IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joinma/v50y2020icp45-64.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

To Defend or Not to Defend? How Responses to Negative Customer Review Affect Prospective customers' Distrust and Purchase Intention

Author

Listed:
  • Zhao, Haichuan
  • Jiang, Lan
  • Su, Chenting

Abstract

Negative online reviews are a ubiquitous problem that affects every online seller at some point. It can lead to prospective consumers' distrust and decrease future purchase intention. Therefore, formulating a proper response is essential for minimizing these negative effects. Based on the ability–motivation paradigm and stability attribution, we find that apology works better when the alleged cause is relatively unstable (e.g., competence-based negative review) and when the seller has a high ability to change. However, when the alleged cause is relatively stable (e.g., integrity-based negative review) or when the seller has a low ability to change, we show that it is better for the seller to defend its reputation. In addition, we demonstrate that a remedial action plan in the seller's response can reinforce the motivation to change communicated through apology. Thus, coupled with a remedial action plan, apology works better than defending one's reputation, regardless of the negative online review type.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhao, Haichuan & Jiang, Lan & Su, Chenting, 2020. "To Defend or Not to Defend? How Responses to Negative Customer Review Affect Prospective customers' Distrust and Purchase Intention," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 45-64.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joinma:v:50:y:2020:i:c:p:45-64
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intmar.2019.11.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1094996819301136
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.intmar.2019.11.001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sim B. Sitkin & Nancy L. Roth, 1993. "Explaining the Limited Effectiveness of Legalistic “Remedies” for Trust/Distrust," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(3), pages 367-392, August.
    2. Park, Cheol & Lee, Thae Min, 2009. "Information direction, website reputation and eWOM effect: A moderating role of product type," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 61-67, January.
    3. Harris, Katherine E. & Grewal, Dhruv & Mohr, Lois A. & Bernhardt, Kenneth L., 2006. "Consumer responses to service recovery strategies: The moderating role of online versus offline environment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(4), pages 425-431, April.
    4. Folkes, Valerie S, 1984. "Consumer Reactions to Product Failure: An Attributional Approach," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 10(4), pages 398-409, March.
    5. Jung Lee & Jae-Nam Lee & Bernard C. Y. Tan, 2015. "Antecedents of cognitive trust and affective distrust and their mediating roles in building customer loyalty," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 159-175, February.
    6. Teo, Thompson S.H. & Liu, Jing, 2007. "Consumer trust in e-commerce in the United States, Singapore and China," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 22-38, February.
    7. del Río-Lanza, Ana Belén & Vázquez-Casielles, Rodolfo & Díaz-Martín, Ana M, 2009. "Satisfaction with service recovery: Perceived justice and emotional responses," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(8), pages 775-781, August.
    8. Dan J. Kim & Donald L. Ferrin & H. Raghav Rao, 2009. "Trust and Satisfaction, Two Stepping Stones for Successful E-Commerce Relationships: A Longitudinal Exploration," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 20(2), pages 237-257, June.
    9. Gelbrich, Katja & Gäthke, Jana & Grégoire, Yany, 2016. "How a firm's best versus normal customers react to compensation after a service failure," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4331-4339.
    10. William P. Bottom & Kevin Gibson & Steven E. Daniels & J. Keith Murnighan, 2002. "When Talk Is Not Cheap: Substantive Penance and Expressions of Intent in Rebuilding Cooperation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(5), pages 497-513, October.
    11. Kim, Peter H. & Cooper, Cecily D. & Dirks, Kurt T. & Ferrin, Donald L., 2013. "Repairing trust with individuals vs. groups," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 120(1), pages 1-14.
    12. William Boulding & Richard Staelin, 1995. "Identifying Generalizable Effects of Strategic Actions on Firm Performance: The Case of Demand-Side Returns to R&D Spending," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(3_supplem), pages 222-236.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Das, Gopal & Spence, Mark T. & Agarwal, James, 2021. "Social selling cues: The dynamics of posting numbers viewed and bought on customers' purchase intentions," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 994-1016.
    2. Janina Seutter & Kristin Kutzner & Maren Stadtländer & Dennis Kundisch & Ralf Knackstedt, 2023. "“Sorry, too much information”—Designing online review systems that support information search and processing," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 33(1), pages 1-19, December.
    3. Ruiqi Zhou & Siming Li, 2023. "A Study on the Persuasive Function of Metadiscourse in Hotel Responses to Negative Reviews on TripAdvisor," English Language Teaching, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 16(6), pages 1-55, June.
    4. Nilashi, Mehrbakhsh & Abumalloh, Rabab Ali & Samad, Sarminah & Alrizq, Mesfer & Alyami, Sultan & Abosaq, Hamad & Alghamdi, Abdullah & Akib, Noor Adelyna Mohammed, 2022. "Factors impacting customer purchase intention of smart home security systems: Social data analysis using machine learning techniques," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Cahyono, Edi Dwi, 2023. "Instagram adoption for local food transactions: A research framework," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sharma, Isha & Jain, Kokil & Behl, Abhishek, 2020. "Effect of service transgressions on distant third-party customers: The role of moral identity and moral judgment," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 696-712.
    2. Sullivan, Yulia W. & Kim, Dan J., 2018. "Assessing the effects of consumers’ product evaluations and trust on repurchase intention in e-commerce environments," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 199-219.
    3. Raju, Sekar & Rajagopal, Priyali & Murdock, Mitchel R., 2021. "The moderating effects of prior trust on consumer responses to firm failures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 24-37.
    4. Weitzl, Wolfgang & Hutzinger, Clemens, 2017. "The effects of marketer- and advocate-initiated online service recovery responses on silent bystanders," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 164-175.
    5. Lingling Gao & Kerem Aksel Waechter, 0. "Examining the role of initial trust in user adoption of mobile payment services: an empirical investigation," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-24.
    6. Lutz Kaufmann & Jens Esslinger & Craig R. Carter, 2018. "Toward Relationship Resilience: Managing Buyer‐Induced Breaches of Psychological Contracts During Joint Buyer–Supplier Projects," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 54(4), pages 62-85, October.
    7. Alyson Byrne & Julian Barling & Kathryne Dupré, 2014. "Leader Apologies and Employee and Leader Well-Being," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(1), pages 91-106, April.
    8. Gasparotto, Lisiane Santos & Pacheco, Natália Araujo & Basso, Kenny & Corte, Vitor Francisco Dalla & Rabello, Gisele Costa & Gallon, Shalimar, 2018. "The role of regulation and financial compensation on trust recovery," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 10-16.
    9. Kähkönen, T. & Blomqvist, K. & Gillespie, N. & Vanhala, M., 2021. "Employee trust repair: A systematic review of 20 years of empirical research and future research directions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 98-109.
    10. Rodolfo Vázquez-Casielles & Víctor Iglesias & Concepción Varela-Neira, 2010. "Service recovery, satisfaction and behaviour intentions: analysis of compensation and social comparison communication strategies," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 83-103, July.
    11. Julia Hartmann & Sebastian Forkmann & Sabine Benoit & Stephan C. Henneberg, 2022. "A consumer perspective on managing the consequences of chain liability," Journal of Supply Chain Management, Institute for Supply Management, vol. 58(4), pages 58-89, October.
    12. Bambauer-Sachse, Silke & Rabeson, Landisoa, 2015. "Determining adequate tangible compensation in service recovery processes for developed and developing countries: The role of severity and responsibility," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 117-127.
    13. Sharifi, Seyed Shahin & Aghazadeh, Hashem, 2016. "Discount reference moderates customers' reactions to discount frames after online service failure," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(10), pages 4074-4080.
    14. Pierre-Nicolas Schwab, 2015. "Online complaint handling practices: Company strategies and their effects upon post-complaint satisfaction," Working Papers CEB 15-005, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    15. Wang, Kai-Yu & Liang, Minli & Peracchio, Laura A., 2011. "Strategies to offset dissatisfactory product performance: The role of post-purchase marketing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(8), pages 809-815, August.
    16. Hallikainen, Heli & Laukkanen, Tommi, 2018. "National culture and consumer trust in e-commerce," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 97-106.
    17. Chebat, Jean-Charles & Davidow, Moshe & Borges, Adilson, 2011. "More on the role of switching costs in service markets: A research note," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(8), pages 823-829, August.
    18. Tzu-En Lu & Yi-Hsuan Lee & Jer-Wei Hsu, 2020. "Does Service Recovery Really Work? The Multilevel Effects of Online Service Recovery Based on Brand Perception," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-23, August.
    19. Kuo, Ying-Feng & Wu, Chi-Ming, 2012. "Satisfaction and post-purchase intentions with service recovery of online shopping websites: Perspectives on perceived justice and emotions," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 127-138.
    20. Anna M. Cianci & Shana M. Clor-Proell & Steven E. Kaplan, 2019. "How Do Investors Respond to Restatements? Repairing Trust Through Managerial Reputation and the Announcement of Corrective Actions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 158(2), pages 297-312, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joinma:v:50:y:2020:i:c:p:45-64. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-interactive-marketing/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.