While a number of studies provide evidence in support of the recovery paradox, other studies have shown contradictory results.
Perhaps an explanation for the recovery paradox holding true in some cases and not in others is that the specific conditions...
While a number of studies provide evidence in support of the recovery paradox, other studies have shown contradictory results.
Perhaps an explanation for the recovery paradox holding true in some cases and not in others is that the specific conditions of a service failure moderate the effectiveness of the recovery on customer satisfaction. That is, perhaps intervening variables (moderators) intensify or weaken the efficacy of an effort to redress a service failure and boost customer satisfaction.
In order to carry out this analysis, I will employ attribution theory and the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm as the theoretical foundations to develop and empirically measure factors that moderate the recovery paradox.
One contextual variable that moderates the recovery paradox is the severity of the failure in service. The results of this study indicate that it is unlikely that even a first-rate redress initiative can return customer satisfaction to its original level following a severe breakdown in service. If the loss or trauma experienced by the customer as a result of the service failure is too great, no reasonable apology or redress can create a recovery paradox effect.
In addition, the study indicates that a customer's expectation for compensation for a service failure moderates the paradoxical satisfaction resulting from a redress initiative. Customers who have high expectations for compensation are generally not satisfied by attempts to redress the customer service failure. On the other hand, customers who have low expectations for compensation are generally impressed by recovery measures and experience a paradoxical rise in customer satisfaction.
Both the responsibility for and rarity of a customer service failure also moderate the efficacy of the redress effort on post-failure customer satisfaction. That is, consistent with attribution theory, customers are more forgiving if they feel that failure was not reasonably foreseeable to the service provider. Further, in agreement with prospect theory, customers are more apt to exonerate the firm if they assess that the service failure is unlikely to happen again. Therefore, both perceived responsibility and rarity moderate the recovery paradox.
Locus of responsibility for service failure effects on recovery paradox occurrence.
The service recovery paradox is particularly strong if a customer feels he or she is partly responsible for the service failure. However, if a customer believes the service provider was entirely to blame for the failure, then attempts to rebuild customer satisfaction are less likely to prove effective.
This study give very important point to service providers in the service industry.
If managed correctly, the failure redress procedures of a service provider can serve as a powerful tool in increasing customer loyalty. Particularly, if recovery procedures are so well-managed to the extent that the competition cannot easily duplicate them, then it can be argued that the firm's failure recovery constitutes a core competency.