Study of Complaint Management and Customer Satisfaction in Tanzania's Telecom Sector
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2026-06-10
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wuhan University of Technology
Abstract
Complaints management practices during service failures remain a critical yet underexplored challenge in today’s digital era, particularly in emerging markets. This concern is consequential because retaining an existing customer is far less costly than acquiring a new one, making effective complaints handling not just a service task but a strategic necessity. Despite its importance, limited empirical attention has been given to how specific complaints management practice namely service quality control, social media influencer utilization, customer feedback utilization, and organizational transparency shape customer satisfaction during complaint resolution. Drawing on an extensive review of the literature, this study advances the service recovery paradox, which posits that effective complaint resolution can lead to higher customer satisfaction than if no failure had occurred. Moving beyond traditional linear models, this study proposes that complaints management practices influence satisfaction indirectly through psychological (trust) and behavioral (customer sensitivity) mechanisms. To examine these dynamics, a comprehensive sequential design is employed. Study 1 involves qualitative interviews with customers, Customer Service Representatives, and managers in Tanzania’s telecom sector to identify prevailing complaint management practices, analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis. Study 2 builds on these insights through a quantitative investigation based on data from 562 respondents. Grounded in the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework, the quantitative model in Study 2 conceptualized service quality control (SQC), transparent organizational culture (OCC), customer feedback utilization (CFU), and social media influencer engagement (SMI) as stimuli that elicited organismic responses in the form of customer
trust and behavioral sensitivity. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) theory underpinned the positioning of trust as a central mediating mechanism, while the service recovery paradox explained how effective complaint handling transformed negative experiences into positive outcomes. Consumer behavior theory further elucidated the moderating role of behavioral sensitivity in shaping these relationships. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provided an integrated framework linking managerial practices, psychological processes, and behavioral outcomes. Using Smart PLS 4, the PLS-SEM results indicate that all four complaints management practices significantly influence customer satisfaction. Mediation analysis confirms that trust in the company plays a central role in translating these practices into satisfaction outcomes, while moderation analysis reveals that customer behavioral sensitivity significantly conditions the effects of social media influencer utilization and organizational transparency. These findings are robust, as confirmed through covariance-based SEM, endogeneity testing, and sensitivity analyses. The study makes three key theoretical contributions that advance the service recovery and complaint management literature. First, it extends the service recovery framework by incorporating mediating and moderating mechanisms, thereby capturing the complex, non linear nature of customer responses in digitally mediated environments and moving beyond simplistic direct-effect explanations. Second, it introduces social media influencer utilization as a strategic dimension of complaint management, filling a notable gap in the literature by repositioning influencers as credible actors who shape trust, perception, and recovery outcomes in the digital space. Third, it develops a comprehensive, contextually grounded model tailored to emerging market telecom sectors, offering a more realistic framework that reflects the unique behavioral, technological, and structural dynamics of these environments. From a practical perspective, the findings provide a sequenced, evidence based framework for strategic decision-making in complaint management, grounded in Importance–Performance Map Analysis (IPMA), a priority matrix, and cost–benefit evaluation. This structured approach enables managers to shift from intuitive responses to a systematic allocation of resources across key complaint management levers. Social media influencer utilization emerges as the most impactful yet under-optimized driver of customer satisfaction, indicating that targeted investment in this area can yield substantial improvements with relatively efficient resource use. Organizational transparency follows as a foundational strategic pillar for strengthening trust and aligning customer expectations,
while service quality control remains essential for ensuring consistent operational reliability and preventing service failures. Collectively, the study highlights that complaint management effectiveness depends on prioritization and sequencing rather than isolated actions, with influencer-driven strategies offering the greatest untapped potential within a broader, evidence-based framework for enhancing trust and satisfaction outcomes
Keywords : Complaints Management, Customer Satisfaction, Social Media Influencers, Customer Feedback Utilization.
Description
Keywords
Complaints Management, Customer Satisfaction, Social Media Influencers, Customer Feedback Utilization
Citation
APA