The era of consumer entitlement: investigating entitlement after a perceived brand failure

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the antecedents of consumer entitlement among loyal consumers in response to a perceived brand failure, as well as the effect of consumer entitlement on satisfaction and behavioral intentions. An online questionnaire asked 226 Game of Thrones viewers about their reactions to the final season of the series. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was the analysis method for testing the hypotheses. Investment, perceived justice and collective fairness are all predictors of entitlement. Fan identification increases feelings of investment. Entitlement has a negative relationship with satisfaction, and satisfaction is positively related to relational behaviors. Loyal, highly entitled consumers can make life difficult for a brand in customer service encounters, on social media and financially. The manuscript offers managers an understanding of which consumers and situations may elicit entitlement and how to mitigate entitlement. This is one of the first studies to attempt to model antecedents of consumer entitlement and to study entitlement among highly loyal consumers in response to a perceived brand failure. The study furthers existing research by pointing out the effect of entitlement on the relationship with the brand and consequences for the brand, as opposed to past studies, which have largely explored the effects of working with entitled consumers on front-line employees.