How do customers react to preferential treatment? An affective events theory and time-lagged survey

Understanding how preferential treatment influences customer behavior is pivotal in shaping effective marketing strategies. This study looks at how customers feel and act when they get special treatment compared to others (preferential treatment), using the idea of how emotions are stirred by certai...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Qurat Ul Ain, Qurat Ul Ain, Lim, Weng Marc, Rasool, Shahid, Muhammad Zeshan, Muhammad Zeshan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier Ltd 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:http://eprints.utm.my/108925/1/ShahidRasool2024_HowdoCustomersReacttoPreferentialTreatment.pdf
http://eprints.utm.my/108925/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103927
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Institution: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Language: English
id my.utm.108925
record_format eprints
spelling my.utm.1089252024-12-15T06:04:45Z http://eprints.utm.my/108925/ How do customers react to preferential treatment? An affective events theory and time-lagged survey Qurat Ul Ain, Qurat Ul Ain Lim, Weng Marc Rasool, Shahid Muhammad Zeshan, Muhammad Zeshan H Social Sciences (General) Understanding how preferential treatment influences customer behavior is pivotal in shaping effective marketing strategies. This study looks at how customers feel and act when they get special treatment compared to others (preferential treatment), using the idea of how emotions are stirred by certain events to understand its effect on what customers do (affective events theory). Using a time-lagged survey of 318 customers in the retail sector, we explored how preferential treatment influences three kinds of customer behavior: feeling extremely happy (customer delight), speaking favorably about a product or service (customer advocacy), and making unplanned purchases (impulse buying). We discovered that preferential treatment makes customers much happier, which then encourages them to both advocate for and buy products on a whim. Unexpectedly, our findings indicate that preferential treatment's ability to elevate customer happiness is somewhat diminished in those with a higher inclination toward seeking attention (attention-seeking motives), due to a perceived lack of genuineness or merit in the treatment received. Consequently, this study illustrates the complex dynamics of preferential treatment in enhancing customer delight, advocacy, and impulse purchasing, while also uncovering the noteworthy role of individual differences in these processes. Elsevier Ltd 2024-09 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://eprints.utm.my/108925/1/ShahidRasool2024_HowdoCustomersReacttoPreferentialTreatment.pdf Qurat Ul Ain, Qurat Ul Ain and Lim, Weng Marc and Rasool, Shahid and Muhammad Zeshan, Muhammad Zeshan (2024) How do customers react to preferential treatment? An affective events theory and time-lagged survey. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 80 (NA). pp. 1-12. ISSN 0969-6989 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103927 DOI:10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103927
institution Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
building UTM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
content_source UTM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://eprints.utm.my/
language English
topic H Social Sciences (General)
spellingShingle H Social Sciences (General)
Qurat Ul Ain, Qurat Ul Ain
Lim, Weng Marc
Rasool, Shahid
Muhammad Zeshan, Muhammad Zeshan
How do customers react to preferential treatment? An affective events theory and time-lagged survey
description Understanding how preferential treatment influences customer behavior is pivotal in shaping effective marketing strategies. This study looks at how customers feel and act when they get special treatment compared to others (preferential treatment), using the idea of how emotions are stirred by certain events to understand its effect on what customers do (affective events theory). Using a time-lagged survey of 318 customers in the retail sector, we explored how preferential treatment influences three kinds of customer behavior: feeling extremely happy (customer delight), speaking favorably about a product or service (customer advocacy), and making unplanned purchases (impulse buying). We discovered that preferential treatment makes customers much happier, which then encourages them to both advocate for and buy products on a whim. Unexpectedly, our findings indicate that preferential treatment's ability to elevate customer happiness is somewhat diminished in those with a higher inclination toward seeking attention (attention-seeking motives), due to a perceived lack of genuineness or merit in the treatment received. Consequently, this study illustrates the complex dynamics of preferential treatment in enhancing customer delight, advocacy, and impulse purchasing, while also uncovering the noteworthy role of individual differences in these processes.
format Article
author Qurat Ul Ain, Qurat Ul Ain
Lim, Weng Marc
Rasool, Shahid
Muhammad Zeshan, Muhammad Zeshan
author_facet Qurat Ul Ain, Qurat Ul Ain
Lim, Weng Marc
Rasool, Shahid
Muhammad Zeshan, Muhammad Zeshan
author_sort Qurat Ul Ain, Qurat Ul Ain
title How do customers react to preferential treatment? An affective events theory and time-lagged survey
title_short How do customers react to preferential treatment? An affective events theory and time-lagged survey
title_full How do customers react to preferential treatment? An affective events theory and time-lagged survey
title_fullStr How do customers react to preferential treatment? An affective events theory and time-lagged survey
title_full_unstemmed How do customers react to preferential treatment? An affective events theory and time-lagged survey
title_sort how do customers react to preferential treatment? an affective events theory and time-lagged survey
publisher Elsevier Ltd
publishDate 2024
url http://eprints.utm.my/108925/1/ShahidRasool2024_HowdoCustomersReacttoPreferentialTreatment.pdf
http://eprints.utm.my/108925/
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.103927
_version_ 1818834066928041984