International Journal of Consumer Studies ISSN 1470-6423

The right to be heard and to be understood: a conceptual framework for consumer protection in emerging economies
Sun Donoghue and Helena M. de Klerk
Department of Consumer Science, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

Keywords Consumer complaint behaviour, consumerism, redress environment. Correspondence Sun Donoghue, Department of Consumer Science (Room 3-14), University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa. E-mail: Sune.Donoghue@up.ac.za doi: 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00773.x

Abstract
In many emerging economies and developing countries, comprising consumers from different cultures and with varying degrees of sophistication (knowledge and skill) concerning consumer protection, the promotion of consumers rights to develop a consumeroriented culture remains a very big challenge. One way of protecting the consumer, especially the consumer that has not been fully socialized to execute informed decisions when purchasing expensive durables, is by establishing a redress environment that would ensure fair redress as well as an understanding and appreciation of the consumer. Manufacturers and retailers are often not aware of the performance failures that consumers experience concerning their products because many people do not communicate their dissatisfactions to them. However, unless and until manufacturers and retailers fully comprehend their customers complaint behaviour, their reasons for engaging in specic complaint behaviour and the reasoning (cognitive processes) and emotional processes behind their behaviour, they will not recognize the link between complaint handling and customer loyalty and prots. The purpose of this paper was to develop a theoretical conceptual framework that would enable consumer scientists, consumer consultants, consumer behaviour researchers and those with the responsibility of handling consumer complaints to explore and understand consumer complaint behaviour in its entirety. We argue that, to be able to establish and manage a redress environment that is characterized by an understanding of the specic consumer as well as by effective complaint behaviour handling, it is of the utmost importance that the manufacturer, retailer, consumer consultant and all those that work with consumers complaints understand the entire complaint process, including the underlying cognitive and emotional processes as well as the consumers post-complaint perception of justice and his/her satisfaction with the complaint handling. It is also important to understand the role that consumer-, product- and redress environment-related variables play in consumer complaint behaviour. The consumer who blames the retailer for the problem and who probably feels angry about the situation and decides to complain will expect redress. From a consumers viewpoint, complaint-related justice is, however, not only a matter of economic calculus but also a matter of procedure and interaction. We therefore argue for a holistic approach where consumer complaint behaviour is addressed in its entirety. Practical suggestions that could enhance customer satisfaction are given for manufacturers, retailers and those who deal with consumers complaints.

Introduction
Social and economic reforms in transitional and emerging economies have led to rapid increases in consumer income and a demand for various products. For example, the new political dispensations that came into being in many African countries (among which South Africa) have led to an increase in the consumption of goods as a way of displaying increased self-worth and newly acquired wealth, especially among those from previously disadvantaged
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backgrounds. Many of these developing countries comprise consumers from different cultural backgrounds who have not been properly socialized concerning the consumption of a variety of new and in many cases expensive household durables and the appropriate complaint behaviour in cases where they are not satised with their purchases. In many of these countries, with consumers with varying degrees of sophistication (knowledge and skill) concerning consumer protection, the promotion of consumers rights to develop a consumer-oriented culture remains a very

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big challenge. Internationally, there is immense support for consumer protection; however, the notion exists that consumer protection can only exist in rst-world (developed) countries with ample scal resources to properly act in the interest of consumers. This conception leaves consumers in emerging and transitional economies in a dilemma, as they do not live in an ideal world with sufcient resources to educate consumers on their rights. There is a proliferation of literature on consumer socialization (Moschis, 1987; Carlson et al., 1994; Ward in McGregor, 1999), which is a broad term for the whole process by which people learn the skills, knowledge and attitudes relevant to their functioning as consumers in the marketplace. One of the roles for which people are socialized is that of consumption, including not only the purchasing and usage of goods and services but also post-purchase reactions such as complaining in the case of dissatisfaction with products or services. With regard to transitional and developing countries, McGregor (1999) and Maheswaran and Shavitt (2000) point to the importance of not only consumer socialization but also consumer acculturation, where people from different backgrounds and cultures have to learn and accept the norms, behaviour and standards of a totally different culture and have to function in a marketing environment that does not necessarily understand and appreciate the values, norms and behaviours of new consumer groups. This can lead to a lack of consumer protection. One way of protecting the consumer, especially the consumer that has not been fully socialized, to execute informed decisions when purchasing expensive durables is by establishing a redress environment that would ensure fair redress as well as an understanding and appreciation for the consumer. Manufacturers and retailers are often not aware of the performance failures that consumers experience concerning their products, as many people do not communicate their dissatisfactions to them. However, unless and until manufacturers and retailers fully comprehend their customers complaint behaviour, their reasons for engaging in specic complaint behaviour and the reasoning (cognitive processes) and emotional processes behind their behaviour, they will not recognize the link between complaint handling and customer loyalty and prots (Goodman, 2006; Donoghue, 2008). Loyal customers are increasingly regarded as the backbone of any business because it is less expensive to retain existing customers than to attain new ones (Terblanche and Boshoff, 2001; Kim et al., 2003). Retailers can control their redress policies and their handling of customer complaints to improve their service quality and their customers in-store shopping experience, which in turn will strengthen customer loyalty (Terblanche and Boshoff, 2001, 2003; Goodman, 2006). By addressing complaints about dissatisfactory or faulty products, manufacturers also get the opportunity to correct product problems, improve the quality of existing merchandise and identify new consumer needs (Cri, 2003; Bodey and Grace, 2006). From a consumerism point of view, manufacturers and retailers should therefore encourage consumers to complain to them about product failures and should at the same time recognize that they are legally responsible for the protection of their customers rights in this context, specically the right to be heard and to be understood (Cri, 2003; Rousseau, 2003a). We argue that it is not only about complaint handling but, especially in the case of new and emerging consumer communities, about understanding from the consumers point of view, the entire purchasing process,

including consumers expectations about product performance, the dissatisfaction with the product performance, the decision to complain and the accompanying reasoning and emotions. Such an approach will enable the company to establish a redress environment that will respect the consumers right, not only to be heard but also to be understood, and will most probably enable the company or retailer to retain loyal customers, despite inevitable problems with product failures. The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical conceptual framework that will enable consumer scientists, consumer consultants, consumer behaviour researchers and those with the responsibility to handle consumer complaints to explore and understand complaint behaviour in its entirety.

An explanation of consumer complaint behaviour

To be able to establish and manage a redress environment that is characterized by a comprehension of the specic consumer as well as of effective complaint behaviour handling, it is of the utmost importance that manufacturers, retailers, consumer consultants and everybody working with consumers complaints understand the entire complaint process, including the underlying cognitive and emotional processes as well as consumers post-complaint perception of justice and their satisfaction with complaint handling procedures.

Cognitive and emotional processes underlying consumer complaint behaviour

Consumer behaviour researchers agree that prior to purchasing and consuming products, consumers form expectations regarding the performance of such products in a particular use situation. In addition, they believe that after or while using the product, consumers evaluate its perceived performance in terms of their initial expectations regarding the performance of the product. Consumers evaluation of the perceived discrepancy between their prior expectations and the actual performance of the product as perceived after its consumption is generally referred to as the disconrmation of exception paradigm in the academic community (Giese and Cote, 2000; Tronvoll, 2007). The duration of the consumption evaluation process is, however, dependent on the type of product (Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995). For example, consumers can decide immediately whether they are happy or unhappy with inexpensive and quickly consumed products such as perishable food items. In contrast, items that are used over longer periods beyond the immediate post-purchase stage, such as durable products, take longer to evaluate. When the products performance does not meet the consumers expectations (i.e. when a performance failure occurs or when the product performs poorly), negative disconrmation occurs, leading to feelings of dissatisfaction (Steward in Ndubisi and Ling, 2006). Feelings of dissatisfaction are mediated by attributional reasoning (i.e. the cognitive process of wanting to nd out why a negative outcome or event occurred). Consumers could attribute the products failure to themselves (internal locus) or to the manufacturer, retailer or some outside agent in the environment or situation or in the product itself (external locus). The outcome of the purchaseuse situation could also be attributed to something temporary
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The right to be heard and to be understood

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(unstable) or something that is likely to occur each time the product is purchased or used (stable) (Weiner, 2000). When product failure is stable, people would probably expect the product to fail if they purchase the same product again in the future. Conversely, when product failure is caused by unstable reasons, consumers would probably be less certain of future product failure and would therefore purchase or use the same product again (Folkes, 1984; Weiner, 2000). Additionally, both the consumer and other parties such as the manufacturer or retailer can either have volitional control over an outcome or be under certain uncontrollable constraints. Consumers perceptions of attributions (causes for product failure) in terms of the locus, stability and controllability dimensions generate differentiated affective reactions. For example, when retailers are thought to have control over the cause of product failure (i.e. when the individual thinks that the retailer could have prevented the product failure), consumers feel angry and desire revenge more than when they are believed to lack control (Folkes, 1984; Swanson and Kelley, 2001). Finally, the affective reactions and expectations for future product failure are thought to determine consumers behaviour (Weiner, 1986; Laufer, 2002). However, it should be noted that what people believe to be the causes for product failure are sometimes far removed from the truth. For example, some customers might unintentionally prefer to attribute bad outcomes (in this case, product failure) to external factors (manufacturers) rather than to their own wrongdoing. The latter attribution fallacy is better known as self-serving attributional bias (Frsterling, 2001).

Conceptualizing consumer complaint behaviour

One of the most direct and meaningful ways that consumers can express their dissatisfaction about products to manufacturers and retailers is to complain. Simply put, a complaint is a statement about expectations that have not been met (Barlow and Mller, 1996). Complaint behaviour should, however, not only be thought of as a direct or formal expression of dissatisfaction directed at manufacturers and retailers (second parties) or to third parties (i.e. a public consumer protection agency, voluntary organization, ombudsman or court) (Singh, 1988; Halstead and Drge, 1991). Consumers may also communicate their dissatisfaction about products in much more indirect/hidden ways such as less favourable purchase attitudes, lower or non-existent purchase intentions, negative word-of-mouth, changes in shopping behaviour such as brand or product switching and retailer boycotts all of which are detrimental to the retailer or manufacturers business (Day et al., 1981; Goodwin and Spiggle, 1989). Studies show that consumers will typically tell 810 people about dissatisfactory products to obtain emotional support (i.e. to vent their anger and to gain social validation of their negative feelings) (Sanes, 1993; Halstead, 2002; Donoghue, 2008). Consequently, far larger numbers of unknown dissatised consumers respond in covert ways that never come to the retailer or manufacturers attention. Furthermore, numerous studies have indeed documented that a common response to consumer dissatisfaction is to do nothing (never complain to the retailer, manufacturer or a third party). However, non-behavioural responses should be considered legitimate forms of consumer complaining, despite the passive nature thereof (Singh, 1988;
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Halstead and Drge, 1991). The inclusion of non-behavioural responses as forms of consumer complaining appears not only to be justied but also necessary to comprehend the process underlying the consumer complaint behaviour response (Singh, 1988; Cri, 2003). Bearing the above reasoning in mind, three major options are available to consumers who are dissatised with their purchase: private action and/or public action or no action. As such, consumers may engage in private actions (e.g. switching brands or retailers, boycotting the type of product or warning family and friends) and/or engage in public action such as seeking redress (i.e. a refund, an exchange or free repairs and replacement of defective parts depending on the nature of the product and particular circumstances) directly from the retailer or manufacturer, complaining to the retailer or manufacturer, a public consumer protection agency, a voluntary organization or the media, or taking legal action against the retailer or manufacturer (Day and Landon, 1977; Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995; Phau and Sari, 2004). Obviously, combinations of private and public actions may occur. Alternatively, consumers may refrain from taking action by rationalizing and forgetting about the product failure (Cri, 2003). Once dissatisfaction occurs, consumers may therefore engage in behavioural and non-behavioural responses to resolve it (Day and Landon, 1977; Singh, 1988; Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995). Consumer responses to dissatisfaction are therefore generally referred to as consumer complaint behaviour (Singh, 1988; Maute and Forrester, 1993; Mattsson et al., 2004). It is clear that it is of the utmost importance for the consumer scientist, consumer consultant and those who are responsible for managing the redress environment to understand the relations between consumers causal ascriptions, emotions and complaint behaviour. Lazarus and Lazarus (1994) dene emotions as complex reactions that engage both our minds and our bodies a personal life drama, which has to do with the fate of our goals in a particular encounter and our beliefs about ourselves and the world we live in. Cognitive emotion theory assumes that emotions are guided by construal or appraisal of the situation (Arnold, 1960; Lazarus, 1966; Ellis, 1975). How we think thus inuences how we feel and, in the end, also inuences the strategies that we choose to handle the situation. The complaint behaviour that the consumer decides on should therefore be seen as a coping strategy that the consumer has chosen in order to handle the situation as well as his/her emotions. The consumer, who blames the retailer for the problem that he/she experiences and who expects the retailer to control the situation, would most probably feel angry or even very angry when more expensive durables are involved. Weiner (1986) notes that anger involves a normative judgement, an attribution of blame. Lazarus and Lazarus (1994) note that the biggest problem with anger is what to do about the situation that provoked the emotion. The rst impulse is usually to cope with the damage to our ego, to retaliate by attacking the one whom we blame for the problem (voicing the anger and complaining to the retailer or manufacturer) or to inhibit its expression as aggression. However, to inhibit the expression of anger does not eliminate it as an authentic emotional state. The anger remains as long as the problem has not been solved. The consumer who blames the retailer or manufacturer for the problem and who decides not to seek redress from the retailer will therefore remain angry and will, in addition, most probably experience aggression. The

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problem will not be solved; however, the need to cope with the emotion remains. The only way out for the frustrated consumer is to choose another emotion-focused coping strategy such as telling friends or boycotting the retailer or manufacturer both devastating for the specic retailer and manufacturer.

Factors inuencing consumer complaint behaviour

The complaining behaviour of consumers is not simply a matter of perceived dissatisfaction with a product or service. Other factors such as consumer-related variables, product-specic variables and redress environment variables need to be examined to study consumers complaint behaviour (Halstead and Drge, 1991; Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995; Stephens and Gwinner, 1998; Tronvoll, 2007). These factors relate to why consumers engage in specic complaint actions and are therefore important to bear in mind when researching or trying to understand the specic behavioural outcomes chosen. Consumers reasons for specic complaint actions suggest specic problematic areas that retailers, manufacturers and marketers can improve on by making strategic and tactical decisions (Donoghue, 2008). Consumer-related variables Consumer-related variables refer to characteristics that are associated with or determined primarily by consumers (i.e. individual factors). Consumer characteristics that have been proposed as antecedents to complaint behaviour include, among other things, the followings: demographics (Ndubisi and Ling, 2006; Tronvoll, 2007), personality factors (Sharma and Marshall, 2005; Bodey and Grace, 2006), attitudes (Kim et al., 2003; Velzquez et al., 2006), personal values (Stephens and Gwinner, 1998; Liu and McClure, 2001), culture (Au et al., 2001; Blodgett et al., 2006), knowledge and experience as consumers (Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995) and causal attributions for product failure (Weiner, 2000; Laufer, 2002). Results have been fairly inconsistent with regard to the role of demographic variables as a determinant in consumer complaining. Whereas some researchers have suggested that complainers tend to hold professional jobs, earn higher incomes, are well educated and are younger than non-complainers, other researchers, however, dispute this and propose that individuals who are poor or low in education and the elderly do not necessarily react more passively to perceived dissatisfaction (Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995; Cri, 2003; Phau and Sari, 2004; Ndubisi and Ling, 2006; Tronvoll, 2007). Donoghue (2008) found that no signicant differences existed concerning the demographic prole (i.e. gender, age, highest level of education, monthly household income, culture) of complainers vs. non-complainers. Broadbridge and Marshalls (1995) survey also could not determine a prole for complainers vs. non-complainers. Both these studies researched consumers complaint behaviour concerning dissatisfactory household appliances. In addition, Donoghues (2008) research found no signicant relationships between gender, age and level of education on the one hand, and the different types of complaint action (private and public action) on the other. Concerning the relationships between level of income and private and public complaint actions

respectively, Donoghue (2008) found no signicant relationships between level of income and telling friends, family and/or acquaintances about the bad experience (private action) and contacting the retailer/manufacturer to obtain redress (repairs/a replacement/a refund) (public action) and contacting a repair service other than that supplied by the retailer or manufacturer (public action) respectively. However, her study, which was done in an African developing country, showed that consumers from the lower income groups were signicantly more inclined to stop supporting retailers (private action) and to contact retailers/ manufacturers to complain for reasons other than seeking redress (public action), compared with consumers from upscale income groups contradicting previous research ndings which indicated that complainers tend to be the most nancially successful segments in the marketplace (Singh, 1990). Donoghues (2008) ndings may be explained by the fact that consumers in lower socio-economic groups might consider complaining worth the trouble as they are struggling more to make ends meet on their hard-earned money, compared with higher income earners. Cross-cultural research has shown that collectivists tend not to express their emotions outwardly, and if negative emotions are expressed, they are likely to be discussed in intimate social settings (Markus & Kitayama in Liu and McClure, 2001). Liu and McClures (2001) study empirically conrmed that when dissatised, consumers in a collectivistic culture (South Korean consumers) are less likely to complain publicly but are more likely to engage in private behaviour than those in an individualist culture (US consumers). In Donoghues (2008) study, the black consumers (traditionally viewed as a collectivistic culture) did not engage in negative word-of-mouth signicantly more than the Caucasian consumers (traditionally viewed as an individualistic culture), as suggested by cross-cultural theory. However, a signicantly larger proportion of black respondents decided to use another brand name and stopped supporting the retailer, conrming previous studies in this respect (Liu and McClure, 2001). Black respondents were also more inclined to complain to retailers and manufacturers to obtain redress and to complain for other reasons than obtaining redress compared with the Caucasian respondents, implying that black respondents were much more actively involved in their complaint behaviour concerning major electrical household appliances than Caucasian respondents. This contradiction could be partly explained in terms of the different value orientations guiding the behaviour of black and Caucasian cultures. These days, most of the South African black people subscribe to a mixture of African and Western values while most of the South African Caucasian people subscribe to Western values (Mbigi & Maree in Rousseau, 2003b). Thus, in addition to the black respondents collective will (yearning for societal supportiveness and cohesion), they may be increasingly adopting Western (individualistic) values and may therefore tend to exhibit higher levels of individual assertiveness and condence. Consumers personality traits and psychological characteristics also play an important role in complaining behaviour. Consumers differ in self-condence and in their degree of aggressiveness or submissiveness. Complainers have been found to be more assertive, self-condent and in personal control of their life experiences (internal control) and overall can be described as Type-A personalities, relative to non-complainers who are said to be unassertive, to lack self-esteem and overall exhibit a Type-B personality (Sheth
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The right to be heard and to be understood

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et al., 1999; Bodey and Grace, 2006). However, it should be pointed out that researchers have found that underlying personality traits provide very little explanatory power in explaining differences in consumer complaining behaviour (Richins, 1987; Blodgett and Granbois, 1992; Stephens and Gwinner, 1998). Several studies support the role of attitudes towards complaining as direct positive antecedents of either complaining intentions or complaining behaviour (Richins, 1982; Halstead and Drge, 1991). Consumers who have a favourable attitude towards complaining will be more likely to complain to those at fault and will be more likely to seek redress from the retailer (Singh, 1990; Blodgett and Granbois, 1992; Kincade et al., 1998; Velzquez et al., 2006). Similarly, ndings also suggest that a negative attitude towards complaining may prohibit non-complainers from taking complaint action (Bodey and Grace, 2006). Consumers attitudes towards business, government, consumer organizations and complaining have been studied in order to predict complaining behaviour, but the results have been mixed (Halstead and Drge, 1991). Singh (1990) found that prior experiences provide some of the descriptors for predicting redress behaviour, specically complaint behaviour. In general, complainers tend to have more prior experience of complaining compared with non-complainers. Knowledge of unfair practices, consumer rights and where and how to make complaints has been found to co-vary positively with complaining behaviour (Singh, 1990). The more knowledgeable consumer is less likely to have an unsatisfactory experience and is more likely to be able to resolve it on his/her own or to obtain redress with relatively little friction (Day and Landon, 1977). In addition, those consumers who have experienced prior complaints may determine how a company might respond to voiced complaints and the associated costs and benets (Kim et al., 2003). The less knowledgeable and more inexperienced consumer will be less able to judge product performance and evaluate the goods and services that he/she uses. In addition, such a consumer will be unfamiliar with procedures for seeking redress and registering complaints (Barnes and Kelloway, 1980). The role of attributional processing in consumer complaint behaviour has been studied by numerous researchers (Weiner, 2000; Au et al., 2001; Laufer, 2002). To lead to consumer complaint behaviour, the consumer has to identify the party responsible for his/her dissatisfaction during a given consumption episode (Cri, 2003). In Donoghues (2008) study, the respondents mainly attributed the cause for product failure to factors external to themselves such as the manufacturers wrongdoing compared with human error and other reasons; however, they were uncertain about whether their products would fail if they were to purchase the same products in the future and about whether retailers and manufacturers really have control over product failures. The interplay between the locus and controllability dimensions might have augmented respondents perception of blame for the product failure and their subsequent complaint behaviour. Anger was a signicant predictor of negative word-ofmouth behaviour. Those respondents who experienced higher levels of anger were more likely to take action as opposed to no action, switch brand names and stop supporting retailers (private action) and to contact the retailer/manufacturer to complain for other reasons than seeking redress, compared with those with lower levels of anger.
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Product-specic variables Product-specic variables have been shown to be factors in predicting post-purchase behaviour of some products and consumer services (Kincade et al., 1998). Product-specic variables related to complaint behaviour include: the nature or type of product (product category), cost of the product (Kincade et al., 1998; Stephens and Gwinner, 1998), durability (Day and Landon, 1977, p. 434; Kincade et al., 1998), importance of the product to the consumer (Stephens and Gwinner, 1998; Sheth et al., 1999, p. 550), dissatisfaction with the product (Goodwin and Spiggle, 1989) and severity of the dissatisfaction or problems caused by the dissatisfaction (Richins, 1987; Goodwin and Spiggle, 1989; Donoghue, 2008). It is generally accepted in consumer complaint behaviour theory that highly priced, complex products (high in perceived risk) with a relatively long life expectancy generate a higher incidence of public complaints (Day and Landon, 1977; Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995). More attempts to seek redress were noted in studies of durable goods and services than for non-durable items (Denier in Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995; Kincade et al., 1998). Redress for a durable product may be considered worth it in contrast to a return trip to complain about a product with a short life expectancy (Kincade et al., 1998). Some dissatisfaction is relatively minor and may not justify the effort to make a complaint (Maute and Forrester, 1993). However, some, such as complete product breakdown or safety hazards of a defective product, are more serious and thus more likely to result in complaint action (Barnes and Kelloway, 1980). Donoghues (2008) study showed that consumers who perceived the performance failure of their products as very severe to extremely severe were more likely to use another brand name and to stop supporting the retailer than respondents who varied between not severe to somewhat severe. In contrast, for all other complaint actions, the level of severity did not impact action. This may help to explain consumers general passivity concerning engaging in public complaint action (especially formal complaint behaviour). Redress environment variables Redress environment variables refer to factors that are controlled or primarily inuenced by retailers (Halstead and Drge, 1991; Dolinsky, 1994; Terblanche and Boshoff, 2001, 2003). Factors in the redress environment that affect consumer complaint behaviour include perceptions of the retailers responsiveness to customer complaints (i.e. the retailers willingness to provide a remedy for the dissatisfaction should a consumer complain) and the consumers perceived trouble (inconvenience) involved in making a complaint (Maute and Forrester, 1993; Huppertz, 2003). Other variables subsumed under the latter include the psychological cost of complaining, time lost (Dolinsky, 1994) and the monetary cost of complaining (Richins, 1982). Perceived fairness/justice (customers perception of the fairness of the action) will largely determine whether that customer will engage in consumer complaint behaviour (Blodgett and Granbois, 1992; Sheth et al., 1999, p. 551; Davido, 2003; Kau and Loh, 2006). Perceived fairness/justice is a collective term which refers to the individual constructs of procedural fairness, distributive fairness and interactional fairness. Complaint management

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therefore entails much more than just refunding unhappy consumers. By the application of professional complaint management, complaint satisfaction can be achieved which can lead to positive attitude changes, positive word-of-mouth and increased readiness to buy from the same supplier. Consumers complaints stem from a perceived injustice and when they decide to complain they expect the company to offer a recovery. It not only involves the consumers cognitive reasoning of who to blame for the injustice but also involves strong accompanying emotions called justicerelated emotions. From a consumers viewpoint, complaint-related justice is therefore more than a matter of economic calculus in unbalanced exchanges. It is, according to Parkinson (1996, p. 673), also about the meaning of the self in a situation and therefore about coping with whatever threatens the experience of a positive self and the feeling of control. Previous research has shown that economic calculus and emotions are intimately intertwined (Scher and Heise, 1993). From a social justice and consumer point of view, justice is articulated on three dimensions, namely, distributive (resource allocation and outcome of exchange), procedural (the procedures used to reach the outcome) and interactional (the communication process). To ensure customer satisfaction and positive emotional and behavioural responses to perceived justice in a service recovery context, the redress environment should therefore address all three dimensions effectively (Berry and Parasuraman, 1994; Blodgett et al., 1997; Chebat and Slusarczyk, 2005). Researchers such as Bagozzi et al. (1999) and Schoefer and Diamantopoulos (2008) underline the importance of addressing consumers emotions during service recovery encounters, while Chebat and Slusarczyk (2005) point to the importance of the mediating effects of emotions on the consumers actual behavioural response (i.e. exit vs. loyalty) to perceived justice in an actual setting. Consumers are more likely to voice their complaints when there is a more positive perception of the retailers responsiveness to consumer complaints. When consumers doubt that retailers will respond to complaints, consumers might consider complaining to be a waste of effort (Sheth et al., 1999). In addition, retailers with well-known reputations for providing fair redress often encourage consumers to complain (Halstead and Drge, 1991). Linking with retailer responsiveness, the likelihood of success construct refers to the perceived probability that the retailer will remedy the problem without protest (Blodgett and Granbois, 1992). Several researchers have found the likelihood of success construct to be one of the more important determinants of complaining behaviour (Richins, 1987; Halstead and Drge, 1991; Blodgett and Granbois, 1992). Consumers who perceive the probability of success to be high are more likely to voice their complaints, while consumers who perceive the probability of success to be lower are more likely to take their custom elsewhere and/or engage in negative word-ofmouth behaviour (Blodgett and Granbois, 1992). Richins (1983) concluded that the perceived likelihood of success and trouble involved in making a complaint correlated with negative word-ofmouth as choice of complaint behaviour. Several factors relate to a consumers estimate of the probability of success (Day et al., 1981; Richins, 1983). The nature of the product causing the dissatisfaction undoubtedly affects consumers expectations of restitution. Whereas non-durable products are usually replaced or refunded, durable products are usually repaired rather than replaced if they are faulty. Previous experience in

seeking redress will also be valuable to a consumer in estimating the probability of success in a new situation. Past experience in buying and using the product is also helpful in determining the probability of success of a complaint action (especially in the absence of previous complaining experience or knowledge of a stores reputation) because the consumer will understand very well what the problem is, how it can be remedied and what the sellers or manufacturers responsibility is (Day et al., 1981). Factors related directly to the trouble involved in making complaints include the followings: making a special trip to the retailer to complain, the time and effort in lling out forms, and difculty nding complaint procedures and mechanisms (Richins, 1983). If the complaint handling mechanism for the unsatisfactory product does not cause the consumer to go through a great deal of inconvenience, the likelihood of formal complaining may be increased (Halstead and Drge, 1991; Dolinsky, 1994; Huppertz, 2003). Richins (1982) indicated that objective costs or trouble involved in formal complaining inuence peoples feelings towards complaining. Formal complaining involves trouble, time and occasionally monetary costs. The greater the perceived cost, the lower the likelihood for complaining. Psychological costs (contributing to the inconvenience) that might discourage formal complaint action include the followings: being treated rudely or unpleasantly, being blamed for unsatisfactory performance, having to bother someone in making the complaint and possibly being embarrassed while complaining (Day et al., 1981; Richins, 1983). Halstead and Drge (1991) noted that some consumers loathe being perceived as a nuisance or as troublemakers and that this could inhibit them from engaging in formal complaint behaviour. Negative affect or unpleasant feelings experienced by some consumers during the complaining process (e.g. embarrassment or annoyance) are actually consumer-related factors (Halstead and Drge, 1991), but because retailers have control over the manner in which they treat their customers (the customer is always right) and therefore may inuence their customers (in)convenience experienced during the complaining process, it is included in this discussion.

Proposed conceptual framework

The value of a soundly considered conceptual framework, based on well-founded theory, where the indicators and possible relationships are present and which includes the research questions, lies in the fact that it arranges the research, assists the researcher to reach the research goals and to elicit results which in turn will be a contribution towards establishing new theory. In the opinion of the researchers, the suggested conceptual framework, as illustrated in Fig. 1, can be usefully applied in research aimed at a better understanding of complaint behaviour and consumer protection in emerging and developing countries. As is clear from Fig. 1, prior to purchasing, consumers form expectations of a products performance in a particular situation. After or while using a product, consumers evaluate its perceived performance in terms of their initial expectations for the products performance, relating to the functional and symbolic performance dimensions of the product. When the product does not perform to the consumers expectations (i.e. when a performance failure occurs or when the product performs poorly), negative disconrmation occurs, leading to feelings of dissatisfaction. Feelings of
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The right to be heard and to be understood

S. Donoghue and H.M. de Klerk

Expectations of product performance

Actual product performance Performance dimensions: Functional Symbolic Negative Disconfirmation (Product performance failure)

Causal attribution Locus of control Anger Controllability Anger Stability Expectancy of future failure

Consumer-related variables: Gender Age Culture Income Education Other

Dissatisfaction

Product-specific variables Problem severity Price Type of product Other

CONSUMER COMPLAINT BEHAVIOUR No action Private action Negative word-of-mouth, boycott product, boycott seller, boycott manufacturer, etc. Public action Seek redress, complain, take legal action

Redress environment

Perceived Justice Distributive, Procedural, Interactional

Justice-related emotion (Coping with the self)

Post-redress behaviour Exit versus loyalty

Figure 1 Schematic conceptual framework.

dissatisfaction are, however, mediated by attributional reasoning, i.e. the cognitive process of wanting to nd out why a negative outcome or event occurred. The perceived cause (attributions) for the products failure and the dimensional quality thereof (in terms of Weiners theory, locus of causality, stability and controllability) inuences consumers reaction in terms of their emotions (the level of anger experienced in response to the product failure) and behaviours. Consumer responses to dissatisfaction are generally referred to as consumer complaint behaviour (Singh, 1988; Maute and Forrester, 1993, p. 220). Once dissatisfaction occurs, the consumer may engage in behavioural and non-behavioural responses
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to resolve the problem (Day and Landon, 1977; Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995). Three major options are available to consumers who are dissatised with their purchase: no action, private action or public action. Consumers may refrain from action by rationalizing and forgetting the problem. Consumers may engage in private actions such as switching brands or retailers, boycotting the type of product or warning family and friends. Consumers may also engage in public action such as seeking redress (i.e. a refund, an exchange or free repairs and replacement of defective parts, depending on the nature of the product and particular circumstances) directly from the retailer or manufacturer, complaining to the retailer or manufacturer, a public consumer protection agency,

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a voluntary organization or the media, or taking legal action against the retailer or manufacturer. However, consumer-related factors and product-specic factors are likely to affect the consumers complaint behaviour. Consumers, who blame the retailer for the problem and who probably feel angry about the situation and decide to complain, will expect redress. However, from a consumers viewpoint, complaint-related justice is not only a matter of economic calculus but also a procedural and interactional matter. Previous research indicates that the consumer will again experience a so-called justice-related emotion (anger, gratitude, etc.) that will lead to the post-redress behaviour of loyalty vs. exit. An understanding of the entire process will enable manufacturers, retailers, consumer protection organizations and those who are responsible for managing the redress environment to better comprehend consumers complaints in order to deal with the matter more effectively.

Consumer organizations can especially assist consumers in this regard when they, together with the media (newspapers, magazines, television, radio, consumer web pages), inform consumers about substandard products to encourage consumers to complain about product failures and so facilitate the improvement of product quality.

Retailers and manufacturers should not underestimate the impact of hidden or indirect complaint activities
Both retailers and manufacturers should be aware of, and above all not underestimate, the impact of hidden or indirect complaint activities such as engaging in adverse word-of-mouth marketing, boycotting the retailer and switching brands. As word-of-mouth communication usually occurs through sources that consumers perceive as more accessible and as being more credible (i.e. family, friends, reference groups), it is thought to have a very powerful inuence on consumers evaluations more than information received through commercial sources (i.e. advertisements and in-store marketing) (Laczniak et al., 2001). Therefore, retailers and manufacturers should encourage consumers to personally inform them about dissatisfactory products because complainers are more valuable to them than non-complainers who simply walk out and take their business to the competitor and/or talk to friends about their negative product experiences. The effective handling of complaints can contribute to an increased intention to repurchase and increased positive word-of-mouth, thus increasing the overall benet to the manufacturer and retailer (THARP in Davido, 2003).

Implications for handling complaints

Manufacturers and retailers should create realistic expectations for product performance
As consumers expectations are partially based on the marketing efforts of companies, companies promotional efforts concerning the performance of products (especially products that are associated with lifestyle) should be realistic in order to avoid creating false expectations concerning the performance of products (Erasmus and Donoghue, 1998; Laufer, 2002). More information about the operation, maintenance and care of such products should be provided to consumers via in-store marketing and advertizing materials. Consumers who know what to expect of their product in terms of its performance might be better able to interpret the causes for product failures compared with consumers who are not exactly sure what to expect. This will allow them to attribute failures to the responsible parties and to engage in complaint action accordingly. This, in turn, will give retailers and manufacturers the opportunity to resolve consumers product dissatisfactions.

Manufacturers and retailers should encourage dissatised consumers to take formal complaint action
Manufacturers and retailers can only become aware of product shortcomings and remedy the problem when consumers directly communicate their dissatisfaction to them (Huppertz, 2003; Kim et al., 2003; Bodey and Grace, 2006), implying that manufacturers and retailers should consider consumers complaints in a positive light, i.e. as important feedback mechanisms concerning consumers dissatisfaction with products (Nyer, 2000) and not as a way to quibble, to moan and groan, to give someone a hard time, or to nd fault (Barlow and Mller, 1996). This would enable them to remedy product problems, increase consumer satisfaction and retain loyal customers. Therefore, manufacturers and retailers should encourage a culture of complaining (i.e. motivate consumers to complain directly or formally) instead of a spirit of passivity, as this is the only way they will be able to know of consumers product dissatisfactions.

Complaint handling employees should have proper product knowledge

Before staff can handle complaints, they should rst gain proper product knowledge to facilitate them in recognizing product problems. This remains a very big challenge in South Africa because many employees sell products and even handle complaints about products that they have never owned or used themselves. This implies that employers should properly train employees concerning the performance, and by implication the performance failures, of the products that they sell.

Manufacturers, retailers and consumer protections organizations should continuously endeavour to improve the quality of products
Manufacturers should continuously improve their standards of product quality control and retailers should only sell high quality products, as no products are exempt from product failure.

Complaint handling personnel should see complaints through the eyes of customers to improve their understanding of the customers dissatisfaction
The negative connotations that are associated with complaining should also be acknowledged and addressed to encourage complaint behaviour. Complaint handling personnel should be
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attentive to the fact that some customers might be uncomfortable with the whole process of complaining due to their specic personality characteristics. Most people nd it very difcult to reveal a part of their emotional self when complaining (Dolinsky, 1994). Such consumers will rather opt to do nothing or engage in hidden complaint activities than complain publicly. Compliant environments where complaint handling personnel and customers behave in full view of an audience or other customer may be problematic for self-conscious people. These environments need to be carefully structured to accommodate such customers in more condential settings (Bodey and Grace, 2006). Therefore, online complaining and other means of expressing dissatisfaction in writing (such as writing a letter of complaint or completing an in-store complaint form) to the retailer and/or manufacturer should be promoted. This may also encourage consumers who are afraid of retribution (e.g. the retailer/manufacturer will counterattack or will hold a grudge which can be detrimental to future interactions) to take part in complaint action (Kim et al., 2003; Goodman, 2006). Good business practice requires that retailers and complaint handling employees should adhere to the notion that the customer is always right. However, what people believe to be the causes of product failure are sometimes far removed from the truth. Therefore, the customer might not always be right! For example, some customers might unintentionally blame manufacturers for product failures rather than themselves for their own transgressions. Consumers do not have control over such biases, but manufacturers and retailers can play a role in handling this kind of predisposition. Retailers and complaint handling employees should be aware of these inconsistencies to facilitate their comprehension of consumers dissatisfaction and anger when their products fail, even when retailers or manufacturers are not the responsible parties. This has implications for the formulation of complaint handling programmes to assist retailers and complaint handling employees. Complaint handling personnel should be trained to understand consumers reasoning underlying their complaint behaviour and to deal with complaints effectively.

Complaint handling staff should be trained to deal with upset customers in a friendly and prompt manner
Companies discourage complaints when shop assistants display negative attitudes towards complainers (e.g. when they do not listen to customers complaints and do not respond to complaints in a courteous manner). The reason for this is that, in addition to the dissatisfaction due to product failure, consumers experience further dissatisfaction due to the psychological blocks put on them by manufacturers and retailers when these turn a deaf ear (Barlow and Mller, 1996; Sheth et al., 1999). Manufacturers and retailers resistance to listening and responding to consumer complaints increases the likelihood that consumers will complain in private (i.e. negative word-of-mouth to family and friends) and to third parties (ombudsmen, local consumer agencies, trade associations, etc.) (McAlister and Erffmeyer, 2003). By simply listening to complaints, brand loyalty can be greatly enhanced (Blodgett and Granbois, 1992; Kim et al., 2003). Complaint handling personnel should be trustworthy, friendly, honest, helpful and concerned (Palmroth in Cri, 2003). By looking at the coping strategies (in terms of the related behaviours and cognitions) that consumers employ in reducing the stress caused by product failures, researchers can gain valuable insights into the reasons for consumers particular complaint behaviour. Because consumers coping behaviours and cognitions are spurred by attributions of blame and anger (Stephens and Gwinner, 1998), explicit action should be taken to deal with such attributions of blame and anger. This implies that staff should be trained to deal with upset customers, in a friendly and prompt manner to prevent their customers from experiencing more anger and spreading more negative word-of-mouth. It is essential for customers to cope with their anger through a type of liberation process. By voicing their dissatisfaction, customers get the opportunity to tell their side of the story to the manufacturer or retailer which make them feel better at the end of the day. It is therefore important that complaint handling personnel should be trustworthy, friendly, honest, helpful and concerned (Palmroth in Cri, 2003).

Manufacturers and retailers should have complaint policies and strategies and sound complaint handling ethics in place
Although many retailers and manufacturers do have complaint policies and strategies of some kind, many members of their staff do not know how to manage customers complaints effectively. Staff members need to be informed about the rms complaint and return policies (especially policies concerning product warranties) and trained in effective handling of complaints. In addition, despite businesses having all of these strategies in place, the will to actively resolve complaints is often lacking, contributing to consumers belief that it is useless to complain formally as nothing will be gained. This implies that staff over the whole spectrum (including sales assistants, customer service staff, complaint handling staff, managers, etc.) should be encouraged to practise good complaint handling ethics in order to increase customer satisfaction, to prevent customers from taking their business to the competition, or to prevent customers from going to third parties and especially to stop them from spreading additional negative wordof-mouth. This can only work when the whole team is committed to effective complaint handling.
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Dissatised and angry consumers usually want sincere apologies and/or some form of restitution
Repatronage is less likely if the complaint is unsuccessfully redressed (Sheth et al., 1999; Nyer, 2000; Clopton et al., 2001). Complaint handling employees should understand that dissatised and angry consumers usually want some form of restitution (e.g. price reduction, product replacement or free repair service). Even though the provision of restitution is not always possible, the least that retailers and manufacturers could do is to provide a sincere apology and explain that corrective action has been taken to ensure that the same product problem will not recur (provided that this is the truth).

Retailers and manufacturers should make it easier for consumers to complain complaint channels should be easy to use
Retailers and manufacturers should endeavour to change consumers negative perceptions that complaining is not worth the time

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and effort (Kim et al., 2003) by making it easier for them to complain. Companies should provide their mailing address, website address, contact numbers, toll-free numbers and an invitation to provide feedback, in all publicly viewed material, including promotional communications, packaging, invoices etc. Information leaets and in-store communication via sales assistants should be provided concerning return policies and after-sales repair service to enable consumers to follow the correct route for complaint action. Customer service centres should be clearly visible so that people may know where to go when they want to complain. In this day and age, retailers and manufacturers should have appropriate websites to allow consumers to complain on-line and to enquire about corrective action. The successful implementation of the above measures will increase consumers coping potential and might prevent them from following hidden complaint actions or, even worse, engaging in third-party complaints (i.e. contacting newspapers, legal advisors or consumer councils).

exists for research to provide richer insights regarding crosscultural complaint behaviour. Manufacturers and retailers need to realize that the process of acculturation in many developing countries has important implications for the development of marketing strategies to assist and empower consumers and to retain loyal consumers. Marketers, retailers and manufacturers should use ubuntu (an indigenous South African term describing societal/ community supportiveness and cohesion) (Mbigi and Maree in Rousseau, 2003b) to their best advantage by encouraging the multicultural society of many developing countries to actively participate in public (formal) complaint behaviour.

Conclusion
Bearing the implications of the effective handling of complaints for the retailer and the consumer in mind, it is not difcult to comprehend why Barlow and Mller (1996) use the metaphor of complaints as gifts and Sanes (1993) considers complaints as hidden treasures. Barlow and Mller (1996) further state that the time has come for all businesses to think of complaint handling as a strategic tool and a marketing asset, rather than an annoyance. It is therefore essential that the management of consumerorientated companies understand the value of paying attention to and dealing with consumer complaints (Sheth et al., 1999; Kim et al., 2003; Goodman, 2006). Implementing fair policies concerning redress procedures and companies appropriate reaction to complaints are legitimate and ethical acts towards the consumer (Terblanche and Boshoff, 2001, 2003; Cri, 2003). Training programmes that focus on an understanding of the complaint message and the delivery of the message by the complainant, and the employees response, are essential to enhance employees ability to handle complaints (Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995; Hill et al., 2000). The manufacturers and retailers response to the complaint is critical when complaints are handled satisfactorily from the consumers point of view, manufacturers and retailers might retain customers who have been disappointed by the dissatisfactory product in the rst place (Davido, 2003). Therefore, the effective handling of complaints can prevent a second round of dissatisfaction. By providing a medium for dissatised consumers to complain, companies have the opportunity to resolve problems (whether they are company or consumer induced), provide explanations and/or appropriate forms of redress, increase consumer satisfaction, retain consumers as active purchasers and increase marketplace efciency (Sanes, 1993; Hogarth and English, 2002; Huppertz, 2003; Kim et al., 2003). However, this requires that consumers must communicate to retailers and manufacturers in the rst place to allow them to read their customers mind (to allow them to become aware of their cognitions). When consumers leave quietly and take part in hidden complaint actions, retailers and manufacturers will never know why and will therefore never get the opportunity to resolve such problems (Cri, 2003; Bodey and Grace, 2006). As such, negative word-of-mouth communications are generally considered to be detrimental to retailers and manufacturers (Halstead, 2002; Rousseau, 2003a) because they can damage the companys reputation (Richins, 1983; Clopton et al., 2001), resulting in the loss of potential and existing consumers (Stephens and Gwinner, 1998) as well as negatively affecting the companys revenue (Sanes, 1993; Broadbridge and Marshall, 1995).
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Manufacturers, retailers and consumer protection organizations should promote consumer rights
To encourage consumers to complain, manufacturers and retailers and consumer protection organizations should provide consumers with ample information regarding their consumer rights, which inter alia include the right to be informed, the right to be heard, the right to redress and the right to consumer education. In African countries, many of the newly founded consumer organizations, which typically report to governmental agencies, are responsible for furthering consumerism. Although the role that these organization play in consumer protection is widely accepted (i.e. provision of legislation for the protection of consumers, undertaking and commissioning research into matters relevant to consumer affairs, promoting consumer education and the advancement of consumer policy), the role of non-governmental organizations should also be appreciated. As independent watchdogs, they draw the attention of government and business to the concerns and problems of civil society and provide a united voice for the consumer (Rousseau, 2003a; South African National Consumer Union, 2006). This implies that the different role-players should join hands to persuade consumers to actively exercise their right to complain and so help consumers to change their passive mindsets to those of consumers that are standing up for their rights a force to be heard and to be reckoned with! It is high time that manufacturers and retailers start collaborating with consumer organizations to provide consumers with relevant information concerning their rights as consumers, whether in the form of in-store educational programmes or informative pamphlets and DVDs.

Retailers, manufacturers and consumer organizations should have an understanding of cross-cultural differences in complaint behaviour
An understanding of cross-cultural differences in complaint behaviour, in terms of the individualistic (Euro-centric) and collectivistic (Afro-centric) dimensions of culture, could be helpful to manufacturers, retailers and consumer organizations to develop effective complaint resolution strategies. This implies that a need

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Apart form the obvious benets for retailers and manufacturers in receiving complaints from customers, the individual consumer can also enjoy practical and psychological (latent) benets associated with the act of complaining to companies (Nyer, 2000). Such practical benets for the individual include the possibility of obtaining redress, the opportunity to prevent the manufacturer or retailer from selling a bad product (policing the marketplace) and the opportunity to assert ones rights as a consumer. In a psychological sense, complaint action might be used as a vehicle to vent anger or frustration or to elude a sense of guilt for not complaining (Day et al., 1981; Nyer, 1997). Thus, being able to register a complaint, to have it investigated and to receive feedback on that investigation is an important mechanism for protecting and empowering consumers (Hogarth and English, 2002). Complaint data viewed in a vacuum is hard to interpret, but when it is linked to data on consumers cognitions and emotions as well as other consumer-related variables, product-specic variables and redress environment variables, it becomes a powerful tool to understand consumers complaint behaviour. More consumer research, focusing on post-purchase expectations, levels of dissatisfaction, product failures, complaint behaviour and factors affecting complaining behaviour concerning consumer products, should be undertaken to help us understand the way in which consumers view complaining. Although consumers cognitions for complaint behaviour are not obvious to retailers and manufacturers, an understanding of consumers reasoning prior to engaging in particular complaint actions, as well as the emotions involved, might contribute to the improvement of organizational strategies to convince consumers to engage in overt and direct voicing of their dissatisfaction rather than in covert actions.

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