Changing Nature of Consumer Values Toward Negative Word of Mouth: Voice and Risk Avoidance as Moderators

Abstract

Given the increasing role of word of mouth (WOM), and primarily the impact of negative WOM on the decision-making of today's retail consumers, it is essential to understand the changing nature of consumer values (monetary, functional, emotional and social), emotion and attitude toward negative WOM. The current study's data were collected using two online surveys in 2015 and 2019, with 290 participants in Study 1 and 201 in Study 2. The intention behind using two different time points over a 4-year span was to capture the differences in consumers' views over the two periods. The study's findings suggested that social and emotional values remained unchanged; however, monetary and functional values changed over time. Interestingly, attitudes altered toward complaining, although the relationships between taking external action and negative WOM were unchanged in both studies. Consumers raising their voice and consumers' risk-taking attributes were found to be significant moderators in Study 1 but not in Study 2. The findings provide useful insights into the negative WOM literature and have implications for marketing practitioners, as highlighted in the paper's conclusion.