Research On Mechanism And Influencing Factors Of Consumer Psychological Contract Violation

All the trasactions are conducted through contract. Contract plays an important role in explaining the phenomena in the society, economics, law and politics. Contracts have changed in quantity and quality especilly in explaining the consumer behavior as society and technology become more complex. However, consumer may not remember the items about seller’s responsibility in the written contract. They have their own opinion about sellers’responsibilities. So the expicit contract can not explain consumer behavior well and implicit psychological contract become one of the theoretical underpinnings in understanding consumer behaviors. Consumer psychological contract is defined as customers’ beliefs concerning mutual obligations of seller and themselves. Consumer psychological contract provides a different view of undertadning consumer behavior.Researchers have studied consumer psychological contract for more than ten years. Even though, the researchers need to study and diseuss the emerged new perspectives.Based on the literature review, this study finds that consumer psychological contract violation is a key topic in the study of consumer psychological contract, and divides the literatures about consumer psychological contract violation into two researches directions:the influencing factors of consumer psychological contract violation and its mechanism. There are no systematic studies about these. According to the shortages, this paper presents four questions and uses empirical researehes to resolve and discuss them. The major contents are including:(1) Based on the literature review about psychological contract, proposes the model of consumer psychological contract violation-trust-satisfaction, including the moderate effect of customers’ beliefs concerning obligations of themselves. Using the empirical study of restaurant, obtaining data from 450 consumers, the results by structural equation model analysis and structural equation multi-group analysis show that trust mediates the relationship of consumer psychological contract violation and satisfaction, and this effect is moderated by customers’beliefs concerning obligations of themselves.(2) Reexamines the influence of psychological contract violation on consumer complaint behavior and clarify whether those relations are moderated by industry, gender, and customers’ beliefs concerning mutual obligations of themselves. Using the empirical study of restaurant and bank, obtaining data from 359 consumers, the results by structural equation model analysis and structural equation multi-group analysis show psychological contract violation has influence on direct complaint behavior, word-of-mouth behavior, and switching behavior. Industry and customers’ beliefs concerning mutual obligations of themselves have moderating effect on psychological contract violation and direct complaint behavior, word-of-mouth behavior, and switching behavior. The moderate effect of gender is not confirmed.(3) Based on the whole process of customer service experience, proposes the model of perceived service quality-consumer participation-consumer psychological contract, exploring influencing factors of psychological contract when consumer perceived that the seller have take their responsibilities. Using the empirical study of hairdressing industry, obtaining data from 359 consumers, the results by structural equation model analysis show consumer participation and perceived service quality influence consumer psychological contract, and the effect of consumer participation on consumer psychological contract is partly moderated by perceived service quality.(4) Based ont the literature review of network marketing, explored whether problem severity, consumer past shoping experiences, attribution of responsibility influence consumer psychological contract violation. Using the empirical study of restaurant, obtaining data from 450 consumers, the results by structural equation model analysis show consumer past expiences, attribution of responsibility influence consumer psychological contract violation, but the relations of problem severity and consumer psychological contract violation is not confirmed.