Perception of customer complaints by social media followers and a study on airline operations

The aim of this study is to determine the impact of consumer complaints on domestic airline companies, perceived justice in the companies' responses to complaints, and the satisfaction/dissatisfaction of justice applied in handling complaints by third-party prospective consumers who follow complaints directed at companies through social media. The study seeks to assess how these factors influence the positive/negative brand image and preference of the airline company. Although many studies have been conducted in the literature on customer complaint management of companies on social media platforms in recent years, it can be seen that these studies are almost non-existent in the case of airline companies. In this context, the study analyzed social media consumer complaints about domestic airline companies and the perceptions of social media followers on the company's approaches to managing complaints. In preparation for the analysis, a qualitative analysis of customer complaints on social media was conducted, a study that would contribute to both the relevant literature and the industry. In addition, another richness of the study is the Turkish adaptation of the scales of airline customers' perception of fairness in the company's approach and satisfaction perception in the handling of complaints. In the study, a survey was administered to 274 participants for scale adaptation and to 493 participants for research analysis. According to the model, the effect of satisfaction with the handling of complaints on the perception of justice, the effect of the perception of justice on brand image, brand credibility, and purchase intention, the effect of brand image on purchase intention, and the effect of brand credibility on purchase intention were found to be statistically significant, and the generation difference was found to be statistically significant on justice, brand. Its effect on image, brand credibility, and purchase intention was found to be statistically insignificant. In indirect effects, the indirect effect of justice perception on purchase intention, the indirect effect of satisfaction with the handling of complaints on the purchase intention, and the indirect effect of the interaction between generation gap and satisfaction with the handling of complaints on the purchase intention were found to be statistically significant.