Understanding Citizen Complaints in Response to Public Service Failures: Insights from the Attribution Theory

Abstract

Dissatisfied citizens often propel administrative reforms by expressing concerns about bureaucratic shortcomings and demanding accountability. However, the experience of public service failures is inherently subjective, leading to diverse interpretations and reactions. Some may politicize or exaggerate the issues, while others might downplay them or remain indifferent. This study, based on attribution theory, explores how the attribution of public service failures—linking these failures to specific causes—affects citizen complaint behavior.

Conducted in mainland China, this study provides a unique non-Western perspective on the effect of three attribution dimensions—locus, controllability, and stability—on citizen complaint behavior. It commences with a 2 (locus: internal or external) × 2 (controllability: controllable or uncontrollable) × 2 (stability: stable or unstable) full factorial experimental design, with data gathered through an online survey of 2,084 participants. The findings indicate that all three attribution dimensions significantly impacted citizens’ intention to complain, including direct complaint, negative word-of-mouth, and complaint to a third party. Specially, when a service failure is characterized as external, controllable, and stable, the likelihood of citizen complaints increases. This is probably because citizens tend to perceive the provider as either neglecting their responsibilities or being incapable of resolving the issue.

However, upon examining the various interactions of attribution dimensions, both two-way and three-way, the study found that only the interaction between “locus” and “stability” reached statistical significance. These findings challenge the assumption that more complex interactions between attribution dimensions would have a stronger effect. Meanwhile, this thesis also examined the mediating role of satisfaction and the moderating effects of personal traits and cultural norms. The findings reveal that dissatisfaction significantly mediates the relationship between locus or controllability, but not stability, and citizen complaints. Additionally, traits like aggressiveness and risk-taking exhibited little to no significant influence, whereas cultural norms—especially those valuing harmony and face-saving—played a substantial role in suppressing complaints. To contextualize the unsupported hypothesis testing results, I conducted a post-hoc qualitative study by interviewing nine participants who participated in the aforesaid survey experiment. These interviews uncovered key insights into the attribution processes of citizens, emphasizing how biases, attitudes, barriers, or challenges lead them to engage in, or lack thereof, complaint behaviors.

Overall, this thesis enhances our understanding of how attributions of public service failures shape citizen complaints, providing valuable insights for future research and public service practitioners. By highlighting attributional beliefs as a key mechanism influencing citizen responses, it emphasizes the importance of effective service management in maintaining the citizen-state relationship. Such service management initiatives enable public organizations to improve service quality, foster positive community relations, and build a foundation for long-term trust and engagement.

Date of Award	21 Jul 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Chih Wei HSIEH (Supervisor) & Mei Jen Hung (External Supervisor)