Can customer relationships backfire? How relationship norms shape moral obligation in cancelation behavior

Saleh Shuqair, Diego Costa Pinto, Frederico Cruz de Jesus , Anna Mattila , Patricia da Fonseca Guerreiro, Kevin Kam Fung So

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    9 Citations (Scopus)
    141 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    While prior research indicates that establishing interpersonal interaction with customers is mostly beneficial, this work reveals that the impact of social ties depends on relationship norms (communal vs. exchange). In three studies, including a real-world field dataset ( N = 87,615 customers), the current investigation demonstrates the conditions under which interpersonal relationships can increase or decrease customers’ cancelation behaviour. The findings indicate that communal (vs. exchange) relationships can increase customers’ future cancelation behaviours. The findings also demonstrate that perceived moral obligation underlies interpersonal effects on cancelation behaviour. That is, when providers develop communal (vs. exchange) ties,consumers feel that their interaction with the providers is in a closed social context, which tends to reduce their obligations towards attending their booking, thus increasing cancelation behaviour. Theoretical and practical implications for business researchers and practitioners are discussed.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)463-472
    Number of pages10
    JournalJournal of Business Research
    Volume151
    Issue numberNovember 2022
    Early online date18 Jul 2022
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022

    Bibliographical note

    This is an open access article under the CC-BY license

    Keywords

    • Cancelation behavior
    • Communal relationships
    • Exchange relationship

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