The Influence of Empathy and Consumer Forgiveness on the Service Recovery Effect of Online Shopping

Abstract

The service failure of online shopping has always plagued online stores, but the current academic circles still need to explore the service recovery of online shopping from the perspective of empathy and consumer forgiveness. Based on the service failure cases of real online shopping, this article uses the method of situational experiment to carry out empirical research, discusses the impact mechanism of service recovery effect from the perspective of empathy and consumer forgiveness, and tests the moderating role of online store reputation. The results show that in the online shopping service recovery scenario, empathy has a positive impact on consumer forgiveness, consumer forgiveness has a positive impact on consumer repurchase intention, and consumer forgiveness plays a mediating effect between empathy and consumer repurchase intention. Online store reputation plays a moderating role in the relationship between consumer forgiveness and consumer repurchase intention. The research conclusion of this article will help to expand the application of empathy and consumer forgiveness in the research of service recovery, enrich the theory of online shopping service recovery, improve the effect of online shopping service recovery, and promote the healthy development of online shopping business models.

The impact of consumer confusion on the service recovery effect of Online Travel Agency (OTA)

“…We believe that consumer forgiveness is a positive emotion, which urges consumers to buy OTA services again. Huang and Chang ( 2020 ), Cross et al ( 2021 ), Wei et al ( 2022a , b , c ) studied the forgiveness theory and consumer forgiveness theory, some studies also involved relevant studies in the online shopping environment, but there was still a lack of discussion on the moderating effect of consumer forgiveness, and there was no relevant research on OTA service recovery scenarios. Therefore, this study introduces the above related variables and other theories into the research of OTA services, which is a new research scenario with good research value and will enrich the theory of consumer psychology and tourism services.…”

Understanding retail exclusion and promoting an inclusive customer experience at transforming service encounters

“…Businesses should create a culture encouraging customers to provide feedback on their experiences using a well-designed feedback loop. Customers who empathize with service providers after an online service failure are more likely to forgive them for their mistakes, leading to enhanced repurchase intentions (Wei et al, 2022). As social media becomes an increasingly powerful tool for customers to voice their dissatisfaction, businesses must monitor online conversations and respond to complaints accordingly.…”

“…This section discusses potential strategies to improve customer well‐being in service encounters with human and nonhuman service agents (Gong et al, 2022; Ng et al, 2022; Rosenbaum & Russell‐Bennett, 2021). We draw on the previous section on research propositions that are developed based on service marketing literature (Belk et al, 2020; Gremler & Gwinner, 2008; Holmqvist & Grönroos, 2012; Pugh, 2001; Wei et al, 2022) and the core advantage of AI‐powered (namely, hard data computation skill) and human service agents (namely, soft interpersonal communication skills) (Luo et al, 2021; Puntoni et al, 2021). Specifically, we offer five strategies to enhance inclusive CX.…”

How to transform brand haters into forgivers through emotional intelligence?

“…In this vein, several studies have linked forgiveness to rebuilding trust (Wei et al. , 2022a, b; Liu, 2019; Andersson and Lindgren, 2022), service recovery (Wei et al. , 2022a, b; Kaur et al.…”