Online Exposure of Service Mishaps: Public Reactions to Inadequate Service Representations in Web-Based Reviews
### Study Reveals Impact of Service Failures on Consumer Emotions and Arousal
New research is shining a light on the effects of service failures on consumer emotions and arousal levels. The study, which employs innovative methods such as galvanic skin response (GSR), surveys, and automated facial expression analysis, offers valuable insights into how service failures impact consumer decision-making and online reviews.
### Physiological Arousal: Evidence from Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)
Galvanic skin response (GSR), a tool that measures changes in skin conductance as an indicator of emotional arousal, has been used to study consumer reactions to emotionally relevant stimuli, including service failures. When exposed to negative experiences, such as interactions with condescending service providers, participants' arousal levels, as assessed by GSR, significantly increased, suggesting that service failures that induce emotional discomfort or anger can trigger a strong physiological stress response [3].
### Emotional Valence and Specific Emotions: Survey Measures and Affect-as-Information
Survey-based experiments reveal that negative service experiences often lead to increased negative emotions, such as anger or frustration, which, in turn, influence judgments and decision-making. According to the affect-as-information hypothesis, consumers use their emotional state as a cue for evaluative judgments, and a negative emotional state triggered by a service failure can color perceptions of the service and brand, reducing satisfaction and increasing the likelihood of negative word-of-mouth [2][5].
### Automated Facial Expression Analysis
Advanced models of automated facial expression analysis can detect subtle changes in emotion as consumers interact with service interfaces or recall service experiences. These models can classify emotions such as happiness, sadness, surprise, disgust, fear, and anger with high accuracy, although some confusion between related negative emotions (e.g., anger and fear) persists [4]. In the context of online reviews, this technology could capture real-time emotional reactions as consumers type their feedback, providing a window into the emotional intensity elicited by service failures [4].
### Behavioral Outcomes: Online Reviews and Beyond
Service failures, by increasing negative arousal and emotion, are likely to result in more emotionally charged negative reviews, which may be more detailed, persistent, and influential than neutral feedback [2][5]. Negative emotions not only affect the content and tone of reviews but also alter memory and recall, making the service failure more salient in consumers' minds [2]. This process can amplify the reputational impact of service failures and reduce brand loyalty.
### Key Takeaways
- Service failures trigger measurable physiological arousal and stress, as shown by GSR, especially when the failure induces feelings of disrespect or condescension [3]. - Negative emotions amplified by service failures guide consumer judgments and are reflected in survey responses and online reviews, often leading to more polarized, emotionally charged feedback [2][5]. - Automated facial expression analysis offers a promising tool for capturing the emotional impact of service failures in real time, though distinguishing between closely related negative emotions remains a challenge [4]. - The interplay between arousal, emotion, and cognition means that even minor service failures can have outsized effects on consumer perception, memory, and behavior, with significant implications for brand reputation in online environments [2][5].
In summary, experimental evidence using GSR, surveys, and facial expression analysis demonstrates that service failures elevate consumer arousal and negative emotions, altering both immediate behavior and longer-term attitudes, as vividly expressed in online consumer reviews. The findings contribute to the marketing literature on online consumer reviews (OCRs) in service failures, physiological measures of consumers' emotions, and emotional contagion in a user-generated content context.
Technology, such as automated facial coding, is a valuable addition to media analytics, offering insights into how consumers' emotions are affected by service failures. This technology can detect subtle changes in emotions as consumers recall service experiences, providing real-time analysis of the emotional impact of service failures, especially anger [4]. Moreover, media analytics, employing galvanic skin response (GSR) and surveys, have unveiled the evidence of physiological arousal and increased negative emotions in response to service failures, suggesting that technology can play a significant role in understanding emotional responses to service failures and their impact on consumer decision-making and online reviews [2][3][5].
