The Consumer Claims, on-line Dispute Resolution and Innovation in the Public Administration: A Case Study of the Consumidor.gov Platform in Brazil During 2014-2019

• Main Authors: Luciana Oliveira Militão, Paulo Burnier da Silveira, Andrea Juliet Celis León, Liziane Paixão Silva Oliveira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal da Paraíba 2020-08-01
• Series: Teoria e Prática em Administração
• Online Access: https://periodicos.ufpb.br/index.php/tpa/article/view/51147

Objective: this paper examines the Brazilian governmental platform named Consumidor.gov that was created in 2014 as an online mechanism of alternative dispute resolution between consumers and companies. Methodology: first, it covers a short theoretical reference and it presents the methodology of the research, which benefited from public data provided by the Brazilian Consumer Agency and the Brazilian National Council of Justice. Then, it evaluates the first 5 years of the existence of the platform – from July 2014 to July 2019 – and concludes for a preliminary positive impact evaluation for consumers. The main arguments for this conclusion are twofold: (i) an increasing level of consumer satisfaction towards the use of the platform; and (ii) a moderate decrease of judicial actions related to consumer issues. Results: as a result, the platform seems to enhance consumer protection with a speedy solution and it saves public resources due to fewer complaints sent to the Judiciary branch. Contributions: as final remarks, the document aims to contribute to the literature that indicates the scarcity of studies on the complementarity of ODR and civil courts in generating effects on well-being, as it presents data that can support correlational research in this regard. As a practical contribution, this paper also indicates some recommendations for improving the mechanism and possibly increasing the effectiveness of public policy in protecting consumers.