Exploring the forms of dysfunctional customer behaviour: A study of differences in servicescape and customer disaffection with service

Abstract

Although wide agreement exists between scholars and marketing practitioners concerning the prevalence of dysfunctional customer behaviour, to date empirical research into this phenomenon is lacking. This article aims to identify empirically grounded categories of dysfunctional customer behaviours and examine the extent to which customers' perceptions of physical servicescape environments, social facets of servicescape, and customer disaffection with service differ for each category. Based on a quantitative sample of 380 consumer perpetrators, cluster analysis reveals three clusters of dysfunctional customer behaviour forms labelled ‘petty norm infringements’, ‘felonious norm infringements’, and ‘belligerent norm infringements’. Subsequent variance analysis assesses the perceived differences between perceived physical servicescape, social servicescape, and customer disaffection for each identified form cluster. Specifically, the study findings reveal statistically significant differences between the forms of dysfunctional customer behaviour that are perpetrated across different service environments. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the study for theorists and practitioners.     

Regulatory fit effects of gender and marketing message content

Many US adults do not get enough daily physical activity. To change behavior, governments and other agencies design marketing messages encouraging more physical activity. A lab experiment draws on Regulatory Focus Theory to examine health communication's persuasive effects on physical activity. This study identifies gender differences in chronic regulatory focus and shows that congruence between message regulatory focus and the message recipient's gender is effective, particularly for males. Results also show that emotions mediate regulatory fit effects on intentions. Further, chronic regulatory focus mediates these effects on emotions. Results inform implications for theory as well as for practitioners who design health-marketing messages.     

Selling to the urban Chinese in East Asia: Do CSR and value orientation matter?

Most multinationals have a presence in the East Asian region and target the urban Chinese population. In an effort to win over the loyalty of consumers, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been used increasingly as a marketing strategy. This paper explores how personal values influence the attitude and behavior towards CSR among Chinese consumers. By collecting data from three major East Asian cities — Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, and employing factor, cluster, conjoint and correspondence analyses, the authors demonstrate that Confucian value orientation can be a powerful antecedent of CSR support.     

European Tourism Product Purchase Methods and Systems

The distribution of tourism products, within Western Europe, is being affected by consumer needs as well as technological advancement. This article attempts to identify the current trends in distribution usage as well as the pressures which may bring about a shift in purchase behaviour, especially in relation to buying direct from wholesalers. In conclusion, the article identifies the current adoption of technology as one means of creating long-term advantage in the travel industry. However, it also reveals that direct agency channels could be developed if companies were willing to take advantage of the emergence of new opportunities.     

Book Review

This article presents the findings of an investigation into issues related to product standardisation in service industries. A brief review of existing literature on the subject is followed by a presentation of the findings of parallel surveys carried out at two UK holiday villages owned and operated by a leading European leisure company. The conclusions reached were that a service product can be successfilly standardised in the mind of the consumer but only if a clear positioning strategy is adhered to.     

Barriers to Marketing Development in the Barristers’ Profession

This paper focuses on the marketing of professional services, and on the very specific context of barristers in the British legal professions. We examine the background provided by this sector of professional services, and then present the results of a set of qualitative investigations into the role of marketing as it is perceived by members of this profession, and identify a series of perceived by members of this profession, and identify a series of considering the implications of our findings for how marketing concepts can be productively employed in this area of activity and the needs for conceptual as well as practical extension, but remain largely pessimistic about the current prospects for extending marketing activities into the area of barristers’ marketing.     

“My Fifty Shoes Are All Different!” Exploring,Defining, and Characterizing Acquisitive Buying

Why does someone buy the tenth pair of black shoes or the fourteenth white t‐shirt? Typically, extreme buying is associated with negative feelings and consequences: issues of self‐control, guilt, and financial problems are common among compulsive, impulsive, excessive buying, fixated buying, and hoarding. However, through two studies, the authors describe “acquisitive buyers,” who exhibit an extreme yet controlled acquisition process for items in a chosen product category. In his/her mind, these items are minutely differentiated and enrich the inventory, and there is logical justification that every purchase enhances his/her preparedness for anticipated specific product use occasions. Materialism, positive perfectionism and variety‐seeking in a particular product category are some of the characteristics of these buyers. The studies also help distinguish acquisitive buying from other types of extreme buying and mainstream buying.     

Explaining employers' illicit envelope wage payments in the EU‐27: a product of over‐regulation or under‐regulation?

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence in the 27 member states of the European Union of a little discussed illicit wage arrangement in which formal employees are paid two wages by their formal employers – an official declared salary and an additional undeclared wage, thus allowing employers to evade their full social insurance and tax liabilities. Reporting the results of a 2007 Eurobarometer survey involving 26,659 face‐to‐face interviews, the finding is that one in 18 formal employees received such an envelope wage from their formal employer and that envelope wage payments are more prevalent in member states with lower (rather than higher) levels of state intervention. The tentative conclusion is that illicit envelope wage payments are a product of under‐regulation, rather than over‐regulation, and that further research is now required to test the validity analysis of this thesis in other global regions.     

The Effects of Comparative Advertising Mediated by Market Position of Sponsoring Brand

An experimental test of the relative effectiveness of comparative and non-comparative advertising was performed. Mock print ads for fast food chains were constructed and presented to respondents in a simulated magazine mode. The market position of the sponsoring brand was manipulated in both comparative and non-comparative formats. Multiple criterion variables were operationalized corresponding to all stages of the hierarchy-of-effects paradigm. On balance, for the nine hypotheses tested, results revealed that non-comparative advertising was demonstrably more effective than comparative advertising.     

The Impact of Program Environment on Recall of Humorous Television Commercials

This study investigated the possible effect of television program types on the recall performance of humorous television commercials. An experimental design was developed to test the relative performance of the same humorous and non-humorous ads in three different contextual environments—situation comedy, action/adventure, and documentary. The findings indicate that the recall performance of commercials and of the product or service promoted are both affected by the program environment within which the ads appear.