Merchandising/Marketing/Retailing: Management

Investigating Dynamics among Complainant, Bystander, and Advocate for Service Recovery via Corporate Social Media (CSM)

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Abstract

The role of other consumers in webcare has been underexplored in the setting of CSM for fashion brands. The current research fills the void by portraying a dynamic network among complainant who posts the complaining message, advocate who replies to the complaint, and bystander who observes the service interaction. Specifically, this study investigates how the tones of advocate’s defensive response affect bystander’s service evaluation and how complainant-bystander’s psychological distance serves as a boundary for bystander’s information processing. Study 1 reveals consumer-to-consumer (C2C) interactional justice as a mechanism underlying the relationship between defensive response and satisfaction with complaint handling. Study 2 demonstrates that bystander’s perceived distance to the failure experience moderates his/her cognitive processing of C2C service interactions. Both theoretical and practical implications regarding service management on CSM for fashion retailers are also discussed.   

Keywords: online incivility, webcare, complainant, advocate, bystander, C2C service interaction

How to Cite:

Huang, R. & Ha, S., (2020) “Investigating Dynamics among Complainant, Bystander, and Advocate for Service Recovery via Corporate Social Media (CSM)”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 77(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.12114