Negative emotions and their effect on customer complaint behaviour

Purpose - This study aims to investigate pre-complaint situations and has a threefold purpose: to identify a set of negative emotions experienced in unfavourable service experiences, to examine the patterns of these negative emotions and to link these negative emotions to complaint behaviour. Design/methodology/approach - To fulfil the threefold purpose previously outlined, the study uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. A critical incident technique is applied. The empirical data are derived from 25 in-depth interviews and the results of a questionnaire survey of 3,104 respondents. Findings - A total of 20 observed negative emotions are reduced to a second-order construct with five latent categories of negative emotions: shame, sadness, fear, anger and frustration. These categories coincide with three categories of negative emotions in the agency dimension: other-attributed, self-attributed and situational-attributed. The study finds that the negative emotion of frustration is the best predictor for complaint behaviour towards the service provider. Research limitations/implications - The results are limited by the fact that the data are entirely self-reported. Moreover, the generalisabilty of the results is limited by the fact that the findings relate to one service industry in one country. Originality/value - The study provides a comprehensive conceptual understanding of both pre-complaint negative emotions and how these emotions affect customer complaint behaviour.