Do they see the signs? Organizational response behavior to customer complaint messages

Companies often view customer complaints as a nuisance, but such complaints can be of high value to firms. Building on signaling theory and the attention-based view of the firm, this study examines organizational response behavior to customer complaint messages that differ in their value signaled to the firm. In a field experiment, we manipulate whether a complaint message contains ideas for product improvement (versus does not), and whether a long-term customer-firm relationship is indicated (versus first-time relationship). Our results show that companies are less likely to respond to complaints that convey improvement ideas and that are voiced by long-term customers. Companies also exhibit longer response times to complaints that signal improvement ideas. Further, the findings reveal that lower response rates to customer complaints are associated with lower levels of customer satisfaction. This research contributes to the literature on customer complaint management and customer integration by providing implications for managers seeking to utilize complaints as a valuable source of ideas for new product development.