2003 Volume 19 Issue 2 Pages 144-154
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of third party intervention on consumer dispute resolution. ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) has gained increasing interest because of its procedural flexibility and low cost. Since it generally lacks legal power to gain obedience, it is crucial for ADR to prompt disputants' spontaneous acceptance of a decision. Based on two models of procedural fairness, we predicted that a third party's intervention controlled by politeness and voice would affect the perception of procedural fairness, which in turn would increase satisfaction with a decision. We experimentally manipulated politeness and voice, and examined the response of 60 students in a hypothetical consumer dispute. We obtained results consistent with our hypotheses. These results suggested that the perception of procedural fairness of ADR is prompted by sense of both control and status, though its effect on satisfaction was smaller than on favorability of the decision toward personal interests.
