Effects of complaint behaviour and service recovery satisfaction on consumer intentions to repurchase on the internet

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of complaint behaviour and service recovery satisfaction on consumer intentions to repurchase through internet channels.

Using survey data from large consumer samples from 15 European countries, the authors classify consumers according to: whether they had negative experiences with online purchases, whether they complained, and whether they were satisfied with the complaint handling. A logistic regression analysis assesses the effects of these experiences on repurchase intentions.

Remarkable differences arise among the consumers with respect to intentions to repurchase on the internet. Consumers with negative experiences who complained expressed higher repurchase intentions than consumers with no reason to complain and also than consumers who had negative experiences but did not complain. Yet the highest repurchase intentions arose among consumers who complained and expressed satisfaction with the complaint handling, in support of the service recovery paradox in an online setting.

This project is one of the first empirical studies of the consequences of dissatisfaction and complaints related to online purchase behaviour.