000			02660cam a2200181 4500500
005			20250121131504.0
041			_afre
042			_adc
100	1	0	_aClifton, Judith _eauthor
700	1	0	_a Díaz Fuentes, Daniel _eauthor
700	1	0	_a Fernández-Gutiérrez, Marcos _eauthor
245	0	0	_aVulnerable consumers and satisfaction with public services: does country matter?
260			_c2019.
500			_a49
520			_aWithin Public Administration, increased attention is being paid to ‘vulnerable citizens’ – groups of citizens who, for reasons beyond their control, are disadvantaged in comparison to other citizens – when consuming public services. Initial research focused on how citizens’ socio-economic background shapes their behaviour and satisfaction. Citizens, however, take decisions within a context, but we know little about how their experiences differ depending on their country of residence. We comparatively analyse the experience of vulnerable citizens in telecommunications and electricity markets in three large European Union countries, selected to represent ‘advanced’, ‘intermediate’ and ‘laggard’ stages of reform. We first establish that citizens’ socio-economic characteristics matter for patterns of expenditure and perceptions of service affordability and then show how citizen vulnerability differs depending on country context. Results are useful to practitioners seeking to target regulation to improve the experiences of vulnerable citizens.Points for practitionersPractitioners recognize that public service reform has brought with it greater market complexity and choice, and that this poses challenges to citizens, particularly vulnerable citizens. Initial empirical work demonstrated that citizens’ socio-economic background affects their satisfaction; however, we know little about how this vulnerability is shaped by country context. We analyse electricity and telecommunications markets in three large European Union countries, establishing that consumers’ socio-economic background matters for citizens’ expenditure and perceptions of service affordability, and then demonstrating that country context also influences these experiences. Less-educated, elderly and non-employed citizens experience more frequent problems with these services than other citizens, and the country context conditions these experiences significantly.
786	0		_nInternational Review of Administrative Sciences | 85 | 2 | 2019-06-05 | p. 275-295 | 0303-965X
856	4	1	_uhttps://shs.cairn.info/journal-international-review-of-administrative-sciences-2019-2-page-275?lang=en&redirect-ssocas=7080
999			_c569506 _d569506