How do firms benefit from customer complaints?

The study explores the effects of two sets of factors relating to complaint management on firm performance, namely, (1) customer response factors and (2) organizational learning factors, thereby integrating organizational learning into the conceptualization of complaint management. Symmetric testing using hierarchical regression analysis of data obtained from complainants and firm managers revealed the joint effects of the two main paths on firm performance, independently from one another. Learning from complaints is shown to influence both short- and long-term firm-level performance measures positively. However, contrary to expectations, complainants' and managers' perceptions of fairness in the complaint handling processes of firms are found to (1) be nonrelated to short-term firm performances and (2) influence long-term performance expectancies negatively. Asymmetric analyses involving contrarian cases and further utilizing the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) disclosed distinct sets of antecedents that are sufficient for explaining short- and long-term firm performance.