Power drives consumer voice behavior
Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science
ISSN: 2516-7480
Article publication date: 3 May 2021
Issue publication date: 14 July 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The active voice behavior of customers is crucial to the development of enterprises, but few studies have examined how to promote customer voice behavior. Does a sense of power drive consumers to provide advice to the companies involved? This paper aims to address the issue.
Design/methodology/approach
By conducting three experiments, the authors proved the effect of the sense of power on customer voice behavior. In Study 1, the authors manipulated subjects' sense of power levels (high vs low) through an episodic recall task. Tangible goods were used as experimental material. The authors verified that power had a positive impact on customer voice behavior. In Study 2, the authors changed the experimental materials to intangible service products and used role-playing tasks to manipulate the subjects' sense of power. Study 2 validated the mediating role played by self-confidence in the main effect. In Study 3, the authors validated the moderating role of self-doubt for the power effect.
Findings
Based on the approach-inhibition theory of power and the situated focus theory of power, the current research finds that there is a positive effect of consumer's sense of power on their voice behavior. It also further analyzes the mediating role of self-confidence, the mechanism by which power affects customer voice behavior. However, this positive effect does not always occur. Self-doubt plays a moderating role in this relationship. If the individual's self-doubt level is high, the positive effect of power on the individual's self-confidence cannot be observed, which means that self-doubt is a boundary condition for the positive effect of power on individuals' self-confidence.
Research limitations/implications
The authors discuss the influence of sense of power on customer voice behavior and test the mediating role of self-confidence and its boundary conditions. The results show that consumers are more confident in themselves when they feel a sense of power and are more likely to proactively make suggestions to the company. However, the overall effect is not obvious when consumers have a high level of self-doubt. As a psychological state of consumers that firms can easily manipulate, the effects of power on consumer behavior remain to be explored by the authors.
Practical implications
The findings of current research suggest that empowering consumers who are less self-doubting can increase their self-confidence, which, in turn, can lead to more active expression and feedback on issues that need improvement in their experience. Thus, companies can enhance consumers' sense of power through some ways, such as using environmental elements to stimulate consumers' sense of power.
Originality/value
There are few studies on how the sense of power affects consumers' voice behavior. Prior work on voice behavior has focused on the perspective of customers' perception of the social exchange relationship between themselves and enterprises. The research explores the strategies suitable for enterprises to promote customer voice behavior from the perspective of the sense of power, and the findings contribute to the research on the sense of power and consumer voice behavior.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos 71172121).
Citation
Wan, W. and Li, H. (2021), "Power drives consumer voice behavior", Journal of Contemporary Marketing Science, Vol. 4 No. 1, pp. 22-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCMARS-09-2020-0039
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited