Entitled to deserve the best and unentitled to deserve the worst: customers’ perception of extreme service reviews depends on their sense of entitlement
(A2019-10478)

AUTHORS

Alexandra Polyakova, University of Sussex; Danit Ein Gar, Tel Aviv University

KEYWORDS

entitlement; online reviews; services

ABSTRACT

This research focuses on the magnitude of customers’ online reviews and demonstrates that not all customers perceive extreme (positive or negative) reviews in the same way. Across 4 studies we show that customers’ sense of entitlement affects their perception of a review: customers with low sense of entitlement base their service perception on extremely negative reviews, since they are more likely to think that negative experiences are common and might occur to them. Customers high in entitlement base their service perceptions on extremely positive reviews, as this matches their service expectations and the way they view the world.