Online Complaints in the Eye of the Beholder: Optimal Handling of Public Consumer Complaints on the Internet

Complaint management literature knows how to resolve a complaint in order to recover customer’s satisfaction. However, little is known about how observation of a public complaint handling process influences the observer, i.e. a person who is involved neither with the complaint nor with the person who made the complaint. In this study, we investigate how different types of organizational response to a public complaint influence the behavior and attitudes of prospective customers seeking for information about a product and/or brand on the internet prior to making their purchase decision. We also define response strategies that are beneficial for the companies.