Web Systems Design and Online Consumer Behavior [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Managerial Implications

Increasing Consumer’s Coping Potential is a Key Issue

Online communication technology can reduce the physical and psychological costs of
complaining, which in turn make consumers perceive themselves to have strong coping potential. As a
result, consumers may engage in problem-focused coping in which they deal with the marketplace
experience by voicing their displeasure directly to the target company. In this manner, marketers
will gain the opportunity to retain the consumer both by redressing the problems and providing the
opportunity for consumers to drain off their pent-up negative emotions.

A company that is able to increase its consumers’ coping potential may be in the best
position to engage consumers in a one-to-one relationship. In other words, a key issue in
attracting dissatisfied consumers to interact with the company may be altering perceived balance of
power between the individual and the company (Stephens & Gwinner, 1998). Otherwise, consumers,
left unattended, would find a way to punish the target firm. To this end, the online communication
technology also grants consumers enormous potential in the retribution process.

In order to shift power perceptions, marketers need to actively communicate their
responsiveness through all of their external communication (Stephens & Gwinner, 1998). Richins
(1983, 1985, 1987) has consistently found that the choice between WOM and complaint behavior is
influenced by perceptions of retailer responsiveness. Halstead & Droge (1991) also reported
that the consumer’s perception of the responsiveness/caring of channel members (manufacturers
especially) regarding problems and redress most consistently predicted CCB response. To communicate
their responsiveness, marketers may advertise or make visible their responsiveness on all publicly
viewed materials. In addition, by connecting with complaint Web sites which deliver consumers
complaints to their partners such as planetfeedback.com, marketers may gain positive publicity
about their responsiveness as well as access to vocal consumers. For example, planetfeedback.com is
posting the companies that do a great job of responding to consumer letters.

Brand Name Is Powerful

Even though online WOM communication may function as an opportunity for marketers by
providing access to vocal consumers, online WOM communication also presents considerable threats to
marketers because it is difficult to manage. From consumer’s perspective, the relative anonymity of
WOM may make the motivations of unseen strangers offering recommendations suspicious and therefore
reduced trust in those complaint sites or online forums. In addition, the enormous amount of WOM
information available online may be too much for consumers to process effectively.

Traditionally, attribution theory has been used to investigate the inferences that consumers
draw from WOM activity with unfamiliar sources (Chatterjee, 2001). According to Hilton (1995), when
negative information is presented regarding an object or event toward which a receiver maintains a
positive attitude, the receiver will shift his or her impressions toward this contradictory
information and experience cognitive imbalance. This cognitive imbalance will be subsequently
overcome by the receiver’s attributing the negativity of the message toward the communicator. In
the online environment, where the motivations of the communicator may be uncertain, this
attribution tendency may go to a high extreme.

In a similar vein, Laczniak et al. (2001) suggested that brand name might have a direct
effect on the attributions generated by receivers of negative WOM communication. They empirically
demonstrated that the more favorable brand name reduced the persuasiveness of negative WOM
communication because impression-inconsistent information was deflected away from the brand and
discounted through the attribution process. In the online environment, Chatterjee (2001) found that
the harmful impact of negative consumer reviews on perceived reliability of retailer and purchase
intention were mitigated by the consumer’s familiarity with the retailer.

It seems that the evaluative predispositions toward products and companies are effectively
acting as filters through which WOM information flows. Considering the characteristics of the
online communication environment, the consumer’s predispositions toward brands may work more
actively on the persuasiveness of online WOM information than information communicated through any
other medium. Marketers may offset the harmful effects of online WOM communication by gaining high
levels of equity for their brands.

Strategic Resource Allocation Among Complaint Communication
Channels

Given the indispensability of traditional communication channels (e.g., telephone and
letters), the variety of new channels (e.g., e-mail and Web sites), and the prospect for even more
technology-based options (e.g., videophone), the need to find effective communication channels for
consumer complaints and to manage a company’s resources on those channels is mounting. Unsupported
communication channels may make dissatisfied consumers even angrier and give up voicing and, in
turn, to actively engage in negative WOM. In addition, since it is necessary to monitor online WOM
communication on a continual basis, the need to effectively allocate a company’s resources among
consumer service functions is tremendous. Therefore, instead of following the latest fads,
companies need to consider the characteristics of their business and the nature of their consumers
in order to integrate online communication as a component of their consumer service
strategically.

For example, online communication technology as a complaint communication channel may provide
superb opportunities for those goods and services that could be embarrassing to discuss in person.
Online communication as a lean media may reduce consumers’ psychological costs of complaining and
discussing their product or service experience. Marketers of these types of products and services
may allocate a large portion of their resources on managing online communication with consumers. In
addition, online communication technology may provide excellent opportunities for companies to
receive feedback from consumers in industries where the cost of direct consumer contact is
prohibitively high (e.g., consumer packaged goods) (Bowman & Narayandas, 2001). Companies in
this category would benefit by focusing more on managing online communications with consumers than
other means of communication.

On the other hand, service providers may be in a more vulnerable position than product
manufacturers in terms of online WOM communication. Dissatisfied consumers in the service industry
are more likely to have non-instrumental motivations in complaining. For this reason, service
providers may benefit from focusing on monitoring online WOM communication activities among
consumers, being more proactive in seeking consumer feedback, and providing personalized responses
to consumers.