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Customer's angry voice: Targeting employees or the organization?

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  • McColl-Kennedy, Janet R.
  • Sparks, Beverley A.
  • Nguyen, Doan T.

Abstract

Poor service encounters have the potential to leave customers feeling angry at the frontline service employee who serves them, angry at the organization, or angry at both parties. The 25 in-depth interviews (Study 1) and experimental work (Study 2) demonstrate how distributive (outcome fairness), procedural (response time) and interactional (treatment received) justice dimensions differentially affect where the customer targets her or his anger, either at the frontline employee or at the organization as a whole. Further investigation reveals sins-of-omission (when the service provider failed to act) and interactional justice mediate the effect of response time on anger at the employee. Interactional justice also partially mediates the effect of outcome fairness on anger at the organization whereas sins-of-omission do not.

Suggested Citation

  • McColl-Kennedy, Janet R. & Sparks, Beverley A. & Nguyen, Doan T., 2011. "Customer's angry voice: Targeting employees or the organization?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(7), pages 707-713, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:64:y:2011:i:7:p:707-713
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    5. Ashley, Christy & Noble, Stephanie M., 2014. "It's Closing Time: Territorial Behaviors from Customers in Response to Front Line Employees," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 74-92.
    6. Fellesson, Markus & Salomonson, Nicklas, 2016. "The expected retail customer: Value co-creator, co-producer or disturbance?," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 204-211.

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