Trial experience, satisfaction and incentive to bring another lawsuit: Does aspiration level influence winners and losers?

This paper used individual level data in Japan to explore how a complainant’s past trial experience influences their satisfaction and incentive to bring a future lawsuit. Controlling for kinds of incidents and a complainant’s individual characteristics, the major findings were; (1) there is a positive relationship between the experience and satisfaction for winners, whereas there is a significant negative relationship for losers, and (2) experience exerts a positive effect on the intention to bring a future lawsuit, not only for winners but also for losers. These results imply that, for losers, a past experience enhances the incentive to bring a future lawsuit, although the experience decreases a complainant’s satisfaction.