Face, fate and brand equity: service recovery justice and satisfaction

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 843-854
Author(s):  
Joseph Lok-Man Lee ◽  
Noel Yee-Man Siu ◽  
Tracy Jun-Feng Zhang

Purpose Can we always expect that service recovery justice leads to satisfaction? Literature has shown that a number of moderating factors impact the recovery justice-satisfaction link in different cultures. However, there is a dearth of research that has indicated the key cultural variables that play a moderating role. This study aims to attempt to fill the research gap by investigating the moderating role of concern for face, belief in fate and brand equity in the relationship between perceived justice and satisfaction in Chinese culture during service recovery. Design/methodology/approach The hypothesized relationships are tested using data from interviews with 600 persons who have recently complained about their telecommunications services. Structural equation modeling is applied in analyzing their responses. Findings Concern for face is found to strengthen the relationship between interactional justice perceptions and satisfaction, but to weaken the relationship between distributive justice perceptions and satisfaction. Belief in fate weakens the link between perceptions of interactional justice and satisfaction. Brand equity positively moderates the relationship between perceptions of interactional justice and satisfaction, but it negatively moderates the relationship between perceptions of distributive justice and satisfaction. Practical implications The cultural variables, namely, face, fate and brand equity, are found to serve as a moderating role in the relationship between recovery justice dimensions and satisfaction. They are more salient when it is related to social element. Face and brand equity, as interpersonal constructs, aggravate the impact of interactional justice on satisfaction. Fate, as non-social factor, weakens the impact of interactional justice on satisfaction. It is argued that managers should provide staff training in product knowledge and customer service as a preventive measure against damage to the brand. Regular customer satisfaction research and benchmarking exercises should be conducted to understand how customers perceive interactional justice. Originality/value This has been the first research to examine the impact of concern for face, belief in fate and brand equity in the relationship between justice perceptions and post-recovery satisfaction during service recovery.

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 224-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward C. Tomlinson

PurposeThis research aims to separate the effect of a promise from an apology, examine interactional justice as a theoretical mechanism explaining the relationship between these accounts and post‐violation trust, examine how message content compares to the gesture of sending a message, and test offense severity as a moderator.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed the Trust Game.FindingsResults indicated significant apology × promise and apology × promise × offense severity interactions on interactional justice, and interactional justice fully mediated the relationship between promises and post‐violation trust.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this study was completed using a laboratory game with anonymous partners, results suggest that interactional justice provides a means for relationships to quickly get back on track after a violation. Specifically, promises provide “forward‐looking” information (trustworthy intent) and interpersonal sensitivity (demonstration of courtesy and concern) that enable interactional justice to affect subsequent trust.Practical implicationsThese findings attest to the efficacy of clear accounts to foster interactional justice; in particular, apologies lead to higher interactional justice for less serious offenses. Furthermore, accounts that are “forward‐looking” lead to higher post‐violation trust via interactional justice perceptions.Originality/valueRecent empirical studies suggest that apologies are associated with higher post‐violation trust, but, unlike this article, have not explicated this process or its boundary conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suna La ◽  
Beomjoon Choi

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between perceived justice and perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the impact of perceived justice and CSR perceptions on customers’ behavioral responses, such as satisfaction and repatronage intention after service recovery. The authors also investigate the moderating role of service failure severity in the relationship between perceived justice and perceived CSR.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected using individually completed questionnaires. The proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling, and the moderation effects of failure severity in the relationship between perceived justice and perceived CSR were analyzed using stepwise multiple regression models.FindingsThe results suggest a path from satisfaction to CSR perceptions, which indicates that the link between CSR perceptions and satisfaction is reversed in the context of service recovery. The authors further reveal recovery satisfaction in two ways: It has a direct influence on repatronage intentions as well as an indirect influence via perceived CSR. Finally, the results demonstrate that the severity of a service failure intensifies the impact of distributive and procedural justice perceptions on perceived CSR, and perceived CSR serves as a partial mediator in the path from recovery satisfaction to repatronage intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThe results demonstrate that perceived justice of service recovery affects perceived CSR after a service failure and that the severity of a service failure moderates the impact of justice perceptions on perceived CSR. However, the possibility of intercausal relationships among distributive, procedural and interactional justice may need to be further explored in future research.Practical implicationsGiven that the impact of distributive and procedural justice on CSR perceptions has become more critical as the severity of service failure increases, companies should prioritize allocating a fair amount of monetary compensation in a timely manner, particularly for those who experience a severe service failure.Originality/valueThe authors propose a model of perceived justice – perceived CSR – repatronage intentions within the service recovery context in an attempt to deepen the understanding of the antecedents of repatronage intention and the relationship between repatronage intention and recovery satisfaction following service recovery encounters by introducing perceived justice and CSR. Moreover, the authors discover the moderating effect of service failure severity on the relationship between justice perceptions and perceived CSR.


2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier González-Benito ◽  
Gustavo Lannelongue ◽  
Luis Miguel Ferreira ◽  
Carmen Gonzalez-Zapatero

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between the environmental management of purchases and firm performance. The authors examine the moderating role played by two variables: the establishment of long-term relationships with suppliers and the strategic integration of the purchasing function. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conduct an empirical study on a sample of 100 Portuguese firms. Findings – Evidence reveals that green purchasing management improves the performance of the purchasing function, although the impact is greater when the organisation forges lasting alliances with its suppliers. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the study of the consequences of introducing environmental practices into the purchasing function, especially with regards to the formation of a panel of sustainable suppliers. Specifically, this research provides evidence to show that the implementation of those practices has positive impacts on the operating performance of the purchasing function and that the said effect is greater when a firm establishes long-term relationships with its suppliers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joo-Eon Jeon

PurposeResearches on the impact brand equity have grown considerably in recent years, as it has been shown to have significant impact on a company’s financial performance. This paper aims to empirically test the relationships between brand concepts and brand equity, while exploring the mediating roles of emotional attachment and customer commitment. Design/methodology/approachThe research investigates the effect of brand concept on the customer–brand relationship and brand performance. Additionally, it examines how the relationship between brand concept and brand equity is mediated by customer–brand relationships such as emotional attachment and commitment. FindingsThe results empirically demonstrate the important contribution of the three brand concepts to brand equity. The results empirically demonstrate the important contribution of the three-brand concept to customer commitment and to brand equity that has been predicted by prior research. Originality/valueThe main contribution of this study is to demonstrate the effects of the brand concepts related to aesthetic, functional and symbolic benefits on brand equity. From this, brand equity may be viewed as a link in the path of effects that indirectly connects brand concepts with market performance. Brand concept, emotional attachment and customer commitment are relevant constructs underlying brand equity, and commitment and loyalty are key mediating variables in relational exchanges.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ing Grace Phang ◽  
Bamini K.P.D. Balakrishnan ◽  
Hiram Ting

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise in early 2020. The preventive measures imposed by many countries limited human movement, causing uncertainty and disrupting consumption patterns and consumer decision-making. This study aims to explore consumers’ panic buying (PB) and compulsive buying (CB) as outcomes of the intolerance of uncertainty (IU). The moderating role of sustainable consumption behaviours (SCBs) (e.g. quality of life [QOL], concern for future generation and concern for environmental well-being) were also tested to raise awareness of responsible and mindful consumption amongst the society and business stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach To empirically examine the grocery shopping behaviours of Malaysian consumers during COVID-19, a total of 286 valid grocery consumer survey responses based on a purposive sampling were collected and analysed during the movement control order period between March and July 2020. Findings The findings confirmed the statistically significant impact of IU on both PB and CB and the impact of PB on CB behaviour. Amongst the three SCBs tested, only QOL significantly moderated the relationship between the IU and PB. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to construct a framework of consumers’ PB and CB during the pandemic, building upon the stimulus-organism-response model and the concepts of IU and SCB. This study further serves as the pioneering study on the moderating role of SCB in consumer behaviour research in the pandemic context, whereby consumers’ QOL significantly moderates the relationship between their IU and PB. This study has also drawn specific implications for grocery retailers and government agencies for retail and policy planning to promote positive social transformation in consumer buying behaviours during a pandemic or crisis.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepu Kurian ◽  
Fredrick M. Nafukho

PurposeThe primary purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between a positive style of leadership, specifically authentic leadership, and organizational justice perceptions of employees' in the hotel industry. The following research questions guided the study: What relationship existed between hotel employees' perception toward authentic leadership and organizational justice? What relationship existed between hotel employees' perception toward authentic leadership and distributive justice, procedural justice, interactional justice and informational justice dimensions? What relationship existed among hotel employees' perception toward organizational justice, authentic leadership and their demographic background?.Design/methodology/approachThe study approached the research questions from a quantitative, non-experimental research perspective utilizing a cross-sectional survey and descriptive correlational design, which describes the relationship or association between two or more variables in the study which are authentic leadership and organizational justice.FindingsThe results indicate that authentic leadership has a strong relationship with hotel employees' organizational justice perceptions, and authentic leadership predicted the employees' perceptions of organizational justice. Authentic leadership is a relative new leadership approach rooted in positive psychology emphasizing on the ethical and moral aspects of leadership, and the results of the study found that when employees perceive their leaders to follow the authentic leadership paradigm, they also perceive high levels of organizational justice. Authentic leadership has stronger relationships with informational and interpersonal dimensions of justice which implies that authentic leaders are strategic in their interactions with their employees. The results also imply that when employees perceive justice in terms of procedures and outcomes, they believe that organizations determine those more than their supervisors.Research limitations/implicationsThe differences in the strengths of relationship between authentic leadership and structural forms of justice (distributive and procedural), and authentic leadership and interactional forms of justice (informational and interpersonal), have implications for both justice and leadership theories. The results suggest that authentic leader behaviors create a fair climate – an interpersonally and informationally fair climate which promotes all forms of justice perceptions in individual followers. However, it needs to be further researched whether leaders with high interpersonal skills and information-sharing abilities showing consideration and respect to employees may result in higher levels of organizational justice perceptions. Thus, further research is needed to determine the relationship of authentic leadership and each of the organizational justice (distributive, procedural, informational and interpersonal) dimensions, which may provide more insights as to whether leader behavior contains element of justice itself.Practical implicationsThe findings showcase the need for organizations in the hotel and hospitality industry to establish programs that focus on leadership practices which improve employees' perceptions of organizational justice and, in turn, lead to positive organizational outcomes including reducing the considerable costs of employee turnover. It is also important that employees are aware of the policies and procedures and have a perception that they can connect and communicate to their supervisors and managers.Social implicationsThis study falls into the larger conversation of social justice and how an organization's leadership can be a strong associate for social justice movements by supporting equity within the organization.Originality/valueThe study integrates leadership and justice theories in a hotel context. The results of this study may motivate hospitality/ hotel leaders to include authentic leadership development as an actionable strategy to bolster fairness and mitigate some of the negative features of the industry.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srecko Stamenkovic ◽  
Biljana Ratkovic Njegovan ◽  
Maja S. Vukadinovic

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of organizational justice on the ethical climate in organizations in Serbia.Design/methodology/approachIn the study, 3,413 employees participated whose task was to assess the dimensions of organizational justice (procedural, distributive and interactional) as well as the dimensions of ethical climate (egoism, benevolence and principle).FindingsThe obtained results show that the dimensions of organizational justice are significant predictors of dimensions of ethical climate. The dimension of distributive justice significantly predicts the dimensions of egoism and principle, while the dimensions of procedural and interactional justice significantly predict the dimensions of benevolence and principle. Concerning the structure of the relationship between dimensions of organizational justice and ethical climate, the results also showed that there is intra-national diversity depending on the region of the Republic of Serbia where the organization operates. Ethical climate based on maximization of personal interest is more connected to economically more developed regions with a larger population, while ethical climate based on duties related to norms, laws, rules and policies characterizes less developed regions with a smaller population.Originality/valueIn the context of contemporary Serbian business surrounding, the obtained results are discussed regarding the possibilities for improvement of ethical climate, which should be accompanied and supported by the positive impact of organizational justice.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Dong ◽  
Xiao Wang ◽  
Jiawen Chen

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of family ownership on cooperative research and development (R&D). Drawing on the ability and willingness paradox framework in family business research, the authors suggest that family ownership influences cooperative R&D via two opposing mechanisms: power concentration and wealth concentration. It also deepens the current understanding of the boundary conditions of informal institutions for the impact of family ownership on cooperative R&D by investigating the moderating role of political ties. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyze a panel of 610 Chinese manufacturing family firms and 2,127 firm-year observations from 2009 to 2017. Fixed effects regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses, with the two-stage Heckman model to address sample selection bias. Findings The research findings indicate that family ownership has an inverted U-shaped relationship with cooperative R&D and political ties moderate the relationship in such a way that the inverted U-shaped relationship will be steeper in firms with more political ties than in firms with fewer political ties. Practical implications Family ownership influences firms’ cooperative R&D through the positive effect of power concentration and the negative effect of wealth concentration. Family owners should, therefore, take advantage of concentrated power, for instance, by adapting quickly and committing sufficient resources to cooperative R&D opportunities, while controlling path-dependent relationship development caused by concentrated family wealth. The effect of political ties on the relationship between family ownership and cooperative R&D is found to be a double-edged sword. Originality/value This study extends the ability and willingness paradox framework and provides novel insights into cooperative R&D in family businesses by integrating power concentration and wealth concentration associated with family ownership. Moreover, this study provides a contingency perspective and introduces the moderating role of political ties in shaping cooperative R&D in family firms.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu-Mei Tseng

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the relationship quality on customer loyalty. The moderating role played by online service recovery in this study is further discussed. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative Web-based survey study was conducted to statistically test these relationships among relationship quality, service recovery and customer loyalty. Data collected from 183 respondents were taken for analysis through partial least squares. Findings The findings reveal that relationship quality has significant influence on customer loyalty, whereas service recovery has moderated effect on the relationship between relationship quality and customer loyalty. Research limitations/implications The respondents of this study were recruited from online panels; thus, a purposive sample could be a biased indication of the characteristics of the actual population. Therefore, it is suggested that future researchers enroll subjects from a statistical population that accurately represents the entire population and, in addition, that they collect more responses to increase the generalizability of the findings. Practical implications Because failures in service delivery are inevitable, recovery of such encounters thus represents a significant challenge for service firms. Hence, this study proposes concrete suggestions for firms to manage and operate e-commerce websites, as well as to enhance relationship quality and customer loyalty. Originality/value Service failures have been the bane of e-commerce, compelling customers to either abandon transactions entirely or switch to a physical competitor. Many firms have realized the importance of maintaining strong relationships with customers to enhance their loyalty. However, previous literature has a few studies conducted on the relationships among service recovery, relationship quality and customer loyalty in the e-commerce context. Therefore, it is meaningful to identify these relationships.


2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (10) ◽  
pp. 2317-2342
Author(s):  
Ke Ma ◽  
Xin Zhong ◽  
Guanghui Hou

Purpose This study aims to examine the role played by brand equity orientation and failure type in service recovery. Specifically, through the lens of forgiveness, the way brand equity orientation and failure type influence consumer response to recovery is revealed. Design/methodology/approach This research tests a novel model using data collected from 1,589 consumers in two scenario-based experimental studies. The statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) program with the PROCESS tool was used to test the mediation and moderated mediation effects. Findings The research findings suggest that forgiveness plays a mediation role in the relationship between recovery and satisfaction. Brand equity orientation moderates the mediation effect of forgiveness on the relationship between recovery and recovery satisfaction. In addition, failure type also plays an important role and there is a significant three-way interaction effect (service recovery × brand equity orientation × failure type) on recovery satisfaction under certain circumstances. Research limitations/implications Building on the extant literature which focuses on the cognitive process when investigating recovery and consumer reaction, this research advocates the significant role played by the psychological process, namely, the feeling of forgiveness, in explaining the effect of distinct recovery strategies on consumer satisfaction. This research also unveils the effects of brand equity orientation and failure type on recovery outcomes. Practical implications When addressing performance failure, brand equity orientation and failure type need to be identified. Businesses could develop recovery strategies to arouse consumer forgiveness, which would lead to increased recovery satisfaction. When designing recovery strategies, managers need to be mindful of the effects of brand equity orientation and failure type. Originality/value This research is one of the few which reveals the mediating role played by forgiveness on the effect of recovery. Taking brand equity orientation and failure type into consideration, the findings of this research provide new insights into the recovery literature.


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