ABSTRACTConsumer complaints provide firms with the opportunity to recover from their mistakes, and to retain dissatisfied consumers. Efforts which facilitate the solicitation of complaints may not only be used as immediate means of protecting market share, but may also prove to be highly profitable measures in the long run. However, significant variations in the degree of complaint solicitation exercised by companies can be observed in the marketplace. While certain firms seem to actively pursue consumer complaints, others tend to avoid or ignore them. Such a variation may have much to do with the market conditions facing the firm, and existing research has not conducted a systematic examination of their effects. In two separate studies the impact of various market factors on a firm's motivation to solicit consumer complaints is examined. In the first study, using empirical estimates from prior studies as inputs, a simulation is utilized to establish market conditions which foster responsive complaint handling by firms. The second study replicates the simulation findings through a survey of consumers' self-reports of complaints to businesses. The paper concludes with the managerial implication of the findings and suggestions for future research.