Recovery Strategies in On-Line Service Failure

Abstract

Despite a proliferation of a number of studies on service failures and recovery in e-service settings, there is a paucity of knowledge of ways in which service failures and recovery practices are implemented in the fashion industry. Drawing on constructivist perspective, this study offers a new perspective on an effective relational mechanism that would bridge the rupture between consumers and companies particularly in the on-line fashion sector. The analysis adds to studies on service failures and recovery by elucidating recovery strategies relevant to retailers’ operations in on-line environments. This analysis advances knowledge of on-line service failures and recovery in the UK fashion industry. Findings indicate that consumer expectations of service failures and recovery are context driven, which requires companies to fine-tune their recovery strategies to improve recovery satisfaction.

The effects of online negative word‐of‐mouth on dissatisfied customers: A frustration–aggression perspective

“…Compensation should be utilized in addition to apology and explanation when both complainant and recipient show signs of aggression. Existing literature supports compensation as the recovery strategy to elicit satisfaction in response to nWOM following severe failures (Jones et al, ; Ozuem & Lancaster, ). In line with extant literature, the present study also calls for providers to promptly address online nWOM (Abney et al, ; Gu & Ye, ; Yang, Zheng, Zhao, & Gupta, ).…”

“…They reported an increased tendency of customers to spread nWOM if they perceived that the company could have avoided the failure. Ozuem and Lancaster (2014) reported that customers' perception of fraud in online transaction usage was a determinant of the spreading of nWOM. Others suggested that problems with the provider's website and purchase delivery had a decisive role in customers' decision to take revenge through nWOM (de Campos Ribeiro et al, 2018;Zhu & Zolkiewski, 2015).…”

“…There is a consensus in the marketing literature that recovery strategies mediate the damaging effect of online complaints (Dong, Evans, & Zou, ). A growing body of literature posits that compensation can alter customers' inclination for revenge (Jones, Stevens, Breazeale, & Spaid, ; Ozuem & Lancaster, ). Abney, Pelletier, Ford, and Horky () stated that employees' empathy generated online customer recovery satisfaction specifically among those who voiced their complaints on Twitter.…”

Contextual Influences: Online Service Failure and Recovery Strategies

“…The term "service failure" has grown in popularity as a terminology used by both scholars and practitioners over the last two decades (Ozuem & Lancaster, 2014). Service failure has occurred in numerous research disciplines, including production and management (Craighead, Karwan, & Miller, 2004), business (Choi & Mattila, 2008), marketing (Sivakumar et al, 2014), consumer behaviour (Argo et al, 2006), and the service industry (Chuang, Cheng, Chang, & Yang, 2012).…”

“…These industries include fashion (Luo, Ba, & Zhang, 2012;Ozuem & Lancaster, 2014), the airline industry (Bitner et al, 1990;Ringberg, Odekerken-Schroder, & Christensen, 2007;Bonifield & Cole, 2008;Roggeveen et al, 2012;Tshin, Tanakinjal, & Sondoh, 2014), medical care (Singh, 1990;Choi & Mattila, 2008), hospitality (Bitner et al, 1990;Smith, Bolton, & Wagner, 1999;Smith & Bolton, 2002;Hess, Ganesan, & Klein, 2003;Craighead et al, 2004;Bonifield & Cole, 2008), grocery shopping (Singh, 1990), automotive repair (Singh, 1990;Craighead et al, 2004), and the financial industry (Singh, 1990;Maxham & Netemeyer, 2002;Chuang et al, 2012). Based on the reach of the analysis, it can be argued that the latter industry is perhaps the least researched area.…”