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Relative deprivation in solving unfair customer reviews

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  • Liu, Juan
  • Yu, Runzhe
  • Li, Jing
  • Wang, Shijia

Abstract

Although unfair negative customer reviews are gaining scholarly attention, research on addressing them to attract third-party customer support is in its infancy. This study assumes a social identity perspective in exploring how firms should respond to such reviews. Three experiments reveal several noteworthy findings: 1) perceived relative deprivation of third-party customers, arising from firms' responses to customer-generated unfair negative reviews, fosters support for firms; 2) group identification and empathy serially mediate this effect; and 3) emoji styles (aggressive vs. affiliative) represent a boundary condition of the impacts of perceived relative deprivation. These results enrich theories related to unfair customer reviews and emojis. This study also informs strategies to help tourism and hospitality firms manage unfair customer reviews.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Juan & Yu, Runzhe & Li, Jing & Wang, Shijia, 2025. "Relative deprivation in solving unfair customer reviews," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:anture:v:111:y:2025:i:c:s0160738325000337
    DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2025.103927
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    References listed on IDEAS

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