Theoretical Article


DOI :10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004   IUP :10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004    Full Text (PDF)

Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures

Bendegul Okumus

This paper aims to examine how frontline employees in individualistic cultures such as the United States can better understand and respond to the complaining behaviors of restaurant consumers from collective cultures such as those from Asian countries. Previous studies suggest that customers from collectivist cultures often prefer not to complain directly and openly about service failures. They may offer indirect hints and information to their families and friends about their experiences. It is possible that frontline employees from individualistic cultures may not fully understand the complaining behaviors of restaurant customers from collectivist cultures. This may result in loss of business, customers’ disloyalty and negative publicity about the business. Based on a review of previous research studies in this area, this study offers specific recommendations for practice and future research. 


PDF View

References

  • Aguilar-Rojas, O., Fandos-Herrera, C., & Flavián-Blanco, C. (2015). What may lead you to recommend and revisit a hotel after a service failure instead of complaining? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(2), 214–235. google scholar
  • Akbaba, A. (2006). Measuring service quality in the hotel industry: A study in a business hotel in Turkey. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 25(2), 170–192. google scholar
  • Amin, M., Yahya, Z., Ismayatim, W. F. A., Nasharuddin, S. Z., & Kassim, E. (2013). Service quality dimension and customer satisfaction: An empirical study in the Malaysian hotel industry. Services Marketing Quarterly, 34(2), 115–125. google scholar
  • Au, N., Buhalis, D., & Law, R. (2014). Online complaining behavior in mainland China hotels: The perception of Chinese and non-Chinese customers. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 15(3), 248–274. google scholar
  • Balaji, M. S., Jha, S., & Royne, M. B. (2015). Customer e-complaining behaviors using social media. The Service Industries Journal, 35(11-12), 633–654. google scholar
  • Bitner, M. J. (1990). Evaluating service encounters: The effects of physical surroundings and employee responses. Journal of Marketing, 54, 69–82. google scholar
  • Boshoff, C. (1999). RECOVSAT: An instrument to measure satisfaction with transaction-specific service recovery. Journal of Service Research, 1(3), 236–249. google scholar
  • Bougoure, U. S., & Neu, M. K. (2010). Service quality in the Malaysian fast food industry: An examination using DINESERV. Services Marketing Quarterly, 31(2), 194–212. google scholar
  • Chan, H., & Wan, L. C. (2009). Dual influences of moderating variables in the dissatisfaction process: theory and evidence. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 21(2), 125–135. google scholar
  • Chen, Y. S., Chen, C. Y. D., & Chang, M. H. (2011). American and Chinese complaints: Strategy use from a cross-cultural perspective. Intercultural Pragmatics, 8(2), 253–275 google scholar
  • Donthu, N., & Yoo, B. (1998). Cultural influences on service quality expectations. Journal of Service Research, 1(2), 178–186. google scholar
  • Ergün, G. S., & Kitapci, O. (2018). The impact of cultural dimensions on customer complaint behaviours: an exploratory study in Antalya/Manavgat tourism region. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 12(1), 59–79. google scholar
  • Fan, A., Mattila, A. S., & Zhao, X. (2015). How does social distance impact customers’ complaint intentions? A cross-cultural examination. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 47, 35–42. google scholar
  • Furrer, O., Liu, B. S. C., & Sudharshan, D. (2000). The relationships between culture and service quality perceptions basis for cross-cultural market segmentation and resource allocation. Journal of Service Research, 2(4), 355–371. google scholar
  • Hansen, K. V. (2014). Development of SERVQUAL and DINESERV for measuring meal experiences in eating establishments. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 14(2), 116–134. google scholar
  • Henthorne, T. L., Williams, A. J., & George, B. P. (2018). Cross-cultural consumer complaining behavior in service industries: A three-nation study across the African diaspora. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 26(4), 431–446. google scholar
  • Hosftede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills: Sage. google scholar
  • Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill. google scholar
  • Hofstede, G. (1994). Management scientists are human. Management science, 40(1), 4–13. google scholar
  • Hwang, A., Francesco, A., & Kessler, E. (2003). The relationship between individualism, collectivism, face and feedback and learning processes in Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, 72–91. google scholar
  • Getty, J. M., & Getty, R. L. (2003). Lodging quality index (LQI): Assessing customers’ perceptions of quality delivery. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 15(2), 94–104. google scholar
  • Getty, J. M., & Thompson, K. N. (1994). A procedure for scaling perceptions of lodging quality. Hospitality Research Journal, 18(2), 75–96. google scholar
  • Israeli, A., Lee, S. A., & Karpinski, A. C. (2017). Investigating the dynamics and the content of customers’ social media reporting after a restaurant service failure. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 26(6), 606–626. google scholar
  • Jahandideh, B., Golmohammadi, A., Meng, F., O‘Gorman, K. D., & Taheri, B. (2014). Crosscultural comparison of Chinese and Arab consumer complaint behavior in the hotel context. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 41, 67–76. google scholar
  • Johnston, R. (1995). Service failure and recovery: impact, attributes and process. Advances in Services Marketing and Management: Research and Practice, 4(1), 211–228. google scholar
  • Kandampully, J., Juwaheer, T. D., & Hu, H. H. (2011). The influence of a hotel firm’s quality of service and image and its effect on tourism customer loyalty. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 12(1), 21–42. google scholar
  • Kandampully, J., Zhang, T., & Jaakkola, E. (2018). Customer experience management in hospitality: A literature synthesis, new understanding and research agenda. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(1), 21–56. google scholar
  • Kandampully, J., & Suhartanto, D. (2000). Customer loyalty in the hotel industry: The role of customer satisfaction and image. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 12, 346–351. google scholar
  • Kanousi, A. (2005). An empirical investigation of the role of culture on service recovery expectations. Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, 15(1), 57–69. google scholar
  • Kim, M. G., Lee, C. H., & Mattila, A. S. (2014). Determinants of customer complaint behavior in a restaurant context: The role of culture, price level, and customer loyalty. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 23(8), 885–906. google scholar
  • Kim, W. G., Ng, C. Y. N., & Kim, Y. S. (2009). Influence of institutional DINESERV on customer satisfaction, return intention, and word-of-mouth. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 28(1), 10–17. google scholar
  • Kim, H. J., McCahon, C., & Miller, J. (2003). Assessing service quality in Korean casual-dining restaurants using DINESERV. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 6(1), 67–86. google scholar
  • Koc, E. (2018). Service failures and recovery in hospitality and tourism: a review of literature and recommendations for future research. Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management, 1–25. google scholar
  • Knutson, B., Stevens, P., Wullaert, C., Patton, M., & Yokoyama, F. (1990). LODGSERV: A service quality index for the lodging industry. Hospitality Research Journal, 14(2), 277–284. google scholar
  • Ladhari, R. (2009). Service quality, emotional satisfaction, and behavioral intentions: A study in the hotel industry. Managing Service Quality, 19, 308–331. google scholar
  • Lai, I. K., Hitchcock, M., Yang, T., & Lu, T. W. (2018). Literature review on service quality in hospitality and tourism (1984-2014) Future directions and trends. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(1), 114–159. google scholar
  • Lee, C. G., & How, S. M. (2018). Long-run causality between customer satisfaction and financial performance: the case of Marriott. Current Issues in Tourism, 1–6. google scholar
  • Leisen Pollack, B. (2009). Linking the hierarchical service quality model to customer satisfaction and loyalty. Journal of Services Marketing, 23(1), 42–50. google scholar
  • Li, X. R., Lai, C., Harrill, R., Kline, S., & Wang, L. (2011). When east meets west: An exploratory study on Chinese outbound tourists’ travel expectations. Tourism Management, 32(4), 741–749. google scholar
  • Liu, R. R., & McClure, P. (2001). Recognizing cross-cultural differences in consumer complaint behavior and intentions: an empirical examination. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 18(1), 54–75. google scholar
  • Lu, L., Gursoy, D., Chi, C. G. Q., & Xiao, G. (2018). Developing a consumer complaining and recovery effort scale. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 42(5), 686–715. google scholar
  • Marković, S., Raspor, S., & Šegarić, K. (2010). Does restaurant performance meet customers’ expectations? An assessment of restaurant service quality using a modified DINESERV approach. Tourism and Hospitality Management, 16(2), 181–195. google scholar
  • Markovic, S., Komsic, J., & Stifanic, M. (2013). Measuring service quality in city restaurant settings using DINESERV scale. Recent Advances in Business Management and Marketing, 176–181. Mattila, A. S. (1999). The role of culture in the service evaluation process. Journal of Service Research, 1(3), 250–261. google scholar
  • Mattila, A. S., & Patterson, P. G. (2004). Service recovery and fairness perceptions in collectivist and individualist contexts. Journal of Service Research, 6(4), 336–346. google scholar
  • Mok, C., & Armstrong, R. W. (1998). Expectations for hotel service quality: Do they differ from culture to culture? Journal of Vacation Marketing, 4(4), 381–391. google scholar
  • Ngai, E. W., Heung, V. C., Wong, Y. H., & Chan, F. K. (2007). Consumer complaint behavior of Asians and non-Asians about hotel services: An empirical analysis. European Journal of Marketing, 41(11-12), 1375–1391. google scholar
  • Oh, H. (1999). Service quality, customer satisfaction, and customer value: A holistic perspective. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 18(1), 67–82. google scholar
  • Oh, H., & Kim, K. (2017). Customer satisfaction, service quality, and customer value: Years 20002015. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 29(1), 2–29. google scholar
  • Oh, H., & Parks, S. C. (1996). Customer satisfaction and service quality: A critical review of the literature and research implications for the hospitality industry. Hospitality Research Journal, 20(3), 35–64. google scholar
  • Othman, Z., Zahari, M. S. M., & Radzi, S. M. (2013). Customer behavioral intention: Influence of service delivery failures and service recovery in Malay restaurants. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 105, 115–121. google scholar
  • Qiu, S., Li, M., Mattila, A. S., & Yang, W. (2018). Managing the face in service failure: The moderation effect of social presence. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(3), 1314–1331. google scholar
  • Park, S. G., Kim, K., & O’Neill, M. (2014). Complaint behavior intentions and expectation of service recovery in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 8(3), 255–271. google scholar
  • Parasuraman, A., Berry, L. L., & Zeithaml, V. A. (1991). Refinement and reassessment of the SERVQUAL scale. Journal of Retailing, 67(4), 420. google scholar
  • Parasuraman, A., Berry, L. L., & Zeithaml, V. A. (1993). More on improving service quality measurement. Journal of Retailing, 69(1), 140–147. google scholar
  • Patterson, P. G., Cowley, E., & Prasongsukarn, K. (2006). Service failure recovery: The moderating impact of individual-level cultural value orientation on perceptions of justice. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 23(3), 263–277. google scholar
  • Prayag, G., Cohen, S. A., & Yan, H. (2015). Potential Chinese travelers to Western Europe: Segmenting motivations and service expectations. Current Issues in Tourism, 18(8), 725–743. google scholar
  • Rauch, D. A., Collins, M. D., Nale, R. D., & Barr, P. B. (2015). Measuring service quality in midscale hotels. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 27(1), 87–106. google scholar
  • Roy, S. K., Lassar, W. M., Ganguli, S., Nguyen, B., & Yu, X. (2015). Measuring service quality: A systematic review of literature. International Journal of Services, Economics and Management, 7(1), 24–52. google scholar
  • Seger-Guttmann, T., & MacCormick, J. S. (2014). Employees’ service recovery efforts as a function of perceptions of interactional justice in individualistic vs. collectivistic cultures. European Journal of International Management, 8(2), 160-178. google scholar
  • Stevens, P., Knutson, B., & Patton, M. (1995). DINESERV: A tool for measuring service quality in restaurants. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 36(2), 56–60. google scholar
  • Truong, N., Nisar, T., Knox, D., & Prabhakar, G. (2017). The influences of cleanliness and employee attributes on perceived service quality in restaurants in a developing country. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 11(4), 608–627. google scholar
  • Yuksel, A., Kilinc, U., & Yuksel, F. (2006). Cross-national analysis of hotel customers’ attitudes toward complaining and their complaining behaviors. Tourism Management, 27(1), 11–24. google scholar
  • Wan, L. C. (2013). Culture’s impact on consumer complaining responses to embarrassing service failure. Journal of Business Research, 66(3), 298–305. google scholar
  • Zeithaml, V. A., Berry, L. L., & Parasuraman, A. (1993). The nature and determinants of customer expectations of service. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21(1), 1–12. google scholar

Citations

Copy and paste a formatted citation or use one of the options to export in your chosen format


EXPORT



APA

Okumus, B. (2019). Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures. Journal of Tourismology, 5(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004


AMA

Okumus B. Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures. Journal of Tourismology. 2019;5(1):1-16. https://doi.org/10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004


ABNT

Okumus, B. Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures. Journal of Tourismology, [Publisher Location], v. 5, n. 1, p. 1-16, 2019.


Chicago: Author-Date Style

Okumus, Bendegul,. 2019. “Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures.” Journal of Tourismology 5, no. 1: 1-16. https://doi.org/10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004


Chicago: Humanities Style

Okumus, Bendegul,. Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures.” Journal of Tourismology 5, no. 1 (Apr. 2024): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004


Harvard: Australian Style

Okumus, B 2019, 'Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures', Journal of Tourismology, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1-16, viewed 25 Apr. 2024, https://doi.org/10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004


Harvard: Author-Date Style

Okumus, B. (2019) ‘Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures’, Journal of Tourismology, 5(1), pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004 (25 Apr. 2024).


MLA

Okumus, Bendegul,. Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures.” Journal of Tourismology, vol. 5, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1-16. [Database Container], https://doi.org/10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004


Vancouver

Okumus B. Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures. Journal of Tourismology [Internet]. 25 Apr. 2024 [cited 25 Apr. 2024];5(1):1-16. Available from: https://doi.org/10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004 doi: 10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004


ISNAD

Okumus, Bendegul. Understanding and Responding to the Complaining Behaviors of Restaurant Customers from Collectivist Cultures”. Journal of Tourismology 5/1 (Apr. 2024): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.26650/jot.2019.5.1.0004



TIMELINE


Submitted19.02.2019
Accepted29.03.2019
Published Online13.05.2019

LICENCE


Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.


SHARE




Istanbul University Press aims to contribute to the dissemination of ever growing scientific knowledge through publication of high quality scientific journals and books in accordance with the international publishing standards and ethics. Istanbul University Press follows an open access, non-commercial, scholarly publishing.