The consumer anger phenomena: causes and consequences

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore consumer anger phenomena.Design/methodology/approach – The research utilized the critical incident technique and three different samples to thoroughly explore the consumer anger phenomena.Findings – The research identified three causes of consumer anger: broken promises, unfair treatment and expressed hostility, and detailed the effects of consumer anger beyond decisions to continue or terminate service provider relationships.Research limitations/implications – Future research could examine the role switching barriers play in consumer anger episodes.Practical implications – Angering consumers comes with an array of damaging consequences that extend beyond the decision to continue or terminate the service provider relationship. As a result, managers must realize that the absence of switching behavior does not necessarily constitute success.Originality/value – This study extends previous research by using a grounded theory approach to uncover three broad cau...

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