Consumer complaint actions: a conceptual model based on complainants about advertising in Australia

This article presents a new conceptual model detailing consumer complaint responses relating to exposure to unacceptable advertising. The model is initiated by consumer perceptions of negative inequity which elicits one of three consumer complaint responses based on the identified triggers that may influence complaining propensity such as demographic, psychographic, cultural, situational and social factors. Complainant perception of the process encountered together with the overall outcome of their experience affect future complaint behaviour as shown by this evolving model as the end reaction flows on to form the consumer’s next response to a similar situation. The advertising industry in Australia is valued annually at over $8 billion and some advertisements have been identified as ‘unacceptable’ by elements in society. Industry and regulatory response to consumer complaints is thus an important area to address and there is no extant literature utilising such an holistic model.

Patient or consumer? The colonization of the psychiatric clinic

Information is given a privileged place in the psychiatric clinic, as illustrated by the prevalence and volume of data to be collected and forms to be completed by psychiatric nurses. Information though is different to knowledge. The present paper argues that information is part of a managerial discourse that implies commodification whereas knowledge is part of a clinical discourse that allows room for the suffering of the patient. Information belongs to the discourse of managerialism, one that positions the patient as customer/consumer and in doing so renders them unsuffering. The patient's suffering is silenced by their construction as a consumer. The discourse of managerialism seeks a complete data set of information. By way of contrast, another discourse, that of psychoanalysis offers the institution the idea that there are always holes, gaps, and uncertainty. The idea of uncertainty, gaps, things remaining unknown and a limit sits uncomfortably with the dominant discourse of managerialism; one that demands no limits, complete data sets, and many satisfied customers. This market model of managerialism denies the potential of the therapeutic relationship; that something curative might be produced via the transference. In addition, the managerialist discourse potentially positions the patient as both illegitimate and unsuffering.

Consumer acceptability of low fat foods containing inulin and oligofructose

Inulin and oligofructose were used as fat replacers in Anzac cookies, blueberry muffins, carrot cake, chocolate cake, lemon cheesecake, ice cream, and beef sausages at levels ranging from 4 to 13g/100g, achieving a significant reduction in fat content (20% to 80% relative). These foods were rated as acceptable by an untrained taste panel, but scored consistently lower than their full-fat counterparts (controls). Regression analysis showed that, unlike the controls, texture was more important than flavor in determining overall acceptability of the low-fat foods. Inulin and oligofructose are readily incorporated into bakery and meat formulations, but their use might be limited by adverse physiological effects when consumed at high levels.

Consumer complaint behaviour and relationship marketing: a research agenda

A void identified within the Relationship Marketing literature is the lack of research on dissatisfactory or problem relationships, so the utilisation of work that has been conducted in the area of Consumer Complaint Behaviour (CCB) is appropriate. Therefore, this paper identifies ways in which the CCB literature may be used to advance knowledge in the field of Relationship Marketing. As the context of this paper is consumer - service provider relationships, an assessment is made of some of the implications of technology-infusion in service encounters, at two levels, namely at the broad relationship marketing level, that is, the likely impact of technology infusion on consumer - service provider relationships, and then more specifically regarding implications for CCB.

The impact of service intangibility on consumer service quality expectations

Research consistently demonstrates the strategic benefits of providing quality in service delivery (Tse and Wilton 1988; Anderson and Zeithaml 1984). However, to deliver a quality service, it is first necessary to determine the level of quality expectations that consumers have for a particular service industry. This paper examines whether quality expectations vary across services based on their degree of total intangibility. A controlled, repeated measures design is utilised, whereby subjects are each asked to evaluate three services that vary in their degree of intangibility. Contrary to past findings, results indicate that consumer expectations for service quality do not vary with the level of intangibility of the service.

Consumer satisfaction and post-purchase intentions: an exploratory study of museum visitors

This paper examines the relationship between consumer satisfaction and future intentions in the museum context, and the role that demographic characteristics such as gender, age and education play. The variables Expectations Met, Satisfaction, Value, Intention to Return, and Recommendation to Others, were all found to be correlated. However, although it is often assumed that the level of educational attainment, gender and age correlate strongly with arts and cultural usage, this research found that the only statistically significant differences were that females had a higher mean Intention to Return, and there was a weak positive association between Age and Satisfaction, and weak negative associations between Education and Expectations Met, Satisfaction, and Recommendation to Others. Museum marketers may profit from examining the "value chain" of museum experience outlined in the model presented, especially the greater likelihood of positive recommendations to others than individual intention to revisit, and by investigating segment differences beyond those reported here.

Measuring consumer involvement : a test of the automobile involvement scale

This study empirically investigated consumer involvement with a product class. Data was collected from 178 vehicle buyers. Reliability and factor analyses investigated the structure of the Bloch (1981) instrument and the dimensions underlying involvement. In terms of replication, the results suggest the reduced-item version of the instrument previously proposed by Shimp and Sharma (1983) is reliable and is a less excessive measurement instrument. Similar dimensions underlying involvement with the product class are reported here. The study extends previous work by obtaining similar results in a different cultural setting, producing findings from a more relevant sample, applying an additional method of data collection, and suggesting that the underlying dimensions may be temporally stable.

Self-concept and motivation as predictors of actual consumer behaviour

The need to predict consumer behaviour outcomes is considered to be a very important issue for marketers. Isolated individual psychological constructs such as attitudes, motives, personality traits and learning styles have been used to identify their predictive capacity for actual consumer behaviour with varying degrees of success. This paper attempts to test
empirically the predictive power of two constructs, motivation and self-concept, regarding business consumer’s actions in a service context, using an Australian representative sample.

More dominant in their inactivity: consumer response and the adoption of digital TV in Australia

After much hesitation, discussion, and power brokering, Australia adopted digital TV for its Free-to air broadcasting on January 1, 2001. However, by December 2002, only a few thousand homes had adopted the technology. This paper examines the implementation and regulation of digital TV in Australia from the point of view of the ‘established base’ the new technology will replace, theories on diffusion and innovation of new technologies, and the Justification Model, which sees technology choice as social gambling. It then evaluates the various protectionist regulations and limitations imposed on the technology to safeguard the various stakeholders, the implementation strategies used, lack of digital content, marketing efforts, negative media coverage, and the economic realities of the technology, and argues that if consumers reject the technology altogether, it would lead to Australia missing the future applications of digital technology and the opportunity to address the issue of the ‘digital divide’ in the 21st century.

A new relationship between planning and democracy? Urban activism in Melbourne 1965-1975

This paper is a reflective overview of urban social protest in the years 1965-1975 and its influence on post-war planning, especially on models of public participation in planning, and conceptions of effective local democracy. Drawing extensively on a major study of urban activism in Melbourne, Australia, the paper discusses the political and organisational strategies used by activists in Melbourne’s inner city areas to resist the large-scale planning/urban renewal projects especially of the Victorian state government. The paper focuses on Melbourne’s inner city Residents’ Action Groups and examines their motivations, strategies and rationales, placing them within an international context of urban protest movements demanding local democracy and consultation. The paper concludes that the Melbourne urban protest movements of the late 60s and early 70s deserve recognition for their contribution to inclusive, consultative processes in planning decision-making. This is done within a context of questioning contemporary academic discussion around the interpretative concept of gentrification, widely and indiscriminately applied to this and later periods of urban change.