A comprehensive model of customer direct and indirect revenge: Understanding the effects of perceived greed and customer power

Abstract

This article develops and tests a comprehensive model of customer revenge that contributes to the literature in three manners. First, we identify the key role played by the customer's perception of a firm's greed-that is, an inferred negative motive about a firm's opportunistic intent-that dangerously energizes customer revenge. Perceived greed is found as the most influential cognition that leads to a customer desire for revenge, even after accounting for well studied cognitions (i. e., fairness and blame) in the service literature. Second, we make a critical distinction between direct and indirect acts of revenge because these sets of behaviors have different repercussions-in "face-to-face" vs. "behind a firm's back"-that call for different interventions. Third, our extended model specifies the role of customer perceived power in predicting these types of behaviors. We find that power is instrumental-both as main and moderation effects-only in the case of direct acts of revenge (i. e., aggression and vindictive complaining). Power does not influence indirect revenge, however. Our model is tested with two field studies: (1) a study examining online public complaining, and (2) a multi-stage study performed after a service failure. © 2010 Academy of Marketing Science.