Abstract
Research on consumer satisfaction, dissatisfaction, and complaining behavior, as a consumer‐protection social issue, began in response to government public policy needs. How it developed into a valuable approach for public policy and private business decision making is the focus of this article. Topics discussed include alternative definitions of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, special groups of vulnerable consumers, situations where satisfaction is legally constrained, and how dissatisfaction can lead to social change. The error of treating dissatisfaction as cognitive rather than emotional is emphasized. Three dissatisfaction outcomes (voice, exit, and retaliation) are described, along with a discussion of longer run consumer grudge holding.
Keywords
Government (linguistics)Consumer satisfactionConsumer behaviourMarketingPsychologyCustomer satisfactionCognitionPublic policyBusinessPublic relationsSocial psychologyAdvertisingPolitical science
Affiliated Institutions
Related Publications
Negative Word-of-Mouth by Dissatisfied Consumers: A Pilot Study
While marketing scholars have emphasized the importance of customer satisfaction, few studies have examined in detail consumers’ responses to dissatisfaction. This study examine...
Defensive Marketing Strategy by Customer Complaint Management: A Theoretical Analysis
On the basis of Hirschman's exit-voice theory, an economic model of defensive marketing strategy is developed for complaint management. Though many firms strive to reduce the nu...
Managing consumer expectations of low‐margin, high‐volume services
Service firms operating on low margins per transaction must generate a high volume of business to survive the competitive environment of the 1990s. Firms must raise the expectat...
Cognitive, Affective, and Attribute Bases of the Satisfaction Response
An attempt to extend current thinking on postpurchase response to include attribute satisfaction and dissatisfaction as separate determinants not fully reflected in either cogni...
Health Benefit Satisfaction in the Public and Private Sectors: The Role of Distributive and Procedural Justice
One of the most compelling problems outstanding in the field of employee benefits today is trying to control spiraling health care expenditures. Furthermore, as a result of the ...
Publication Info
- Year
- 1991
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 107-117
- Citations
- 376
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Social Impact
Altmetric
PlumX Metrics
Social media, news, blog, policy document mentions
Citation Metrics
376
OpenAlex
Cite This
H. Keith Hunt
(1991).
Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior.
Journal of Social Issues
, 47
(1)
, 107-117.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1991.tb01814.x
Identifiers
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1991.tb01814.x