The relationship between business and bank: the role of perceived injustice in complaint behaviour

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.The purpose of this study was twofold: to examine, firstly, if dissatisfaction can sufficiently predict complaint behaviour and, secondly, whether perceived injustice will trigger complaint behaviour by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) following a dissatisfying marketplace experience with Nigerian banks. A two-stage data analysis method was employed. Confirmatory factor analysis was utilised to establish the validity of the research constructs and the model’s goodness of fit, while structural equation modelling was employed to test the proposed model’s hypotheses. The result showed that an SME’s negative experience with their bank (negative disconfirmation) produced dissatisfaction and subsequently increased the likelihood of the SME both exiting and spreading negative word-of-mouth (NWOM). Perceived injustice moderated the relationship between dissatisfaction and exit but was not significant in causing NWOM. The research data was homogeneously analysed, without including demographics such as length of banking relationship, number of employees, capital, or type of trade activity. Therefore, there is value in extending this research by considering different demographic features on the research model. The research adds value to the customer complaint behaviour (CCB) literature by establishing the structure of CCB by SMEs experiencing bank service failure. This study has shown dissatisfying service experience to be a sufficient condition for complaint behaviour, regardless of the role of perceived injustice