When do low-power customers complain? The joint effects of chronic sense of personal power and complaint success on complaining intentions

In the customer complaint literature, researchers have found that the lack of an incidental sense of power is one of the reasons why customers do not complain. However, two issues are left unanswered: does a chronic sense of power influence consumer complaining behavior, and how individuals who feel chronically powerless can be encouraged to complain when dissatisfied. The present study is intended to address this topic. Drawing on the approach–inhibition theory of power, we argue that the probability of complaint success increases the complaint behavior of customers with a low chronic sense of power, thereby mitigating the differences in the complaint behavior of consumers with low and high power. The three studies indicated that a low chronic power was negatively associated with complaining intentions and that this association was mitigated by the perceived success of complaining.