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Article published In:
English Text Construction
Vol. 12:1 (2019) ► pp.103–136

Theory versus practice

A closer look at transactional and interpersonal stance in English electronic complaint refusal notifications

| Ghent University
| Ghent University
| Vrije Universiteit Brussel
| Ghent University
In this paper, we investigate the attention given to and the impact of interpersonal, people-oriented and transactional, problem-oriented stance in English complaint refusals in business correspondence. The analysis is based on a sample analysis of English e-mail sequences from a Belgian multinational as well as experimental research that probes into the effect of interpersonal strategies on customer outcomes. The sample analysis shows a sharp contrast between theory and practice: while the need for supportive language and interpersonal attention are standard items in textbook instructions, the data show little alignment with the customer through expressions of regret, gratitude, or empathy. The experiment, in its turn, shows a positive impact of interactional stance on interactional justice but little to no impact on satisfaction, perceived professionalism, and loyalty. This raises a number of questions regarding best practice and best practice models.
Keywords: business communication, complaint refusals, computer-mediated communication, customer outcomes, interactional and transactional stance
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Complaint management in the field of marketing and linguistics
    • 2.1Marketing studies on service recovery
    • 2.2Linguistic studies
      • 2.2.1The speech act (set) of refusal
      • 2.2.2Written/computer-mediated business communication
      • 2.2.3Complaint refusals in English textbooks on written business communication
      • 2.2.4Summing up
  • 3.The data
  • 4.Study 1: Data analysis
    • 4.1Coding
    • 4.2Results and discussion
      • 4.2.1Rhetorical moves
      • 4.2.2Linguistic realization of rhetorical moves
  • 5.Study 2: Experiment
    • 5.1Design
    • 5.2Results and discussion
  • 6.Concluding remarks: Limitations and follow-up research
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 27 May 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/etc.00020.cle
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