Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nmvwc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-24T07:06:00.544Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Organizational antecedents to designing a comprehensive complaint management system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 December 2018

Chanthaly S.Phabmixay ,
Ana I Rodríguez-Escudero  and
Javier Rodríguez-Pinto Open the ORCID record for Javier Rodríguez-Pinto [Opens in a new window]
Chanthaly S.Phabmixay
Affiliation:
University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
Ana I Rodríguez-Escudero
Affiliation:
University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
Javier Rodríguez-Pinto*
Affiliation:
University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. Email: javierrp@eco.uva.es
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The literature highlights two main approaches to designing an effective complaint management system: the mechanistic and the organic. The mechanistic approach emphasizes the establishment of guidelines for the correct processing, attention and resolution of complaints received. In contrast, the organic approach relies on creating a supportive internal environment for correct customer attention, made possible through training and empowering employees responsible for complaint management and by promoting extra-role behaviour among them. The present research aims to study the antecedents of adopting these two approaches. From a strategic perspective, we analyse the influence of organizational culture variables (the extent to which the firm is customer and innovation oriented) and the nature of the objectives pursued by complaint handling (defensive vs. improvement objectives). The proposed model is tested on a sample of 140 manufacturing firms. Findings indicate these antecedents shape the complaint management system in a diverse and significant manner.

Keywords

complaint managementorganizational cultureorganizational behaviourinnovation and R&D
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , May 2021 , pp. 481 - 506
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2018

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, J. C., & Narus, J. A. (1990). A model of distributor firm and manufacturer firm working partnerships. Journal of Marketing, 54(1), 42–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armstrong, J. S., & Overton, T. S. (1977). Estimating no response bias in mail survey. Journal of Marketing Research, 14, 396–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barney, J. B. (2001). Resource-based theories of competitive advantage: A ten-year retrospective on the resource-based view. Journal of Management, 6, 643–650.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bettencourt, L. A., & Brown, S. W. (1997). Contact employees: Relationships among workplace fairness, job satisfaction and prosocial service behaviors. Journal of Retailing, 73(1), 39–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blocker, C. P., Flint, D. J., Myers, M. B, & Slater, S. F. (2011). Proactive customer orientation and its role for creating customer value in global markets. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 39, 216–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blodgett, J. G., Granbois, D. H, & Walters, R. G. (1993). The effects of perceived justice on complainants’ negative word-of-mouth behavior and repatronage intentions. Journal of Retailing, 69(4), 399–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blodgett, J. G., Hill, D. J, & Tax, S. S. (1997). The effects of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice on postcomplaint behavior. Journal of Retailing, 73(2), 185–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Breitsohl, J., Khammash, M, & Griffiths, G. (2010). E-business complaint management: perceptions and perspectives of online credibility. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 23(5), 653–660.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burns, T, & Stalker, G. M. (1961). The management of innovation. London, UK: Tavistock.Google Scholar
Cameron, K. S, & Quinn, R. E. (2006). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework (revised ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Chebat, J. C, & Kollias, P. (2000). The Impact of empowerment on customer contact employees’ roles in service organizations. Journal of Service Research, 3(1), 66–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, T., Ma, K., Bian, X., Zheng, C, & Devlin, J. (2018). Is high recovery more effective than expected recovery in addressing service failure?-A moral judgment perspective. Journal of Business Research, 82, 1–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conlon, D. E, & Murray, N. M. (1996). Customer perceptions of corporate responses to product complaints: The role of explanations. Academy of Management Journal, 39(4), 1040–1056.Google Scholar
Crone, G., Carey, L, & Dowling, P. (2003). Calling on compensation in Australian call centres. Journal of Management & Organization, 9(3), 62–76.Google Scholar
Davidow, M. (2000). The bottom line impact of organizational responses to customer complaints. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 24(4), 473–490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidow, M. (2003). Organizational responses to customer complaints: What works and what doesn’t. Journal of Service Research, 5(3), 225–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Day, G. S. (2011). Closing the marketing capabilities gap. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 183–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Del Río-Lanza, A. B, Vázquez-Casielles, R, & Díaz-Martín, A. M. (2009). Satisfaction with service recovery: Perceived justice and emotional responses. Journal of Business Research, 62(8), 775–781.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deshpande, R, & Farley, J. U. (2004). Organizational culture, market orientation, innovativeness, and firm performance: An international research odyssey. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 21(1), 3–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donoghue, S., Strydom, N., Andrews, L., Pentecost, R, & Klerk, H. M. (2016). Differences between black and white South Africans in product failure attributions, anger and complaint behavior. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 40, 257–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Estelami, H. (2000). Competitive and procedural determinants of delight and disappointment in consumer complaint outcomes. Journal of Service Research, 2(3), 285–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fornell, C, & Larcker, D. F. (1981, Febuary). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18, 39–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fornell, C, & Wernerfelt, B. (1988). A model for customer complaint management. Marketing Science, 7(3), 287–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuller, C. M., Simmering, M. J., Atinc, G., Atinc, Y, & Babin, B. J. (2016). Common methods variance detection in business research. Journal of Business Research, 69, 3192–3198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gelbrich, K, & Roschk, H. (2011). Do complainants appreciate overcompensation? A meta-analysis on the effect of simple compensation vs. overcompensation on post-complaint satisfaction. Marketing Letters, 22, 31–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodwin, C, & Ross, I. (1992). Consumer responses to service failures: Influence of procedural and interactional fairness perceptions. Journal of Business Research, 25(2), 149–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenberg, J. (1990). Organizational justice: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Journal of Management, 16(2), 399–432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grinstein, A. (2008). The relationships between market orientation and alternative strategic orientations. European Journal of Marketing, 42(1/2), 115–134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grönroos, C. (1978). A service-orientated approach to marketing of services. European Journal of Marketing, 12(8), 588–601.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M, & Sarstedt, M. (2017). A primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed, Los Angeles, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Halbheer, D., Gärtner, D. L., Gerstner, E, & Koenigsberg, O. (2018). Optimizing service failure and damage control. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 35, 100–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, C. W. L., Heskett, J. L, & Sasser, W. E. Jr. (1990, July/August). The profitable art of service recovery. Harvard Business Review, 68, 148–156.Google ScholarPubMed
Harun, A., Rokonuzzaman, Md., Prybutok, G, & Prybutok, V. R. (2018, May). How to influence consumer mindset: A perspective from service recovery. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 24, 65–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hazée, S., Van Vaerenbergh, Y, & Armirotto, V. (2017). Co-creating service recovery after service failure: The role of brand equity. Journal of Business Research, 74, 101–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heide, J. B, & John, G. (1992, April). Do norms matter in marketing relationships? Journal of Marketing, 56, 32–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heidenreich, S., Wittkowski, K., Handrich, M, & Falk, T. (2015). The dark side of customer co-creation: Exploring the consequences of failed co-creation services. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(3), 279–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M, & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoffman, K. D., Kelley, S. W, & Rotalsky, H. M. (1995). Tracking service failures and employee recovery efforts. Journal of Services Marketing, 9(2), 49–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Homburg, C, & Fürst, A. (2005, July). How organizational complaint handling drives customer loyalty: An analysis of the mechanistic and the organic approach. Journal of Marketing, 69, 95–114.Google Scholar
Homburg, C, & Fürst, A. (2007). See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil: A study of defensive organizational behavior towards customer complaints. Journal of the Academy Marketing Science, 35, 523–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Homburg, C, & Pflesser, C. (2000, November). A multiple-layer model of market-oriented organizational culture: Measurement issues and performance outcomes. Journal of Marketing Research, 37, 449–462.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Homburg, C., Fürst, A, & Koschate, N. (2010). On the importance of complaint handling design: A multi-level analysis of the impact in specific complaint situations. Journal of the Academy Marketing Science, 38, 265–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurley, R. F, & Hult, G. T. (1998). Innovation, market orientation, and organizational learning: An integration and empirical examination. Journal of Marketing, 62(3), 42–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, R. (2001). Linking complaint management to profit. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 12(1), 60–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnston, R, & Mehra, S. (2002). Best-practice complaint management. Academy of Management Executive, 16(4), 145–154.Google Scholar
Kessler, S. R., Nixon, A. E, & Nord, W. R. (2017). Examining organic and mechanistic structures: Do we know as much as we thought? International Journal of Management Reviews, 19, 531–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, H. J., Hur, W. M., Moon, T. W, & Jun, J. K. (2017). Is all support equal? The moderating effects of supervisor, coworker, and organizational support on the link between emotional labor and job performance. Business Research Quarterly, 20(2), 124–136.Google Scholar
Kirca, A. H., Jayachandran, S, & Bearden, W. O. (2005). Market orientation: A meta-analytic review and assessment of its antecedents and impact on performance. Journal of Marketing, 69(2), 24–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knox, G, & van Oest, R. (2014, September). Customer complaints and recovery effectiveness: A customer base approach. Journal of Marketing, 78(5), 42–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kohli, A. K, & Jaworski, B. J. (1990, April). Market orientation: The construct, research propositions, and managerial implications. The Journal of Marketing, 54, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kotter, J. P, & Heskett, J. L. (1992). Corporate culture and performance. New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Kumar, K., Jones, E., Venkatesan, R, & Leon, R. P. (2011, January). Is market orientation a source of sustainable competitive advantage or simply the cost of competing? Journal of Marketing, 75, 16–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kwak, W. J, & Jackson, C. L. (2015). Relationship building in empowering leadership processes: A test of mediation and moderation. Journal of Management & Organization, 21(4), 369–387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kwon, S, & Jang, S. S. (2012). Effects of compensation for service recovery: From the equity theory perspective. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(4), 1235–1243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
La, K. V, & Kandampully, J. (2004). Market oriented learning and customer value enhancement through service recovery management. Managing Service Quality, 14(5), 390–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langerak, F., Hultink, E. J, & Robben, H. S. J. (2004). The impact of market orientation, product advantage, and launch proficiency on new product performance and organizational performance. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 21(2), 79–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lind, E. A, & Tyler, T. R. (1988). The social psychology of procedural justice. New York, NY: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindblom, A, & Olkkonen, R. (2006). Category management tactics: An analysis of manufacturers’ control. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 34(6), 482–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ma, L., Sun, B, & Kekre, S. (2015). The squeaky wheel gets the grease–An empirical analysis of customer voice and firm intervention on Twitter. Marketing Science, 34(5), 627–645.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maxham, J. G III, & Netemeyer, R. G. (2003, January). Firms reap what they sow: The effects of shared values and perceived organizational justice on customers’ evaluations of complaint handling. Journal of Marketing, 67, 46–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCollough, M. A., Berry, L. L, & Yadav, M. S. (2000). An empirical investigation of customer satisfaction after service failure and recovery. Journal of Service Research, 3(2), 121–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Narver, J. C, & Slater, S. F. (1990, October). The effect of market orientation on business profitability. Journal of Marketing, 54, 20–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Narver, J. C., Slater, S. F, & MacLachlan, D. L. (2004). Responsive and proactive market orientation, and new product success. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 21(5), 334–347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nsenduluka, E, & Shee, H. K. (2009). Organisational and group antecedents of work group service innovativeness. Journal of Management & Organization, 15(4), 438–451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orsingher, C., Valentini, S, & de Angelis, M. (2010). A meta-analysis of satisfaction with complaint handling in services. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(2), 169–186.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M, & Organ, D. W. (1986). Self-reports in organizational research: Problems and prospects. Journal of Management, 12(4), 531–544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Podsakoff, P. M., Mackenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y, & Podsakoff, J. O. (2003). Common method bias in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ringle, C. M., Wende, S, & Becker, J. M. (2015). SmartPLS 3. Bönningstedt: SmartPLS GmboH.Google Scholar
Santos-Vijande, M. L, Díaz-Martín, A. M, Suárez-Álvarez, L, & Del Río-Lanza, A. B. (2013). An integrated service recovery system (ISRS): Influence on knowledge intensive business services performance. European Journal of Marketing, 47(5/6), 934–963.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saxby, C. L., Tat, P. K, & Johansen, J. T. (2000). Measuring consumer perceptions of procedural justice in a complaint context. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 34(2), 204–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schein, E. H. (1992)). Organizational culture and leadership (2nd ed.)., San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Schwartz, H, & Davis, S. M. (1981). Matching corporate culture and business strategy. Organizational Dynamics, 10(1), 30–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siguaw, J. A, Simpson, P. M, & Enz, C. A. (2006). Conceptualizing innovation orientation: A framework for study and integration of innovation research. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 23(6), 556–574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smircich, L. (1983). Concepts of culture and organizational analysis. Administrative Science Quaterly, 28, 339–358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, A. K, & Bolton, R. N. (1998). An experimental investigation of customer reactions to service failure and recovery encounters: Paradox or peril? Journal of Service Research, 1(1), 65–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, A. K., Bolton, R. N, & Wagner, J. (1999, August). A model of customer satisfaction with service encounters involving failure and recovery. Journal of Marketing Research, 36, 356–372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tax, S. S, & Brown, S. W. (1998). Recovering and learning from service failure. Sloan Management Review, 40(1), 75–88.Google Scholar
Tax, S. S., Brown, S. W, & Chandrashekaran, M. (1998, April). Customer evaluations of service complaint experiences: Implications for relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 62, 60–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Umashankar, N., Ward, M. K, & Dahl, D. W. (2017). The benefit of becoming friends: Complaining after service failures leads customers with strong ties to increase loyalty. Journal of Marketing, 81(6), 79–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van der Heijden, G. A. H., Schepers, J. J. L., Nijssen, E. J., & Ordanini, A. (2013). Don’t just fix it, make it better!. Using frontline service employees to improve recovery performance. Journal of the Academy Marketing Science, 41, 515–530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Vaerenberg, Y, & Orsingher, C. (2016). Service recovery: An integrative framework and research agenda. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 30(3), 328–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vos, J. F. J., Huitema, G. B, & De Lange-Ros, E. (2008). How organisations can learn from complaints. TQM Journal, 20(1), 8–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webster, C, & Sundaram, D. S. (1998, February). Service consumption criticality in failure recovery. Journal of Business Research, 41, 153–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wirtz, J, & Mattila, A. S. (2004). Consumer responses to compensation, speed of recovery and apology after a service failure. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 15(2), 150–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yilmaz, C., Varnali, K, & Kasnakoglu, B. T. (2016). How do firms benefit from customer complaints? Journal of Business Research, 69(2), 944–955.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

S.Phabmixay et al. supplementary material

S.Phabmixay et al. supplementary material 1

Download S.Phabmixay et al. supplementary material(File)
File 36.6 KB