Management : Journal of Contemporary Management Issues | 2026
Authors: Kursan Milaković I.; Mamić I.
DOI: 10.30924/mjcmi.31.si.3
Journal: Management : Journal of Contemporary Management Issues
Year: 2026
Publisher: University of Split - Faculty of Economics
Document Type: Article
Open Access: All Open Access; Gold Open Access; Green Open Access
Cited by: 0
Consumer online misbehaviour, such as policy abuse, is a serious and growing global problem that poses a challenge to both businesses and consumers. This study examines the role that consumer attitudes toward business marketing practices play in consumer online misbehaviour and the impact of such misbehaviour on consumer coping mechanisms. Business marketing practices include consumer attitudes toward business philosophy, product quality, and advertising. Consumer online misbehaviour was assessed by product return and promotion policies abuse, while consumer coping mechanisms included both problem-focused (instrumental and emotional support seeking) and emotion-focused (avoidance and denial) coping mechanisms. The data collection included data from 204 Croatian consumers who had violated retailers’ online policies at least once in the past year. The data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and regression analysis. The results show that business philosophy and advertising stimulate consumer online misbehaviour, and that the abuse of product return and promotion policies influences various coping mechanisms. The misuse of product return policy is positively related to emotion-focused coping strategies such as denial, whereas the misuse of promotion policy influences both problem-focused (instrumental support) and emotion-focused (avoidance and denial) coping strategies. This study sheds new light on negative consumer behaviour. It enriches the sparse literature on the drivers and consequences of consumer online misbehaviour and contributes to consumer coping theory by offering new insights and a new research context. © (2026), (University of Split - Faculty of Economics). All rights reserved.
business marketing practices; consumer online misbehaviour; coping mechanisms; mehanizmisuočavanja; nedolično ponašanje potrošača na internetu; policy abuse; prakse poslovnog marketinga; zlouporaba politika