Jeeshan Mirza, Yany Grégoire, Chatura Ranaweera and Chau Minh Nguyen
The service failure and recovery (SFR) research field has reached its maturity stage and is now at a critical juncture. There are growing calls for fresh perspectives and…
Abstract
Purpose
The service failure and recovery (SFR) research field has reached its maturity stage and is now at a critical juncture. There are growing calls for fresh perspectives and innovative approaches in SFR research to ensure its continued relevance and growth. The purpose of this paper is to identify boundary-breaking opportunities in SFR research by fundamentally challenging some of the central assumptions of the field.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs a unique “review of reviews” methodology to synthesise findings from 19 prior SFR reviews, complemented by an in-depth analysis of 116 primary articles published in the past five years.
Findings
This paper makes several contributions. First, it identifies and critically evaluates the central underlying assumptions of SFR, highlighting their inherent limitations in light of emerging conceptual and substantive developments. Second, it offers alternative perspectives that reframe these assumptions and open up new avenues for research. Third, within each alternative perspective, we propose specific research ideas that can benefit from further exploration. To develop the ideas, we build on recent conflicts and negative events in the marketplace. Our review of reviews approach also enables us to track how frequently such ideas have been proposed in prior reviews. Finally, the paper briefly discusses some methodological considerations for conducting more impactful research.
Originality/value
This paper leverages insights from prior SFR literature reviews and recent research and steeps into real-world marketing issues to challenge the central assumptions of the field and recommend future research avenues.
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Mukta Srivastava, Sreeram Sivaramakrishnan and Neeraj Pandey
The increased digital interactions in the B2B industry have enhanced the importance of customer engagement as a measure of firm performance. This study aims to map and analyze…
Abstract
Purpose
The increased digital interactions in the B2B industry have enhanced the importance of customer engagement as a measure of firm performance. This study aims to map and analyze temporal and spatial journeys for customer engagement in B2B markets from a bibliometric perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The extant literature on customer engagement research in the B2B context was analyzed using bibliometric analysis. The citation analysis, keyword analysis, cluster analysis, three-field plot and bibliographic coupling were used to map the intellectual structure of customer engagement in B2B markets.
Findings
The research on customer engagement in the B2B context was studied more in western countries. The analysis suggests that customer engagement in B2B markets will take centre stage in the coming times as digital channels make it easier to track critical metrics besides other key factors. Issues like digital transformation, the use of artificial intelligence for virtual engagement, personalization, innovation and salesforce management by leveraging technology would be critical for improved B2B customer engagement.
Practical implications
The study provides a comprehensive reference to scholars working in this domain.
Originality/value
The study makes a pioneering effort to comprehensively analyze the vast corpus of literature on customer engagement in B2B markets for business insights.
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Lorena Blasco-Arcas, Jesper Falkheimer and Mats Heide
The purpose of this article is to offer new insights into crisis communication in service ecosystems. The authors present a framework to conceptually categorize service crises and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to offer new insights into crisis communication in service ecosystems. The authors present a framework to conceptually categorize service crises and then analyze key aspects of crisis communication among different stakeholders in a service ecosystem.
Design/methodology/approach
Building on crisis communication and service ecosystems research, we propose a framework to better understand crisis communication during service crises in service ecosystems. In doing so, we propose a typology of service crisis in service ecosystems and identify the main factors of crisis communication under the lens of the Rhetorical Arena Theory (RAT).
Findings
This article integrates communication theory and service research in the area and identifies different key dimensions to gain a deeper understanding of crisis communication in service ecosystems. Moreover, and building on RAT, several research lines are recommended in order to explore further macro (i.e. the role and interactions between different stakeholders in the event of a crisis) and micro (i.e. individual aspects related to the context, media, genre and text) dimensions, and their importance during the communication process.
Originality/value
Our framework offers a typology of service crises and suggests the importance of considering a multi-actor, multi-channel perspective in communication when a crisis occurs in order to monitor and avoid the potential negative impact for both the organization's recovery and the service ecosystem evolution afterward.
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François Anthony Carrillat, Francois Colbert and Matthieu Feigné
The study presented in this article aims to examine the impact of the leveraging of three distinct ambush marketing strategies that are under-researched in the literature…
Abstract
Purpose
The study presented in this article aims to examine the impact of the leveraging of three distinct ambush marketing strategies that are under-researched in the literature: Promotion, Event, and Broadcast.
Design/methodology/approach
An experiment was conducted where the type of ambush strategy was manipulated (i.e. Promotion, Event, Broadcast, no ambush) as well as the market dominance of the sponsor (i.e. dominant or non-dominant) and the congruence level between the event and the sponsor (i.e. high or low congruence).
Findings
Ambush strategies' impacts differ widely. The Broadcast strategy is the most harmful to the identification of the actual sponsor; the Event strategy favors the identification of the pseudo-sponsor as the sponsor, while the Promotion strategy is both harmful to the actual sponsor and beneficial for the pseudo-sponsor. Furthermore, although dominant brands benefit more from their sponsorships, they are more affected by an ambush than non-dominant brands.
Research limitations/implications
Only one sponsor and one pseudo-sponsor were considered at a time. In addition, digital media were not investigated as vectors of ambush marketing. Further research where multiple sponsors and pseudo-sponsors are leveraging their associations to an event, using both off and on-line media, needs to be undertaken.
Practical implications
Against the Promotion strategy sponsors need to create not only strong but also unique associations with the event. The Event strategy can be circumvented with preemptive smaller scale events. Exclusive access to the program broadcast for event sponsors can protect against pseudo-sponsors.
Originality/value
This study is the first to provide empirical evidence regarding the impact of the Promotion, Event, and Broadcast strategies. Previous studies had focused almost exclusively on another strategy: the airing of commercials by pseudo-sponsors during event broadcast against which most sponsors are now effectively protected.
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Simoni F. Rohden and Celso Augusto de Matos
E-commerce has experienced huge growth in emerging countries, but analysis of service failure/recovery for online retailers has been limited in this context. Hence, this study…
Abstract
Purpose
E-commerce has experienced huge growth in emerging countries, but analysis of service failure/recovery for online retailers has been limited in this context. Hence, this study aims to investigate customers’ reactions to service failures in e-commerce and the influence of cultural dimensions on complaint intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted with 553 customers from Brazil, India and China. A model was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Results indicate that satisfaction with service recovery (SSR) increases repurchase intentions and reduces third-party complaints and negative word-of-mouth. This study also shows that the reactions of consumers to service failures in online situations are influenced by their cultural orientation (i.e. individualism, uncertainty avoidance and power distance) and contingent factors (i.e. relationship level, switching costs and the severity of the failure).
Originality/value
This study shows that the extent to which consumers from emerging countries complain after a service failure in online purchases will depend on their cultural orientation, previous experiences with the retailer, switching costs and the severity of the failure.
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Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu, Fon Sim Ong and M.S. Balaji
This study aims to investigate the moderating role of low and high failure severity levels on recovery satisfaction and on behavioral intentions through recovery satisfaction…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the moderating role of low and high failure severity levels on recovery satisfaction and on behavioral intentions through recovery satisfaction. This research adopted justice theory and regulatory focus theory to provide further explanations on the inconsistencies in the extant literature regarding service failure and responses to service recovery.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applied a scenario-based experimental design of two (perceived justice: low vs high) by two (failure severity: low vs high) between-subjects factorial design. Data was collected from 237 mobile phone users recruited via convenience sampling. This study examined the hypothesized relations using Hayes (2018) PROCESS macro version 4.0.
Findings
Perceived justice had a higher positive effect on recovery satisfaction at a high failure severity level. The direct effect of perceived justice on behavioral intentions was significant and positive only at a high level of failure severity, whereas the indirect effect of perceived justice on consumers’ positive behavior through recovery satisfaction was more positive at a high level of failure severity.
Research limitations/implications
Justice theory and regulatory focus theory can be used to explain how a well-implemented recovery effort can offset losses that are caused by a highly severe service failure leading to satisfaction and positive responses. However, as this study was conducted within a telecommunication service context, this research needs to be replicated in other areas, including the use of other data collection methods and measurement of consumers’ regulatory focus orientation.
Practical implications
The findings of this study provide managers with valuable insights into the allocation of service providers’ resources for recovery actions according to consumers’ perceived severity levels to regain consumer satisfaction and continued positive behavioral intentions.
Originality/value
Past research on the effect of failure severity levels on recovery satisfaction and consumers’ positive behavioral intentions is scant, and those studies that examined severity levels have shown conflicting results. This study attempted to advance the research by examining the relationship between perceived justice, recovery satisfaction and behavioral intentions at low and high failure severity levels using justice theory and regulatory focus theory. None of the theories have been examined concurrently in the service failure and recovery framework.
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Paolo Antonetti and Ilaria Baghi
When companies face a crisis, they sometimes deliver blame-shifting communications, trying to shift blame onto another actor to protect their reputation. While previous research…
Abstract
Purpose
When companies face a crisis, they sometimes deliver blame-shifting communications, trying to shift blame onto another actor to protect their reputation. While previous research has considered how different features of the message affect its persuasiveness, little is known about whether specific senders can blame more effectively. This paper aims to contribute to research in this domain through an investigation of the sender’s social perception as a critical moderator to the persuasiveness of blame shifting.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct four between-subjects scenario experiments to test the research hypotheses. In each experiment, participants are presented with a realistic crisis scenario and the crisis communications delivered by the company. The authors assess the extent to which perceptions of the sender influence the message’s ability to reduce negative word-of-mouth intentions and to increase purchase intentions.
Findings
The authors show that blame shifting is more likely to be effective when deployed by senders that are small (Study 1) or have a positive CSR track record (Study 2). Furthermore, The authors find that even large senders can successfully deploy blame shifting if they can benefit from being known for their CSR programs (Study 3). Finally, the authors show that the effect of blame shifting depends on the receiver’s level of concern about the crisis: stakeholders significantly concerned by the crisis reject blame-shifting communications (Study 4).
Research limitations/implications
Further research should examine the impact of information about brand competence on blame-shifting effectiveness. Further research is also needed to explore sender effects for other defensive crisis communication strategies such as denial or the use of excuses or justifications.
Practical implications
The study offers critical information for marketers considering the use of defensive crisis communications strategies such as blame shifting.
Originality/value
The study extends the understanding of how sender effects influence blame-shifting communications. The analysis allows us to clarify why this strategy is effective for certain senders and certain receivers while, for others, it tends to backfire. Blame shifting backfires for large senders unless they can boast a strong CSR record.
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Md. Noor Un Nabi, Sarif Mohammad Khan, S.M. Misbauddin and Kaniz Fatema
There is evidence of Bangladeshi citizens travelling to India to receive medical treatments, known as medical tourism. This study aims to explore the perceived justice dimensions…
Abstract
Purpose
There is evidence of Bangladeshi citizens travelling to India to receive medical treatments, known as medical tourism. This study aims to explore the perceived justice dimensions of Bangladeshi patients towards domestic health care and the effects of these dimensions on their intention for outbound tourism to India.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 307 Bangladeshi medical tourists were collected to test the proposed model. The data has been interpreted through the proposed model with covariance-based structural equation modelling in AMOS. To produce the results, the measurement model and structural model were examined.
Findings
The analysis confirmed the significant impact of procedural, informational and interpersonal justice dimensions on patients’ health-care experiences. However, the effect of distributive justice on patient experience has been found insignificant. The study also revealed a significant negative impact of patient satisfaction on outbound medical tourism intention. Thus, it raises concerns for the local medical service providers about improving patient satisfaction.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper can be applicable for health-care practitioners and policymakers in emerging countries to improve the bottlenecks of the health-care system for increasing patients’ service experiences and reducing the intention of patients for outbound medical tourism.
Originality/value
The research on perceived justice theory regarding the intention of medical tourism is limited. This research is one of the few studies to combine perceived justice theory with trust and medical tourism decision-making. Using the lens of perceived justice, this research argues that the decrease in perceived justice negatively affects the patients’ service experience, trust and loyalty to the service provider.
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This article demonstrates that the type of service setting and the first interaction with an employee influences the customers' intention to stay or leave during an unsatisfactory…
Abstract
Purpose
This article demonstrates that the type of service setting and the first interaction with an employee influences the customers' intention to stay or leave during an unsatisfactory service encounter, and that these effects are mediated by social lock-in, which describes the perception of a customer that exiting a service encounter early violates social norms.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses are tested with two scenario-based experiments using a collective (theater) and high-contact service (restaurant) (N = 1143; 1485).
Findings
The results suggest that social lock-in and the intention to stay are higher in a closed as opposed to an open setting and that the type of setting is, in fact, more important for the decision to stay than sunk costs. Moreover, customers are more likely to stay after an interaction with an employee.
Research limitations/implications
This article contributes to the research aimed at explaining customers' decisions to stay or leave during an unsatisfactory service encounter. In doing so, the study highlights the constraining power of social norms in service encounters, which contributes to the research on the relationship between the social context and customers' behavior.
Practical implications
This study suggests that service providers can manage servicescape cues and employee behavior to influence customers' social lock-in perceptions and their decision to stay on or to leave early.
Originality/value
This is the first study to provide quantitative evidence for social lock-in and its determinants in service encounters.
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The purpose of this paper was to examine the joint effects of regulatory focus, entrepreneurial persistence and institutional support on new venture performance.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to examine the joint effects of regulatory focus, entrepreneurial persistence and institutional support on new venture performance.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a random survey approach to sample 204 new ventures from Ghana. The moderated mediation method was used to analyse the survey data.
Findings
The findings from this paper show that entrepreneurs' promotion focus positively relates to persistence while prevent focus negatively influences persistence. In addition, persistence mediates the link between regulatory focus (promotion and prevention focus) and new venture performance. These relationships are positively moderated by perceived institutional support.
Research limitations/implications
Using data from only the manufacturing sector in Ghana limits the generalisability of this paper. In addition, persistence is not observed or measured directly in this paper but is only used as self-reporting variable that captures an individual's tendency to persist.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, this paper contributes to regulatory focus literature by enhancing our knowledge on how self-regulation could help explain entrepreneurial decision-making. Second, this paper broadens self-regulation literature by adding institutional context as a moderating variable. Third, this paper helps clarify the potential role of persistence in entrepreneurship.