Cross Cultural Complaint Behavior Due to a Price Increase

Abstract

This study tests the differences in complaint behavior due to a price increase among consumers in Brazil, China, Germany, and the United States. The results indicate that when a price is increased, complaint behavior varies due to the relative power of the seller, the stage of development of the country, and the buyers’ perception of their own affluence. An increase in complaint behavior was found to be associated with a higher level of development and consumer power: respondents in the transition economies of Brazil and China were not likely to complain. Germans were an anomaly because, despite being a developed country in which the consumer has considerable power, they were still loath to complain. In addition, in all four countries, those respondents who felt they were relatively affluent were more likely to accept a price increase without complaining.