소비자 불평행동 결정요인: 한국과 미국의 비교를 중심으로

Abstract

Introduction In today’s market place, consumers face challenges in going through life by experiencing difficulties in marketplace transactions. Research shows that approximately one out of four purchases results in some type of problem. Sellers are willing to handle the numerous types of consumer complaints because they want to fulfill the desire to act fairly and honestly in marketplace transactions, to maintain a positive reputation, and to learn about problems with products or services so that those problems can be corrected quickly. However, some consumers do not know how to complain nor to whom to complain. Thus, it is important for consumer educators and government agencies to provide consumers with information about complaint procedures and what channels consumers can follow such as local businesses, manufacturers, or government agencies. The purpose of this study was to examine consumer complaint behavior, while comparing Korean and U.S. college students. This study further investigated factors that influence the probability of complaining in Korea and the U.S. There is little information regarding the types of consumer complaints, consumer attitudes towards complaint behavior, the extent of complaining made by consumers, and factors associated with consumer complaints that compare Korean and U.S. consumers. The findings of this study can provide enlightenment about similarities and differences in consumer problems and complaint behavior of college students between the two countries. Data and Sample This study employed data from the Survey of Consumer Complaint Behavior that were collected between September and November, 2007 from both the U.S. and Korean college students. The total sample of this study was 836 college students. The sub-samples consisted of Korean college students (n = 417) and the U.S. college students (n = 419). Using the Survey of Consumer Complaint Behavior data, this study utilized the following information: a) probability of success for complaint behavior; b) student attitudes about complaint behavior; 3) cost of complaining (time, money, and emotion); d) whether or not students have ever complained before about products or services; e) why they complained; f) what actions they took to resolve the problem(s); g) whether or not they will still purchase the product(s) or service(s); and h) socio-demographic characteristics of student consumers. Statistical Methods Frequencies and means were performed on all variables to obtain the descriptive information on the variables. T-tests and cross-tabulations were performed to determine differences in the levels of dissatisfaction in the price and/or quality of a product or service, consumer attitudes about complaint behavior, and complaining behavior between Korean and U.S. college students. For multivariate analyses, logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the effect of country on the probability of complaint behavior and to investigate what factors are associated with the probability of complaint behavior for consumers in Korea as well as in the U.S. Variables The dependent variable for the logistic regression models was from a variable in the survey: “Have you ever complained before about products or services?” Then, the variable was re-coded as a dichotomous variable where a”0” represented “no, have not complained before, “1” represented “yes, have complained before.” The following independent variables were included in the logistic regression models: country [Korea, U.S.(reference group)], levels of dissatisfaction with cell-phone products/services, levels of dissatisfaction with computers/laptops, levels of dissatisfaction with vacations/trips, levels of dissatisfaction with clothing/shoes/bags, and levels of dissatisfaction with restaurant food/services, the probability of success for complaint behavior, expensive products or services, tensions in exchange, cost of complaining, gender [females, males (reference group)], age, and household income. Results Descriptive statistics indicate that about 62 percent of the Korean consumers reported they had complained before, whereas 80 percent of the U.S. consumers reported they had complained before. It was also noticed that to resolve the consumer problems, Koreans were more likely to directly complain to the seller/business, or to inform a government agency, whereas Americans were more likely to talk to family, colleagues, and friends. The results of the logistic regression analysis for the total sample show that the effect of Korean dummy variable on complaint behavior was negative and significant, indicating that all else being equal, Korean consumers were 71 percent less likely to complain about products or services than were U.S. consumers. The findings of the logistic regression analysis for the total sample also suggest that having problems with cell phones, having problems with computers, having problems with expensive products or services, cost of complaining, and age were significant predictors of complaint behavior in both countries. The logit results of the Korean sample indicate that consumer problems with cell phones had significant impact on complaint behavior. In contrast, the logit results of the U.S. sample show that consumer problems with computers/laptops had significant impact on complaint behavior. The findings also suggest that the impact of household income on consumer complaint behavior was significant and positive in both the Korean and the U.S. samples, indicating that as the levels of household income increased, the probability of complaint behavior increased as well in both countries. Conclusion and Implications This study found that there are significant differences in consumer problems and complaint behavior between Korean and U.S. consumers. While Korean consumers were more likely to have problems with cell phones, U.S. consumers were more likely to have problems with computers. This result might be due to the fact that cell phones are more widely used for all kinds of applications and WiFi is widely available in Korea, while computers are more widely used for computer applications and WiFi is less widely available in the U.S. The finding of this study suggest that Korean consumers were less likely to complain with consumer problems than were U.S. consumers. It was also noted that Koreans were more likely to directly complain to the sellers, while Americans were more likely to talk family, or friends. These differences might be due to cultural differences in consumer complaint behavior between Korea and the U.S. Understanding consumer complaint behavior can provide consumer educators with information to direct at college students in the area of consumer problems and complaint behavior in both countries. The findings of this study also would be useful for policy makers in both countries to develop intervention programs for college students as well as consumers of all ages.