The Ownership Complaint Gap: Mutual versus Stock Intermediaries
研究发现互助型金融企业的客户投诉率比股份制企业低21%，且这一差距并非源于客户满意度低，而是与竞争、财务困境和价格监管有关，表明互助结构对客户有利。
We document a substantial customer complaint gap between stock and mutual financial firms. To assess whether this 21% per year complaint gap stems from complaint-prone customers in stock insurers, we examine state-adjudicated complaint success. To further delineate between customer selection or treatment explanations, we exploit within insurer complaints around random claims (natural disasters) and attention shocks (media scrutiny). Further tests reveal the complaint gap widens with greater competition, near insolvency thresholds, and with more price regulation. Overall, the results are inconsistent with the hypothesis that mutual financial firms exhibit low customer satisfaction, suggesting customers find this a beneficial organizational structure.