Customer Inquiries and Complaints: The Impact of Firm Response Time to Email Communications

Abstract

The ability of the Internet to provide immediate communication through email has prompted a renewed emphasis on understanding customer correspondence and its effect on customer relationships. This study investigates how elements of the communication environment influence a consumer’s attitude and intentions. Using a scenario-based experiment, we examine how the email’s content (e.g., importance and type of communication), firm factors (e.g., reputation and speed of response), and consumer characteristics (e.g., commitment to the firm) affect satisfaction, intentions, loyalty, and word-of-mouth. The results demonstrate that failure to respond to email, and even delaying response to email, decreases satisfaction with the firm.