The impact of ethical cues on customer satisfaction with service

This study examines the effects of ethical and unethical cues on customers’ evaluations of the ethics of a service provider and their subsequent satisfaction with the service. The results of a disguised, laboratory experiment are used to suggest that customers respond to unethical cues in the enviro...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of retailing 2002, Vol.78 (3), p.167-173
Main Authors: Thomas, James L., Vitell, Scott J., Gilbert, Faye W., Rose, Gregory M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business ethics
Customer choice
Customer satisfaction
Customer services
Ethical
Ethics
Impact analysis
Satisfaction
Service
Service industries
Statistical analysis
Studies
Unethical Cues
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This study examines the effects of ethical and unethical cues on customers’ evaluations of the ethics of a service provider and their subsequent satisfaction with the service. The results of a disguised, laboratory experiment are used to suggest that customers respond to unethical cues in the environment through lower ethical assessments and satisfaction ratings, but that ethical cues may not necessarily increase satisfaction scores when compared to a neutral situation. The implications suggest that ethical cues and an honest service provider may be the expected norm, and thus will lead to (or maintain) satisfaction with the service encounter, while unethical cues will create dissatisfaction.
ISSN:0022-4359
1873-3271
DOI:10.1016/S0022-4359(02)00062-3