An Experimental Investigation of Customer Reactions to Service Failure and Recovery Encounters: Paradox or Peril?
Abstract
This study develops a model that addresses the following: (a) How does a customer's satisfaction with a service failure and recovery encounter affect cumulative satisfaction judgments and repatronage intentions? (b) To what extent do a customer's prior assessments of overall satisfaction and repatronage intentions formed before the service failure and recovery encounter carry over to influence subsequent overall satisfaction and repatronage intentions? (c) Can a highly satisfying service failure and recovery encounter enhance a customer's overall satisfaction with a service organization and increase repatronage intentions? The model is operationalized with data from two experiments conducted in different service settings in which actual customers "experienced" a hypothetical service failure and recovery encounter at an organization they had recently patronized. The results suggest that although excellent service recoveries can enhance customer satisfaction and increase repatronage intentions, viewing service failures as opportunities to impress customers with good service performance may involve substantial risks.
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The scenario approach avoids the ethical considerations associated with observing or enacting actual service failures.
“avoids the ethical considerations associated with observing or enacting actual service failures (Smith and Bolton 1998)”
From Recovery Voice and Satisfaction After Service Failure: An Experimental Investigation of Mediating and Moderating Factors (2007) · cites this paper as Smith and Bolton 1998
The scenario approach has advantages over asking participants to recall actual service failures and recoveries using a retrospective-type approach.
“Last, this approach has advantages over asking participants to recall actual service failures and recoveries using a retrospective-type approach (Smith and Bolton 1998;Smith, Bolton, and Wagner 1999).”
From Recovery Voice and Satisfaction After Service Failure: An Experimental Investigation of Mediating and Moderating Factors (2007) · cites this paper as Smith and Bolton 1998
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- Authors
- Smith, A. K., & Bolton, R. N.
- Affiliations
- George Washington University (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- Corresponding author
- Smith, Amy K.
- Venue
- Journal of Service Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 1998-08
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 65-81
- ISSN
- 1094-6705 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7379
- OpenAlex
- W2025266568
- Cited by
- 798
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 40 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 35 · 2015: 40 · 2014: 72 · 2013: 42 · 2012: 38
- FWCI
- 20.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Service Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Customer Service Quality and Loyalty
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Service and Product Innovation
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › AI in Service Interactions
- Keywords
- service failure, service recovery, customer satisfaction, repatronage intention, service encounters, consumer response
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