Management Research News

Complaint behaviour of Malaysian consumers

Nelson Oly Ndubisi Tam Yin Ling

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Nelson Oly Ndubisi Tam Yin Ling, (2006),"Complaint behaviour of Malaysian consumers", Management
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Graham Ferguson, Ian Phau, (2012),"A cross#national investigation of university students' complaining
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Complaint behaviour of
Malaysian consumers

Complaint
behaviour

Nelson Oly Ndubisi

School of Business, Monash University Malaysia

Tam Yin Ling

65

University of Malaysia Sabah, Sabah, Malaysia

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Abstract
Purpose To examine the post dissatisfaction behaviour of Malaysian consumers vis-a`-vis their
complaint behaviour and defection. Specifically, the relationship between public complaint behaviour
(i.e. complaining to the organization), private complaint behaviour (complaining to family members
and friends without a word to the organisation) and customer defection were considered. The research
also investigates the moderating effect of gender and income in this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach Consisted of a survey of 218 randomly selected customers of
banks in Malaysia.
Findings shows that both public and private complaints are associated with defection, albeit the
determinant strength of private complaint is more robust. These findings are generic as there is no
gender-moderated effect. However, income moderates the private complaint-defection relationship.
Lower income customers are more likely to defect without a word to the bank than higher income
Malaysian bank customers.
Practical implications Emphasises that an apparant each of complaints doesnt mean that all is
well. Also, stresses the need for encouraging complaints from customers and a system to hand
complaints.
Originality/value Income levels may affect a customers expression of dissatisfaction.
Keywords: Complaints, Gender, Customers, Consumer behaviour, Banking, Malaysia
Paper type: Research paper

Introduction
Past studies (e.g. Ndubisi 2003a; 2003b) have documented that retention of customers is
an important issue because losing a customer can be very costly. The results of
customer defection include decrease in revenue, higher costs of attracting new
customers, loss of free advertising through positive word-of-mouth, and decrease
employee retention (Colgate and Norris, 2001). Marketing scholars have also argued
that the cost of gaining a new customer could be as high as five to six times the cost of
retaining an existing one (Desatnick, 1988; Boldgett et al., 1995; Fundin and Bergman,
2003; Ndubisi, 2003b). Reichheld and Sasser (1990) demonstrated that a 5 per cent
decrease in customer defection could translate into 25-85 per cent increase in profits,
depending on the service industry (Lee and Cunningham, 2001). Colgate and Hedge
(2001) pointed out that losing customers could have a negative effect on a banks
market share too. Thus, businesses should try to retain customers as the key to
survival and long-term growth.
Customer retention is driven by customer satisfaction (Roland and Zahorik, 1993).
So, ensuring customer satisfaction is a non-debatable way to retain customer.
Nevertheless, all companies experience some degree of customer dissatisfaction (Fisher
et al., 1999), which makes it crucial to study the post dissatisfaction behaviour of
customers. Understanding how Malaysian bank customers behave after feeling
dissatisfaction about the product or service received for example, how they express
their grievances, who they complain to, and what they do next after registering their

Management Research News

Vol. 29 No. 1/2, 2005
pp. 65-76
# Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0140-9174
DOI 10.1108/01409170610645457

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66

misgivings are important in consumer behaviour theory building and customer

complaint management in Malaysia.
Literature review
In the past three decades, researchers have conducted several studies on consumer
complaint behaviour, such as Boldgett et al. (1995), Broardbridge and Marshall (1995),
Bennett (1997), Eccles and Durand (1998), Fisher et al. (1999), Nyer (2000), Liu and
McClure (2001), Volkov et al. (2002), Heung and Lam (2003), Kim et al. (2003), Ndubisi
and Tam (2004a), to demonstrate the strategic position of importance that is
increasingly accorded to understanding and resolving customer complaints.
Nevertheless, most of the studies were conducted in the West, with very insignificant
number focusing on the Asian context (Keng et al., 1995), especially Malaysia where
complaint has the tendency to be viewed as confrontation. As this may have different
implications on how Malaysian consumers complain and behave afterwards, this study
on the consumer complaint behaviour, its aftermath, and the role of gender and income
level in Malaysia, will give further insight into the understanding of consumer post
purchase behaviour.
Dissatisfaction
In order to better understand the word dissatisfaction, it will help to consider the term
satisfaction. Satisfaction is determined to a significant extent by the disconfirmation or
confirmation of consumer expectations (Bearden and Oliver, 1985; Cornwell et al.,
1991). According to Hsieh (1996), the disconfirmation model has been widely accepted,
and many researchers try to define satisfaction further using this model. The
disconfirmation model focuses on the condition where the product disconfirms
expectation. If the product disconfirms expectation by exceeding it, customer
experience satisfaction; in contrast, if product disconfirms expectation by falling short
of expectation, dissatisfaction arouses (East, 1997; Stewart, 1998).
Michel (2001) defined dissatisfaction among the servicing industry as the
disconfirmation of service expectation caused by the service failure. The expectations
are determined by factors such as advertising, prior experience, personal needs, Wordof-Mouth and the image of the service provider (Michel, 2001), while service failure is
the problem that a customer has with a service (Colgate and Norris, 2001). Peyrot and
Doris (1994) explained that consumers form pre-purchase expectations regarding a
product and will form evaluation of this product in the post purchase stage, consumer
will generate dissatisfaction if product do not meet expectation. Broadbridge and
Marshall (1995) provided similar definition by trying to relate satisfaction with the
quality of product. They stated that consumer dissatisfaction is the result of the
discrepancy between expected and realized performance, with an attribute.
Consumer complaint behaviour
Consumer complaint behaviour is also known as consumer complaint responses (Singh
and Widing, 1991). Crie (2003, p. 61) defined consumer complaint behaviour as a
process that constitutes a subset of all possible responses to perceived dissatisfaction
around a purchase episode, during consumption or during possession of the goods or
services. He argued that consumer complaint behaviour is not an instant response, but
a process, which does not directly depend on its initiating factors but on evaluation of
the situation by the consumer and of its evolution over time. Broadbridge and Marshall
(1995) explained that consumer complaint behaviour is a distinct process, which begins

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when the consumer has evaluated a consumption experience (resulting in

dissatisfaction) and ends when the consumer had completed all behavioural and
non-behavioural responses.
Singh and Widing (1991) proposed a definition that consumer complaint behaviour
include all potential behavioural responses that a consumer may utilise to deal with
his/her dissatisfaction. Singh (1990a) identified consumer complaint behaviour as the
consumer dissatisfaction response style. Thus, complaint is actually the response
following the consumer dissatisfaction. These responses/actions include among others,
switching patronage, telling friends and family and complaining to a consumer agency.
Mason and Himes (1973) categorised the response styles into action group and no
action group. The consumers who complain to member/s of distribution (e.g. retailer or
seller) with intention to seek relief are classified as action group. While others, are
classified as no action group. In another study, Warland et al. (1975) categorised the
consumer complaint behaviour into upset action and upset no action. They argued
that consumers might not complain, even though they are dissatisfied; they regard
them as the upset but no action group. Otherwise, they are in upset action category.
This classification still remains relevant and basic to the study of consumer complaint
behaviour till today, even though subsequent researchers have different labels for these
styles, such as complainers and non-complainers and activists and non-activists
(Singh, 1990a).
Action taken by consumers is not only to complain to the seller, but also include
warning families and friends, stopping patronage, diverting to mass media,
complaining to consumer council and complaining by writing a letter to management
(Heung and Lam, 2003). This buttresses the two-level hierarchical classification (public
or private action) first proposed by Day and Landon, 1976, with the intentions to
distinguish the consumer complaint response (Cornwell et al., 1991; Singh, 1990b).
Public action refers to the direct complaint actions to the seller or a third party (e.g.
consumer agency or government), which included seeking redress directly from retailer
or manufacturer, and taking legal action (Bearden, 1983; Bearden and Oliver, 1985;
Cornwell et al., 1991). The public actions that could be taken by consumer included
verbal complain to retailer/manufacturer, write comment card or complaint letters,
write to newspaper or complain to consumer council (Heung and Lam, 2003). Private
action indicates that complaint is privately through negative Word-of-Mouth
communications to family and friends or the decision not to repurchase the product or
services again or boycott store (Bearden, 1983; Broadbridge and Marshall 1995;
Cornwell et al., 1991). Private actions generally do not get the direct attention of the
seller and thus could have a serious impact on sales and profitability (Heung and Lam,
2003). Bearden and Oliver (1985:p. 228) pointed out that private complaint has no
effect on the firms responses, but may reinforce negative attitudes through the process
of consensual validation whereby individuals seek confirmation of their feelings by
selectively exposing themselves to agreeable others. It is important to know that a
consumer may only either involve in one action (the public or private complaint) or will
involve in both public and private complaint (Kolodinsky, 1995).
Defection
Customer defection is also termed as customer exit or switching behaviour. In
Colgate and Hedge (2001), the terms switching, defection and exit were used
interchangeable, which showed that the terms have similar definition. Defection can be
defined as customers forsaking one product or service for another (Garland, 2002). The

Complaint
behaviour

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68

customer decides not to purchase a product or service again. Crie (2003) defined
defection as an active and destructive response to dissatisfaction, exhibited by a break
of the relationship with the object (brand, product, retailer, supplier, etc.). According to
Colgate and Hedge (2001), defection is the customers decision to stop purchasing a
particular service or patronising the service firm completely, which is a gradual
dissolution of relationships due to problem(s) encountered over time. They explained
that defection is a complex process following customers faced with a/multiple
problem(s). Stewart (1998) in studying the customer defection in the banking industry
tried to define defection as the ending of the relationship between customer and bank.
He explained further that the relationship is marked by a customer run down the
account to a negligible balance and have no future transaction or formally close the
account.
Dissatisfaction, consumer complaint behaviour and defection relationships
Dissatisfaction is identified as the independent factor that is necessary to trigger
consumer complaint (Singh and Widing, 1991; East, 1997; Heung and Lam, 2003;
Volkov et al., 2002). Consumers will not take any complaint action if they are satisfied,
and thus, it is assumed that consumer complaint action is the dissatisfied action taken
by consumers. Consumers who are dissatisfied may not take any complaint actions,
and those consumers who do take complain actions probably are not the only
consumers who are unhappy (Warland et al., 1975). Consumer might take various types
of complaint actions such as complaining verbally either directly or indirectly, writing
complaint directly to the seller or complaining directly to third parties (e.g. consumer
council or mass media).
Defection is always defined as one of the complaint responses, which was defined as
exit behaviour (Singh, 1990b) or included as one of the private responses in complaint
(Day and Landon, 1976). Crie (2003) also argued that defection could be a substitute for
and complement to a complaint. He explained that customer might choose not to
complain but leave the company, or complain and leave after that. In other words,
consumers who complain about their dissatisfaction may either choose to exit or
continue patronage behaviour (Arnould, 2004; Sheth et al., 1999). This argument
supports the notion of treating defection or continued patronage as a separate variable
from complaint actions. Colgate and Hedge (2001) proposed a framework that showed
the relationship between complaint/no complaint with exit (defection) behaviour in a
setting of the retail banking industry. This framework suggests an important
relationship between complaint and defection, in which defection is a dependent
variable. But the focus of their research is the problems that lead to exit among
customers, rather than the important relationship between complaint and exit per se.
Previous research has shown that complaint has impact on the defection intention
by the customer. Arnould (2004) pointed out that dissatisfied customers who do not
complain are more likely to discontinue purchase, which means, they are more likely to
defect than those who complain. In other words, majority of complaint customers will
continue to buy the product or service, compared to those who are dissatisfied but do
not bother to complain (Sheth et al., 1999). Buttle and Burton (2002) also stated that
non-complainers were found to be the least loyal customers even more disloyal than
complaining dissatisfied customers whose problems were not resolved. For complaint
customer, defection is often the last resort after complaint has failed (Kim et al., 2003;
Colgate and Hedge, 2001). So they will likely choose to stay after the complaint is
resolved. In other occasions, customer defection will increase in accordance with

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complaint. According to Colgate and Hedge (2001), up to 80 per cent of customers do

make an effort to complain to the bank prior to defect in the retail-banking sector.
In the local context, Malaysians are less forthright in expressing views and opinions
and giving negative feedback can be awkward and difficult as indirectness is the more
acceptable norm than directness in day-to-day behaviour (Asma, 1996). This actually
makes it more difficult for the service provider who may not have a chance to know
when and why customers are unhappy (Ndubisi and Tam, 2004b). As the choice of
complaint style might differ across cultures, it is expected to find some differences in
the Malaysian consumer complaint behaviour, for example, one would expect private
complaint to be more strongly associated with defection than public complaint, and
defection to be higher among private complainants compared to public complainants
(Ndubisi and Tam, 2004b). It is also relevant to believe that Malaysian customer might
be more willing to engage in private complaint rather than public complaint because a
customer who chooses public complaint will have to confront the service provider
directly, which may not be deemed normative (Ndubisi and Tam, 2004a).
In the study of consumer complaint behaviour, researches have found significant
differences and impacts of demographic variables on consumer complaint.
Demographic variables, such as income, education level and age are found to have
consistent impact on consumer complaint (Kolodinsky and Aleong 1990; Volkov et al.,
2002). Consumers who choose to complain are found relatively younger, higher income
and more educated (Singh, 1989; Warland et al., 1975), although, the discriminatory
power is modest (Crie, 2003). With regards to public and private complaint-defection
relationship, researchers are yet to study the demographic factors that could be
explanatory. For example, whether consumers who choose to complain publicly are
higher of income, are male, and so on. Nonetheless, there is dearth of research on
the moderation effect of these key demographic factors on the complain actionsdefection relationship. In view of this, it would be relevant to involve the demographic
variables in studying the relationship between customer complaint and defection
(especially income and gender), because of their importance in consumer purchase
behaviours across different decision situations compared to other demographic factors.

Complaint
behaviour

69

Research methodology
This research builds on the work of Day and Landon (1976) and Day (1977), which
categorized consumer complaint actions into two levels-public and private complaint
actions. The research framework (Figure 1) focuses on the relationship between
Gender

Dissatisfied Complaint Action:

* Public Complaint
* Private Complaint

Customer Defection

Income

Figure 1.
Research framework

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70

consumer complaint and defection, and the moderation effects of gender and income of
customers.
Three-part questionnaire was used in the study. Part one and part two respectively
contains items measuring dissatisfied complaint action and defection, adapted from
Volkov et al. (2002) and Liu and McClure (2001). The complaint actions in part one were
categorised into public and private complaint based on the categorisation suggested by
Day and Landon (1976). Respondents demographic profile was constructed based on
Keng et al. (1995) in part three. Parts one and two items were measured on a five-point
Likert-like Scale ranging from 1 (very unlikely) to 5 (very likely). The data were
collected from customers of Banking and Finance firms in Sabah, Malaysia. The
questionnaire was self-administered to respondents who are customers of banks that
accepted the invitation to participate in the two-weeks survey. Bank intercept
technique was used. The questionnaire was written in English and was translated
back-to-back to Malay and Chinese Languages, to enable consumers who do not
understand English well to answer the questionnaire by professional translators. The
questionnaire was re-checked by the researchers and the translators in another
meeting to ensure that the translation copies were correct, after which the instrument
was ratified.
Results and discussion
Out of the 218 usable responses received, 45 per cent were from male customers and 55
per cent from their female counterparts. The annual income of the respondents were as
follows: below RM24,000.00 (49.5 per cent), RM24,000 to RM47,999.99 (38.5 per cent),
RM48,000.00 to RM71,999.99 (10.6 per cent), RM72,000.00 to RM95,999.99 (0.9 per cent),
and RM96,000.00 and above (0.5 per cent).
The Cronbach Alpha test was done to assess the internal consistency reliabilities of
the scales. The Cronbach Alpha value for seven items in public complaint was 0.78, for
the three items in private complaint alpha estimate was 0.69, and the four items in
defection showed a value of 0.70, The mean values, standard deviations, number of
items, and reliability measures are summarized and tabulated in Table I below.
Relationship tests
The multiple regression analysis was employed to test the construct relationships. The
assumptions of the regression, i.e. autocorrelation, normality, homoscedasticity,
multicollineality and linearity of independent variables were verified before making
any interpretation of the statistical result. None of the regression assumptions was
violated.
Table II shows the results of the regression analysis used to assess the relationship
between the dissatisfied complaint actions (public and private complaint) and
defection. The results show that private and public complaints contribute significantly
(F = 42.078; p = 0.000) at the 5 per cent significance level and predict 28 per cent of the
variations in defection.
Variables

Table I.
Descriptive statistics of
variables

Public complaint
Private complaint
Defection

Mean

Std deviation

Cronbach alpha

No. of items

3.10
3.64
3.53

0.70
0.78
0.72

0.78
0.69
0.70

7
3
4

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Details of the result show that public complaint is significantly associated with
defection (t = 3.990; p = 0.000). Beta Coefficient of Public complaint is 0.242. Private
complaint is significantly associated with defection (t = 6.722; p = 0.000). Beta
coefficient is 0.407. From the beta estimates, it is observed that private complaint is
more strongly associated with defection than public complaint. This indicates that the
Malaysian customer is more likely to defect without a word to the service provider
instead he/she will prefer to complain to friends and family. Although some may
complain before they leave, however, the likelihood of leaving without complaining is
higher. As observed from the result, private complaint action (i.e. no complaint to the
bank) predicts defection better than public complaint.

Complaint
behaviour

71

Moderation effects of gender

Hierarchical regression model was employed to determine the moderation effects of
gender and income on the relationship between dissatisfied complaint actions and
defection by running a three stage multiple regression analysis. In the first stage,
regression was done with the independent variables only (i.e. public and private
complaint); the main effect of gender was introduced in the second stage. The
interaction terms were introduced in the third stage, which were created by
multiplying the independent variables by the moderator. Before introducing this
categorical data into the regression model, dummy variable was created. One dummy
variable was created (k 1), where k is the number of gender groups (which is 2 in this
case) as follows: male (0) and female (1).
The results in Table III show that gender does not moderate the relationship
between dissatisfied complaint action and customer defection. For both public and
private complaint customers ( p-value = 0.395) and ( p-value = 0.642) respectively,
defection does not depend on gender. For both male and female Malaysian bank
customers, the likelihood of exit without complaining to the bank is much higher than
that of complaining and then defection.
Moderation effects of income
The moderation effect of income was measured by running a similar three stage
multiple regressions as with gender. For ease of understanding, the five original income
Independent variables
Public complaint
Private complaint

Beta coefficients

t-value

p-value

0.242
0.407

3.990
6.722

0.000
0.000

Notes: R2 = 0.282 F = 42.078 Sig. F = 0.000

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Variables

Beta

Sig.

Beta

Sig.

Public complaint
Private complaint
Dummy for gender (dmg)
Public complaint * dmg
Private complaint * dmg
R2 changes
Significant F change

242
0.407

0.000
0.000

0.242
0.407
0.007

0.000
0.000
0.909

0.282
0.000

Table II.
Complaint behaviour
and defection

0.000
0.909

Beta
0.178
0.435
0.097
0.248
0.139
0.003
0.675

Sig.
0.071
0.000
0.780
0.395
0.642

Table III.
Moderating effect of
gender

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72

levels were regrouped into two groups namely, low-middle income level and highincome level. Before introducing this categorical data into the regression model,
dummy variable was created as follows: lower income group (0) and higher income
group (1).
The analysis result in Table IV below shows that in Step 3, the Beta value for public
complaint is 0.070, which is not significant (Sig. = 0.799). This indicates that income
does not moderate the relationship between public complaint and defection. Put simply,
the defection of customers who complain to the bank about their dissatisfaction does
not depend on income level. But the Beta estimate ( 0.769) for private complaint is
significant (Sig. = 0.003). It shows that income moderates the relationship between
private complaint and defection. The negative sign shows that the lower income
earners (uncoded variable) are more likely to defect without complaining than the
higher income group. This may be because the latter group is more likely to get quality
audience from the banks than their lower income counterparts. Generally, Malaysians
tend to prefer a quiet withdrawal if they suspect they may not get the desired attention.
Unfortunately such level of attention often accrues to customers who bring big
business to the organization. In the case of banking services, low income groups bring
smaller volume of business to the banks, which means they are less likely to attract
quality audience and more prone to quit without complaining to the bank. On the flip
side, since high-income earners are apt to bring more business to the bank than the
low-income group, solicited or unsolicited, this can and does endow them with certain
clout among management and staff to get quality audience and satisfactory resolution
to their problems, which are themselves powerful antidotes to leaving without a
complaint. This plausibly explains why lower income earners are more likely
(compared to the higher-income group) to defect quietly.
Implications and conclusion
Theoretical implications of this study are as follows. There is a positive linear
relationship between complaint and defection. Complaint (public and private)
explained 28.2 per cent of total variance in defection. According to Rowland et al.,
(1991), most of the social science researches have average variance that may be as low
as 15 per cent, thus, this value is considered fairly high. Dissatisfied customers may
defect irrespective of whether they complained publicly or privately. Whether they
voiced the problems directly to the bank or choose a more private path (i.e. to complain
to family or friends), they may defect if the source of dissatisfaction is not resolved. The
Beta coefficient for public compliant is 0.242 and private complaint is 0.407. These
results show that the influence of private complaint on the defection is much stronger
than public complaint. In other words, the likelihood of customers complaining

Variables

Table IV.
Moderating effect of
income

Public complaint
Private complaint
Dummy for recoded income (DRI)
Public complaint * DRI
Private complaint * DRI
R2 changes
Significant F change

Step 1
Beta
Sig.

Step 2
Beta
Sig.

Step 3
Beta
Sig.

0.242
0.407

0.241
0.408
0.007

0.255
0.490
0.822
0.070
0.769
0.038
0.003

0.000
0.000

0.282
0.000

0.000
0.000
0.911
0.000
0.911

0.000
0.000
0.005
0.799
0.003

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privately rather than publicly before defecting is higher. This result is not moderated
by the gender of the customer instead it is a generic view of male and female customers
of Malaysian banks. Irrespective of their sex type, they are generally less likely to
complain before defection. Moreover, income level moderates the private complaintdefection relationship but not the public complaint-defection relationship. The lower
income customers are more likely to defect without complaint than the higher income
customers. These findings corroborate Ndubisi (2003a), which has shown that
dissatisfied customers may not complain to the service provider, instead they may
blame the company when served poorly, and rather than complain directly to the
company, they typically patronize another (choose to defect).
The implications of this study to managers are discussed next. Firstly, managers
should understand that zero complaint is not a good measure of customer satisfaction
because dissatisfied customers might not complaint directly to them. The dissatisfied
customers might choose to complaint to friends and family only. Thus, management
may not know that customers were dissatisfied until they defect from the bank, at
which point it is too late to do anything.
Secondly, the managers should recognise the seriousness of negative word-of-mouth
on the banks reputation. The result showed that customers are more likely to
complaint privately to friends and relatives. In this case, other customers could be
influenced and they too may develop a negative perception of the banks services. In the
long run, the image of bank is ruin. In order to solve this problem, the manager must
encourage customers to complain directly. Ensuring that a dissatisfaction
communication channel is available is important, but more important is to encourage
customers to make full use of it. Managers should also ensure that the customers are
aware of this channel and willing to use it.
Managers must also give the impression that complaints are viewed positively (by
the bank) as a chance for them to improve. Watkins and Liu (1996) demonstrated that
positive consumer perceptions of supplier responses to complaints resulted in greater
satisfaction and increased repurchase intentions and behaviours. This impression is
important among Malaysian customers who may erroneously view direct complaints
to the bank as an act of confrontation. Managers and other employees should show
clear appreciation for customers who choose to complain, and even reward those
customers who stay on and assist the bank to resolve any service shortfall. Manager
should also not wait for complaints to drive service improvements. Such a reactive
stance lacks the capacity to check defection; instead proactive steps should be taken
which includes constant improvement on quality even when there is no complaint.
Since the cost of serving a loyal customer is five to six time less than the cost of
attracting and serving one new customer, every concerted effort within the
organisation should be made to minimize if not eliminate defection.
Now, since some dissatisfied customers may not complain to the bank, instead they
patronize another banking service provider, banks that recognize this fact must make
concerted, capable and collective efforts for the organisation to deliver value to
customers (Ndubisi, 2003b). The revelation that a private complaint has stronger
influence on defection than a public complaint must be taken seriously and addressed
competently because such a scenario is very dangerous for the service provider. Since
private complaint is a form of negative word-of mouth, it will not only have an
unfavourable impact on the customers perception of the bank, but also on that of
others such as family and friends. In the long run, private complaints might bring
disaster on the bank.

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In conclusion, this research focuses on the consumer post purchase behaviour, and
suggests new relationships between complaint behaviour and defection. The result of
the study shows that there are customers who would complain before they leave and
those who would quit without a word of complaint to the bank. Evidence for the latter
is stronger than that of the former, which means Malaysian bank customers generally
are inclined to defect without complaint than complain and then quit. This outcome
does not differ based on the gender of the respondents, as gender moderates neither
the public complaint-defection relationship nor the private complaint-defection
relationship. Income does not moderate the public complaint-defection relationship, but
it does determine the private complaint-defection relationship. Lower income earners
are more likely to defect without expressing grievances to the bank than the higher
income level bank customers in Malaysia.
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Corresponding author
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