Emotional antecedents and outcomes of service recovery: An exploratory study in the luxury hotel industry

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the service recovery experience in the luxury hotel industry by introducing emotions as a predictor of future behavioural intention and to compare traditional cognitive measures of satisfaction following a recovery process with measures based on affect.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed-methods approach was adopted comprising a main quantitative study, preceded by an exploratory qualitative study.

Findings

The study provides further support for the use of emotions in understanding consumer behaviour following a service failure.

Research limitations/implications

As an abstract concept, we have only limited physical, measurable manifestation of emotions, and the construct is difficult to operationalise in social sciences research. Furthermore, this research has required retrospective self-reporting of emotions.

Practical implications

The use of emotions can provide a better diagnostic tool for understanding attitudes that customers go away with following a service failure, rather than concentrating on cognitive measures of performance.

Originality/value

The study has provided further support for the use of emotions in understanding consumer behaviour following a service failure.

Citation

Riscinto Kozub, K., Anthony O’Neill, M. and A. Palmer, A. (2014), "Emotional antecedents and outcomes of service recovery: An exploratory study in the luxury hotel industry", Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 28 No. 3, pp. 233-243. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-08-2012-0147