Research Article

Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives

Volume: 40 Number: 4 October 15, 2026
TR EN

Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives

Abstract

Online shopping environments involve interactions shaped by trust, responsiveness, speed, and personalization. When post-purchase service failures occur, customer reactions may extend beyond dissatisfaction to cumulative emotional disruption, including regret, frustration, exhaustion, perceived betrayal, and trust erosion. Despite extensive research on service failure and complaint behavior, limited attention has been given to progressive emotional breakdowns across digital consumption journeys. Addressing this gap, the study introduces post-purchase emotional collapse (PPEC), defined as a cumulative emotional breakdown resulting from repeated service failures and unresolved negative experiences across customer touchpoints. Using a qualitative content analysis design, the study analyzes 1,000 consumer complaints from sikayetvar.com via Large Language Model (LLM)-assisted emotional coding, touchpoint identification, metaphor analysis, and narrative classification, with human validation on a subsample. Findings suggest delivery failures as the most frequently coded rupture point, with anger, disappointment, and regret as the most frequently coded primary emotions. Complaint narratives include metaphors of deception, battle, and destruction, which are compatible with a reading of cumulative deterioration. The study contributes by conceptualizing PPEC and illustrating the potential and the limits of LLM-assisted qualitative analysis in consumer research; it also offers managerial implications for emotionally responsive complaint management systems.

Keywords

Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse, Online Consumer Complaints, Large Language Models, Qualitative Analysis, Customer Experience

Ethical Statement

The study analyzes publicly available online complaint texts and collected no data from participants; it was therefore assessed as not requiring ethics committee approval.

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APA
Temel, E. (2026). Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives. Trends in Business and Economics, 40(4), 739-761. https://doi.org/10.16951/trendbusecon.1959160
AMA
1.Temel E. Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives. Trend Bus Econ. 2026;40(4):739-761. doi:10.16951/trendbusecon.1959160
Chicago
Temel, Eren. 2026. “Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives”. Trends in Business and Economics 40 (4): 739-61. https://doi.org/10.16951/trendbusecon.1959160.
EndNote
Temel E (October 1, 2026) Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives. Trends in Business and Economics 40 4 739–761.
IEEE
[1]E. Temel, “Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives”, Trend Bus Econ, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 739–761, Oct. 2026, doi: 10.16951/trendbusecon.1959160.
ISNAD
Temel, Eren. “Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives”. Trends in Business and Economics 40/4 (October 1, 2026): 739-761. https://doi.org/10.16951/trendbusecon.1959160.
JAMA
1.Temel E. Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives. Trend Bus Econ. 2026;40:739–761.
MLA
Temel, Eren. “Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives”. Trends in Business and Economics, vol. 40, no. 4, Oct. 2026, pp. 739-61, doi:10.16951/trendbusecon.1959160.
Vancouver
1.Eren Temel. Post-Purchase Emotional Collapse: LLM-Assisted Analysis of Online Consumer Complaint Narratives. Trend Bus Econ. 2026 Oct. 1;40(4):739-61. doi:10.16951/trendbusecon.1959160