The antecedents and consequences of consumer cynicism: A research on the service sector

Cynicism, which has been investigated for many years in various social sciences disciplines such as psychology, sociology, political science, and organizational behavior, is a new research topic for marketing literature. Therefore, the consumer cynicism literature is not rich enough in scope, content, and empirical research. When the relevant literature is examined, it is seen that studies investigating the antecedents and consequences of consumer cynicism are limited, and antecedents and consequences of consumer cynicism are not examined in terms of the service sector in these studies. This study aims to reveal the antecedents and behavioral consequences of consumer cynicism towards the service sector. Research data were collected from consumers in Bursa by using face to face survey method. The data obtained were analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM) to determine the antecedents and consequences of consumer cynicism towards the service sector. As a result of the analysis, it was found that societal/institutional cynicism and unethical marketing practices had a significant and positive effect on consumer cynicism towards the service sector, while negative affectivity did not have a significant effect on consumer cynicism towards the service sector. Also, as a result of the analysis, it was found that consumer cynicism towards the service sector had a significant and positive effect on negative word-of-mouth communication, consumer boycotts, and exit behavior but did not have a significant effect on marketplace withdrawal behavior.