Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Consumer empowerment in consumer–firm relationships: conceptual framework and implications for research

  • Theory/Conceptual
  • Published:
AMS Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article contributes to the literature on consumer power in consumer-firm relationships in three ways. First, it proposes a consumer empowerment framework adopting a consumer perspective that includes the antecedents and consequences of consumer power perception. Second, it distinguishes two manifestations of consumer power perception: personal power—the perceived ability to resist or ignore a firm’s persuasive efforts and make final decisions independently—and social power—the perception of influencing a firm’s decisions and responses. Third, it identifies the entities involved (i.e., firms, third parties, and other consumers) that empower consumers through the exchange of resources. Moreover, this article discusses how the constructs of consumer power and empowerment differ from related concepts such as perceived control and self-efficacy. Finally, it proposes a research agenda.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. A comprehensive list of definitions, correspondent dimensions, antecedents, consequences, and applications related to the empowerment process is available upon request from the first author.

References

  • Anderson, C., & Berdahl, J. L. (2002). The experience of power: Examining the effects of power on approach and inhibition tendencies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1362.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C., & Galinsky, A. D. (2006). Power, optimism, and risk-taking. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36(4), 511–536.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, C., John, O. P., & Keltner, D. (2012). The personal sense of power. Journal of Personality, 80(2), 313–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbalet, J. M. (1985). Power and Resistance. The British Journal of Sociology, 36, 531–548.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barcelos, R. H., Dantas, D. C., & Sénécal, S. (2018). Watch Your Tone: How a Brand's Tone of Voice on Social Media Influences Consumer Responses. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 41, 60–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bearden, W. O., Hardesty, D. M., & Rose, R. L. (2001). Consumer self-confidence: Refinements in conceptualization and measurement. Journal of Consumer Research, 28(1), 121–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belk, R. W. (1975). Situational variables and consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 2(3), 157–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bendapudi, N., & Leone, R. P. (2003). Psychological implications of customer participation in co-production. Journal of Marketing, 67(1), 14–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernof, J., & Schadler, T. (2010). Empowered: Unleash your employees, energize your customers, and transform your business. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolton, R., & Saxena-Iyer, S. (2009). Interactive Services: A Framework, Synthesis and Research Directions. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 23(1), 91–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, D. E., Clarke, T. B., & Spekman, R. E. (2014). The emergence and impact of consumer brand empowerment in online social networks: A proposed ontology. Journal of Brand Management, 21(6), 516–531.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brill, J. E. (1992). Scales to measure social power in a consumer context. Advances in Consumer Research, 19, 835.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broderick, A. J., Demangeot, C., Adkins, N. R., Ferguson, N. S., Henderson, G. R., Johnson, G., Kipnis, E., Mandiberg, J. M., Mueller, R. D., Pullig, C., & Roy, A. (2011). Consumer empowerment in multicultural marketplaces: Navigating multicultural identities to reduce consumer vulnerability. Journal of Research for Consumers, 19, 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnkrant, R. E., & Cousineau, A. (1975). Informational and normative social influence in buyer behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 2(3), 206–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang, C. C. (2008). Choice, perceived control, and customer satisfaction: the psychology of online service recovery. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 11(3), 321–328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chevalier, J. A., & Mayzlin, D. (2006). The Effect of Word of Mouth on Sales: Online Book Reviews. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(3), 345–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christens, B. D., Peterson, N. A., & Speer, P. W. (2011). Community participation and psychological empowerment: Testing reciprocal causality using a cross-lagged panel design and latent constructs. Health Education & Behavior, 38(4), 339–347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christodoulides, G., Michaelidou, N., & Argyriou, E. (2012). Cross-national differences in e-WOM influence. European Journal of Marketing, 46(11/12), 1689–1707.

    Google Scholar 

  • Courpasson, D., Golsorkhi, D., & Sallaz, J. J. (2012). Rethinking power in organizations, institutions, and markets: Classical perspectives, current research, and the future agenda. In Rethinking Power in Organizations, Institutions, and Markets. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 1-20.

  • Cova, B., & Pace, S. (2006). Brand community of convenience products: new forms of customer empowerment - the case "my Nutella the Community". European Journal of Marketing, 40(9/10), 1087–1105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dantas, D. C., & Carrillat, F. (2013). The relational benefits of personalized communications in an online environment. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l'Administration, 30(3), 189–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, G. S., & Aaker, D. A. (1970). A Guide to Consumerism. Journal of Marketing, 34, 12–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., Connell, J. P., & Ryan, R. M.b. (1989). Self-determination in a work organization. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74(4), 580.

  • Deighton, J., Kornfeld, L. (2010). United breaks guitars, HBS Case.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delgadillo, L. M. (2013). An Assessment of Consumer Protection and Consumer Empowerment in Costa Rica. Journal of Consumer Policy, 36(1), 59–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deloitte. (2011). Greater access to information and choices boost consumer power.

  • Foa, E.B., Foa, U.G. (1980). Resource Theory. S. 77–101 in: Kenneth J. Gergen, Martin S. Greenberg und Richard H. Willis (Hg.): Social Exchange. Advances in Theory and Research.

  • Folkes, V. S. (1984). Consumer Reactions to Product Failure: An Attributional Approach. Journal of Consumer Research, 10(4), 398–409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (1982). The Subject and Power. Critical Inquiry, 8, 777–795.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fred Van Raaij, W., & Pruyn, A. T. (1998). Customer control and evaluation of service validity and reliability. Psychology and Marketing, 15(8), 811.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, C., Prandelli, E., & Schreier, M. (2010). The psychological effects of empowerment strategies on consumers' product demand. Journal of Marketing, 74(1), 65–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Füller, J., Mühlbacher, H., Matzler, K., & Jawecki, G. (2009). Consumer empowerment through internet-based co-creation. Journal of Management Information Systems, 26(3), 71–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gist, M. E. (1987). Self-efficacy: Implications for organizational behavior and human resource management. Academy of Management Review, 12(3), 472–485.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grégoire, Y., & Fisher, R. J. (2008). Customer betrayal and retaliation: when your best customers become your worst enemies. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 36(2), 247–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grégoire, Y., Laufer, D., & Tripp, T. M. (2010). A comprehensive model of customer direct and indirect revenge: understanding the effects of perceived greed and customer power. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 38(6), 738–758.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grønmo, S., & Ölander, F. (1991). Consumer power: enabling and limiting factors. Journal of Consumer Policy, 14(2), 141–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gu, B., & Qiang, Y. (2014). First Step in Social Media: Measuring the Influence of Online Management Responses on Customer Satisfaction. Production and Operations Management, 23, 570–582.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, T., Waite, K., & Hunter, G. L. (2006). The internet, information and empowerment. European Journal of Marketing, 40(9/10), 972–993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herrmann, R. O. (1993). The Tactics of Consumer Resistance: Group Action and Marketplace Exit. Advances in Consumer Research, 20.

  • Holt, D. (2002). Why Do Brands Cause Trouble? A Dialectical Theory of Consumer Culture and Branding. Journal of Consumer Research, 29(1), 70–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, Y., Lotz, S. L., & Bon, G. O. (2014). An Investigation of Consumer Power in the Process of Purchase Decisions. Journal of Research for Consumers, 25, 17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, G. L., & Garnefeld, I. (2008). When does consumer empowerment lead to satisfied customers? Some mediating and moderating effects of the empowerment-satisfaction link. Journal of Research for Consumers, 15, 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacoby, J. (2002). Stimulus-Organism-Response Reconsidered: An Evolutionary Step in Modeling (Consumer) Behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 12(1), 51–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karpen, I. O., Bove, L. L., Lukas, B. A., & Zyphur, M. J. (2015). Service-dominant orientation: measurement and impact on performance outcomes. Journal of Retailing, 91(1), 89–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keltner, D., Gruenfeld, D. H., & Anderson, C. (2003). Power, approach, and inhibition. Psychological Review, 110(2), 265–284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. Y., Natter, M., & Spann, M. (2014). Sampling, discounts or pay-what-you-want: Two field experiments. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 31(3), 327–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klein, L. R., & Ford, G. T. (2003). Consumer search for information in the digital age: An empirical study of pre-purchase search for automobiles. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 17(3), 29–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kozinets, R. V. (1999). E-tribalized marketing? : The strategic implications of virtual communities of consumption. European Management Journal, 17(3), 252–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kucuk, S. U. (2008). Consumer exit, voice, and power on the Internet. Journal of Research for Consumers, 15, 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kucuk, S. U. (2009). Consumer empowerment model: from unspeakable to undeniable, Direct Marketing. An International Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 3(4), 327–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kucuk, S. U. (2012). Can consumer power lead to market equalization on the internet? Journal of Research for Consumers, 21, 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kucuk, S. U., & Krishnamurthy, S. (2007). An analysis of consumer power on the Internet. Technovation, 27(1-2), 47–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Labrecque, L. I., vor dem Esche, J., Mathwick, C., Novak, T. P., & Hofacker, C. F. (2013). Consumer Power: Evolution in the Digital Age. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 27(4), 257–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lammers, J., Stoker, J. I., & Stapel, D. A. (2009). Differentiating Social and Personal Power: Opposite Effects on Stereotyping, but Parallel Effects on Behavioral Approach Tendencies. Psychological Science, 20(12), 1543–1548.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lukes, S. (1986). Power. NYU Press.

  • Mainwaring, S. (2011). The New Power of Consumers to Influence Brands. In.: Forbes.com.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGregor, S. (2005). Sustainable consumer empowerment through critical consumer education: a typology of consumer education approaches. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 29(5), 437–447.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mende, M., Bolton, R. N., & Bitner, M. J. (2013). Decoding Customer–Firm Relationships: How Attachment Styles Help Explain Customers Preferences for Closeness, Repurchase Intentions, and Changes in Relationship Breadth. Journal of Marketing Research, 50(1), 125–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Menon, K., & Bansal, H. S. (2007). Exploring consumer experience of social power during service consumption. International Journal of Service Industry Management, 18(1), 89–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mick, D., Fournier, G. S., & Dobscha, S. (1998). Preventing the premature death of relationship marketing. Harvard Business Review, 76(1), 42–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moorman, C., Zaltman, G., & Deshpande, R. (1992). Relationships between providers and users of market research: The dynamics of trust within and between organizations. Journal of Marketing Research, 29(3), 314.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moynagh, M., & Worsley, R. (2002). Tomorrow's consumer - The shifting balance of power. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 1(3), 293.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nardo, M., Loi, M., Rosati, R., & Manca, A. R. (2011). The consumer empowerment index: A measure of skills, awareness and engagement of European consumers In. Luxembourg: Joint Research Centre, Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newholm, T., Laing, A., & Hogg, G. (2006). Assumed empowerment: consuming professional services in the knowledge economy. European Journal of Marketing, 40(9/10), 994–1012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, R. (2010). New directions for customer-to-customer interaction research. Journal of Services Marketing, 24(1), 87–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niininen, O., Buhalis, D., & March, R. (2007). Customer empowerment in tourism through consumer centric marketing (CCM). Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 10(3), 265–281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliver, R. L. (1980). A cognitive model of the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction decisions. Journal of Marketing Research, 460–469.

  • Ouschan, R., Sweeney, J., & Johnson, L. (2006). Customer empowerment and relationship outcomes in healthcare consultations. European Journal of Marketing, 40(9/10), 1068–1086.

    Google Scholar 

  • Overbeck, J. R., & Park, B. (2001). When power does not corrupt: superior individuation processes among powerful perceivers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(4), 549.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ozanne, J. L., & Murray, J. B. (1995). Uniting critical theory and public policy to create the reflexively defiant consumer. American Behavioral Scientist, 38(4), 516–525.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacheco, N. A., Lunardo, R., & Santos, C. P. D. (2013). A perceived-control based model to understanding the effects of co-production on satisfaction. BAR-Brazilian Administration Review, 10(2), 219–238.

    Google Scholar 

  • Penaloza, L. and Price, L.L. (1993). Consumer resistance: a conceptual overview. ACR North American Advances.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pierce, J. L., Kostova, T., & Dirks, K. T. (2001). Toward a theory of psychological ownership in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 298–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pires, G. D., Stanton, J., & Rita, P. (2006). The internet, consumer empowerment and marketing strategies. European Journal of Marketing, 40(9/10), 936–949.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powers, T., Advincula, D., Austin, M. S., Graiko, S., & Snyder, J. (2012). Digital and social media in the purchase decision process: A special report from the Advertising Research Foundation. Journal of Advertising Research, 52(4), 479–489.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pranić, L. (2008). Service recovery from the customer's perspective: Extending the Consumer-Directed Theory of Empowerment (CDTE). Temple University.

  • Pranić, L., & Roehl, W. S. (2012). Rethinking service recovery: A customer empowerment (CE) perspective. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 13(2), 242–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reis, D., Pena, L., & Novicevic, M. (2002). Widening quality gap: a historical interpretation. Total Quality Management, 13(3), 365–371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rezabakhsh, B., Bornemann, D., Hansen, U., & Schrader, U. (2006). Consumer power: a comparison of the old economy and the Internet economy. Journal of Consumer Policy, 29(1), 3–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.).

  • Rucker, D. D., Dubois, D., & Galinsky, A. D. (2010). Generous paupers and stingy princes: Power drives consumer spending on self-versus others. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(6), 1015–1029.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rucker, D. D., Hu, M., & Galinsky, A. D. (2014). The experience versus the expectations of power: A recipe for altering the effects of power on behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(2), 381–396.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, B. (2004). Power: A new social analysis (Psychology Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Senecal, S., & Nantel, J. (2004). The influence of online product recommendations on consumers’ online choices. Journal of Retailing, 80(2), 159–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shankar, A., Cherrier, H., & Canniford, R. (2006). Consumer empowerment: a Foucauldian interpretation. European Journal of Marketing, 40(9/10), 1013–1030.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, D., Newholm, T., & Dickinson, R. (2006). Consumption as voting: an exploration of consumer empowerment. European Journal of Marketing, 40(9/10), 1049–1067.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spreitzer, G. M., Kizilos, M. A., & Nason, S. W. (1997). A dimensional analysis of the relationship between psychological empowerment and effectiveness satisfaction, and strain. Journal of Management, 23(5), 679–704.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stokes, T., Cooperstein, D., Glantz, M., and Dernoga M. (2011). Traditional Paid Media Must Fuel Earned Media Efforts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, M., MacInnis, D. J., & Whan Park, C. (2005). The ties that bind: Measuring the strength of consumers’ emotional attachments to brands. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 15(1), 77–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorndike, R. L. (1947). Research problems and techniques. No. 3. In Army Air Forces Washington DC Aviation Psychology Program.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiu Wright, L., Newman, A., & Dennis, C. (2006). Enhancing consumer empowerment. European Journal of Marketing, 40(9/10), 925–935.

    Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H.C., (1993). Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind.

    Google Scholar 

  • Urban, G. L. (2005). Customer advocacy: a new era in marketing?. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 24(1), 155–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijke, M., & Poppe, M. (2006). Striving for personal power as a basis for social power dynamics. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36(4), 537–556.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Doorn, J., Lemon, K. N., Mittal, V., Nass, S., Pick, D., Pirner, P., & Verhoef, P. C. (2010). Customer engagement behavior: Theoretical foundations and research directions. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 253–266.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vivek, S. D., Beatty, S. E., & Morgan, R. M. (2012). Customer engagement: Exploring customer relationships beyond purchase. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 20(2), 122–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wahlen, S., & Huttunen, K. (2012). Consumer policy and consumer empowerment: comparing the historic development in Finland and Germany. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 36(1), 2–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X., Yu, C., & Wei, Y. (2012). Social media peer communication and impacts on purchase intentions: A consumer socialization framework. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26(4), 198–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wathieu, L., Brenner, L., Carmon, Z., Chattopadhyay, A., Wertenbroch, K., Drolet, A., Gourville, J., Muthukrishnan, A. V., Novemsky, N., Ratner, R. K., & Wu, G. (2002). Consumer control and empowerment: A primer. Marketing Letters, 13(3), 297–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weenig, M. W., & Midden, C. J. (1991). Communication network influences on information diffusion and persuasion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(5), 734.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie, Y., & Peng, S. (2009). How to repair customer trust after negative publicity: The roles of competence, integrity, benevolence, and forgiveness. Psychology and Marketing, 26(7), 572–589.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, M. A. (1995). Psychological Empowerment: Issues and Illustration. Academy of Management Journal, 23(5), 581–599.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, M. A., Israel, B. A., Schulz, A., & Checkoway, B. (1992). Further explorations in empowerment theory: An empirical analysis of psychological empowerment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20(6), 707–727.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3C5, Canada

    Sanam Akhavannasab

  2. HEC Montréal, 3000, chemin de la Côte-Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, Québec, H3T 2A7, Canada

    Danilo C. Dantas

  3. HEC Montréal, HEC Montréal 5540, avenue Louis-Colin, Montréal, Québec, H3T 1T7, Canada

    Sylvain Senecal

Authors
  1. Sanam Akhavannasab
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Danilo C. Dantas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sylvain Senecal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sanam Akhavannasab.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Akhavannasab, S., Dantas, D.C. & Senecal, S. Consumer empowerment in consumer–firm relationships: conceptual framework and implications for research. AMS Rev 8, 214–227 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-018-0120-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-018-0120-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation