour of dissatisfied customers of retail stores has long been an important agenda of marketers and researchers. Dissatisfied customers frequently share their negative experiences with friends and relatives, which may negatively affect the sales performance and profitability of company (Day et al, 1981). It has become essential for any service provider to understand customer complaining behaviour for the reason of its relationship with negative word-of-mouth communication, reduced repurchase intentions and switching behaviour (Lovelock, 1996; Tax and Brown, 1998; Johnston, 2001; Lam et al, 2004) and further negative word-of-mouth communication may damage the firms, because such messages are more likely to be believed (Gruber et al, 2009). That’s why, the Study on consumer complaining behaviour is always measured a significant concern for the survival of any business (Kau and Loh, 2006) and has been received growing attention in the service areas (Heung and Lam, 2003; Ndubisi and Ling, 2006; Yuksel et al, 2006)

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