Outraged Consumers: Getting Even at the Expense of Getting a Good Deal
- 25 January 2003
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Consumer Psychology
- Vol. 13 (4) , 440-453
- https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp1304_11
Abstract
This article introduces the concept of desire for consumer vengeance. Desire for consumer vengeance (DCV) is conceptualized as the desire of a decision maker to “get even” with an entity, such as a firm, in response to a perceived wrongdoing. Drawing on research in psychology and organization behavior, a theoretical framework is proposed for understanding variables that influence the extent to which the DCV is felt and the conditions under which one acts on such feelings. The results of 2 experiments show that, given sufficient desire for vengeance, some consumers will choose a suboptimal decision outcome to get even with a firm. We also find that it is the interpersonal factors of the redress experience, rather than its tangible outcomes, that drive consumers to exact revenge on firms after a dissatisfying experience.Keywords
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