Interaction between two types of information on reactions to delays

This study examines the effects of the interaction of two types of information about delays—information about the duration of a delay (delay duration information) and information about the reason for a delay (delay reason information)—on people’s reactions to delays. In this paper, we argue and demonstrate that the two types of delay information interact to affect attribution for the delay and perceived delay duration. The results obtained from an experimental study indicated that there was a stronger effect of delay reason information on attribution for the delay when delay duration information was absent than when the information was present. When no reason was given for the delay, the subjects attributed greater control to the service provider and perceived the delay to be longer when delay duration information was absent than when the information was present. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2006