Consumer Complaint Handling: Social Media Channel versus Traditional Channel

In recent years, marketing scholars have invested heavily in exploring the role of social media in marketing theory and practice. Whereas, traditional channels have been long utilized to provide consumer services, one emergent strategy is the use of social media in service delivery. This paper evaluates a) the concept of perceived complaint handling quality across traditional and modern channel when firms use multiple channels, and b) the subsequent implications of these differences, on outcomes such as customer loyalty, positive word-of-mouth, and cross-purchase preferences. The framework presented here is tested against data collected from two different channels - hotline and social media - of a large German telecommunication service provider. The result elucidates the effectiveness of customer service strategies in different channels, and sets the ground to frame tractable channel migration metrics.