The effect of national cultural differences on customer complaint behaviour: An application in hotel businesses

Customer complaint behaviour and complaint management processes in handling 'customer satisfaction', which plays a crucial role in the marketing literature, are among the vital issues to be addressed by businesses and researchers alike. Culture, which constitutes another dimension of this study, is viewed as one of the most important factors in shaping human behaviour. To this end, care should be taken to ensure that cultural traits are well-known by a tourism sector to deal with customers from diverse cultures. The main purpose of the present study is to determine the relationships between cultural dimensions of Hofstede and customer complaint behaviour. Determination of the relationships between national culture dimensions and customer complaint behaviour will contribute a great deal to shaping the prospective plans of action by businesses. This study was conducted in the form of an interview that was achieved with 595 tourists of different cultures accommodated in the hospitality facilities of Manavgat, Antalya. Our results have shown a significant relationship between the dimension of power distance and public action and that of no action, as well as a significant relationship between the dimensions of uncertainty avoidance and public action, plus a significant relationship between the dimensions of private action and individualism/collectivism. In conclusion, awareness should be raised in hotel businesses in the sense that people who have adopted different cultural dimensions tend to show different dissatisfaction behaviour, and this awareness will positively affect the business planning and processes of such establishments. Keywords: National Culture, Customer Complaint Behaviour, Hotel Businesses, Antalya,Manavgat.