Fetscherin and Kiefer Published in Journal of Consumer Marketing

In their paper, business professors Marc Fetscherin and Kip Kiefer explore how brand relationship quality (BRQ) influences consumers’ perceived sense of justice in the context of service recovery situations. In particular, the study examines how consumers’ feelings about a car brand can change when something goes wrong with their services.

The authors asked 368 consumers about their experiences with car services and found that people who really like a brand are generally more satisfied with how the brand fixes problems, complain less, and are more likely to keep buying from that car brand. Interestingly, while trusting a brand can make consumers more forgiving, feeling very close to a brand might make consumers react more strongly to issues.

The Journal of Consumer Marketing publishes research, cases, new concepts, and commentary aimed at marketers seeking insights into global consumer behavior and covering topics such as advertising, social psychology, and marketing strategy.