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Can consumer dissatisfaction and complaints guide public consumer policy?

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Zusammenfassung

Der Beitrag behandelt einige subjektive Indikatoren für die Zufriedenheit von Verbrauchern mit der Qualität von Produkten und mit anderen Aspekten des Einkaufens und Verbrauchens und diskutiert dabei »Verbraucherprobleme«, »Verbraucherklagen« und »geäußerte Zufriedenheit«. Wegen der Schwierigkeiten bei der Interpretation bei entsprechenden empirischen Daten kommt der Autor zu dem Ergebnis, daß die Beschreibung bestimmter Verbraucherprobleme der Verbraucherpolitik zwar einige Anhaltspunkte geben kann, daß sich insgesamt aber aus empirisch erhobener Zufriedenheit oder Unzufriedenheit von Verbrauchern keine Prioritäten für die staatliche Verbraucherpolitik ableiten lassen. Hierzu ist es vielmehr erforderlich, objektive Indikatoren zu entwickeln.

Abstract

In this paper an account is given of some subjective indicators of consumer satisfaction with the quality of products and other aspects of purchasing and consumption. The indicators discussed are “problems”, “complaints”, and “reported satisfaction.” The difficulties inherent in interpreting such data are stressed. The author's conclusion is that measures of satisfaction and dissatisfaction are almost unusable as a basis for setting priorities in public consumer policy, albeit concrete descriptions of consumer problems can give some guidance. In the main, however, the ambition must be to develop objective indicators of consumer welfare.

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Authors

Additional information

Folke Ölander is Professor of Economic Psychology at the Aarhus School of Business Administration and Economics, Ryhavevej 8, DK-8210 Aarhus, Denmark.

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ölander, F. Can consumer dissatisfaction and complaints guide public consumer policy?. J Consum Policy 1, 124–137 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380447

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