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From the Archives: Perceived Justice Impacts Negative WOM Behavior
Dissatisfied consumers will not engage in negative WOM behavior if the retailer stands behind the product and there is a sense that it is working toward improving customer satisfaction. That was a key finding from a 1993 study published in the Journal of Retailing. Consumers in the following cases are less likely to perceive that justice had been served; hence they are more likely to engage in negative WOM behavior:
* Dissatisfied consumers who perceived little likelihood of successful redress
* Consumers who were dissatisfied with products they felt were important
* Consumers who perceived the cause to be stable or controllable
Source: Advances in Consumer Research, "Word-of-Mouth Communications: A Motivational Analysis", Winter 1993