The role of customer affection and trust in loyalty rebuilding after service failure and recovery

Abstract

This study investigates the dynamics of customer affection and customer trust on customer loyalty intention after cases of service failure and recovery. The results demonstrate that after customers experience service failure and recovery, customer affection has a greater influence on customer trust but less in loyalty intention, whereas customer trust becomes more influential in loyalty intention in comparison to the time prior to a service failure. The findings suggest that the rebuilding of loyalty after a service failure and recovery relies primarily on the recovery of trust and that the key determinant of trust recovery is customer affection. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed.

Keywords:

• service failure
• service recovery
• customer affection
• customer trust
• recovery satisfaction
• loyalty intention
• complaining behavior