Exploring routes of dissatisfaction feedback : A multiple case study within a machine industry segment

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore routes of dissatisfaction feedback transferrals within a Swedish machine industry segment. The study focuses upon transferrals from dissatisfied users to the product development organizations. There is also an interest in determining whether the feedback is reliable and, if not, how to improve the reliability of this information to create a better basis for decision‐making. Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the results from a qualitative interview‐based study of 16 product development organizations and their customer dissatisfaction feedback systems. About 84 percent of the companies within a machine industry segment in Sweden are covered. Based on the empirical investigation, a typology describes four different dissatisfaction feedback constructs, depending on whether the feedback system is active or passive, and on whether the feedback is codified or personalized. Findings – The study indicates that parallel usage of codified and personalized dissatisfaction feedback, compared to using these transferrals in isolation only, improves reliability of dissatisfaction information and puts product developers in a better position when deciding on future actions. However, a real challenge is how to turn passive dissatisfaction routes into active ones. Managing passive dissatisfaction routes with service personnel and call centres as knowledge carriers more actively in product development can certainly reveal many of the hidden needs of users. Originality/value – Our project is essentially managerial, aiming to provide managers and other decision‐makers with a framework to establish reliable and adequate customer feedback systems for more effective product development.