Exposing Pinocchio customers: investigating exaggerated service stories

Abstract

Purpose – While the links between customer word-of-mouth and desirable organizational outcomes have been widely studied, the possibility that customers might routinely exaggerate their consumption experience stories has been neglected. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach – The first exploratory study examined exaggerated and unexaggerated word-of-mouth and the targets of such activities. The second exploratory study focussed on customer-exaggerated negative word-of-mouth and its drivers. The two experimental studies generated deeper insights into attributions of service failure and exaggerated negative word-of-mouth. Findings – This research explicitly addresses customer exaggeration regarding service consumption and the reasons customers engaged in such behaviors. Study 1 focussed on the scope and targets of exaggerated word-of-mouth, and Study 2 concentrated on identifying the drivers of exaggerated negative word-of-mouth. Studies 3 and 4 experimentally elucidated the cognitive mechanisms leading to exaggeration. Research limitations/implications – Contributions include deeper understanding of the phenomenon of exaggerated negative word-of-mouth and developing and testing a model of the factors associated with consumers’ exaggerated negative word-of-mouth. Practical implications – Implications include possible organizational and public policy actions to prevent Pinocchio customers from exaggerated negative word-of-mouth. Originality/value – This paper explores the nature and scope of exaggerated customer word-of-mouth and contributes insights in four ways. First, this research explores the scope of consumer exaggeration during word-of-mouth storytelling and the intended targets of such communications. Second, this research focusses on exaggerated negative word-of-mouth and develops a conceptual model of the drivers of such activity. Third, the theory is tested and contributes empirical insights into exaggerated negative word-of-mouth. Fourth, through experiments, insights are gained into the cognitive mechanisms leading to exaggeration and the effects of attribution differences in personal vs service provider blame.