DOES GETTING A BETTER DEAL MAKES ME HONEST? THE EFFECT OF COMPENSATION ON INTENTIONS TO ADOPT MORAL BEHAVIOR

Resumo

This paper aims to deepen our understanding on how companies might foster positive reactions after a service failure situation in order to avoid customers’ adoption of retaliation actions such as dishonest and immoral behaviors. The focus is on the impact of financial compensation on the propensity to adopt a moral behavior, considering the role that psychological aspects such as gratitude feelings as well as fairness perceptions play on this context. Through a pilot and an experimental study, we confirmed that by receiving higher financial compensation than their peers, customers are more likely to adopt moral behaviors towards the company. Furthermore, gratitude feelings and fairness perceptions regarding the recovery positively influence this main relation. In summary, this study shows that an appropriate service recovery process can not only balance and re-establish a good relationship between the firm and the customer, but also trigger moral behaviors.

Keywords: financial compensation, morality, gratitude.

TRILHA ACADÊMICA: COMPORTAMENTO DO CONSUMIDOR