先赔礼还是先赔钱? 服务补救策略次序对顾客参与意向的影响

Apologize First or Compensate First?Examine the Ordering Effect of Service Recovery Strategies on Customer Participation Intention in Service Recovery

服务失败事件尤其是高严重服务失败事件发生后,企业往往采取赔礼和赔钱两种服务补救策略,以期望通过超额补救措施来弥补顾客损失。虽然服务补救研究由来已久,但是以往研究结论在适当时机下采取合理补救策略次序方面缺乏充分的解释力。文章将服务失败类型划分为过程型和结果型两类,将补救策略分为精神补救和物质补救两种,基于情绪反应时间动力性理论、双因素理论、期望理论和社会支持理论构建服务失败类型与补救策略次序的组合对顾客参与服务补救意向影响的研究框架。通过设计2[服务失败类型:过程型vs.结果型]×3[服务补救策略次序:先精神补救后物质补救vs.先物质补救后精神补救vs.物质补救和精神补救同时补救(对照组)]的情景模拟实验,重点探讨服务失败类型与补救策略次序组合对顾客参与服务补救意向影响的交互效应,以及顾客感知企业支持在这一过程的中介作用。实验结果表明:过程型服务失败情景下,较之“先物质补救后精神补救”,“先精神补救后物质补救”的补救策略次序分别对顾客参与服务补救意向和顾客感知企业支持的影响更高;结果型服务失败情景下,较之“先精神补救后物质补救”,“先物质补救后精神补救”的补救策略次序分别对顾客参与服务补救意向和顾客感知企业支持的影响更高;顾客感知企业支持在服务失败类型与补救策略次序组合与顾客参与服务补救意向之间具有中介作用。文章为顾客参与服务补救研究提供了理论基础,为服务企业根据不同失败类型实施精准服务补救策略次序,从而提高顾客感知企业支持,激发顾客参与服务补救行为意向提供借鉴指导。

In cases of severe service failures,companies often try to gain back customers’goodwill through a public mea culpa(verbal or written)as well as financial compensations.While there has been extensive research on service recovery strategies,previous research has not looked into the ordering effect of service recovery strategies,i.e.which goes first,apology or money?To fill the research gap,this study examines how different combination(order)of service recovery strategies under different service failure situations affect customers’intention to participate in the service recovery.Grounded in dual-factor theory,dual expectation theory,expectation theory and social support theory,this study classifies service failures into two types:process failure and outcome failure;and service recovery strategies are also categorized into two types:psychological recovery(apology)and tangible recovery(financial compensation).Through a 2(service failure types:process vs.outcome)×3(orders of recovery strategy:psychological recovery before tangible recovery vs.tangible recovery before psychological recovery vs.psychological recovery and tangible recovery in tandem)experimental design,this study investigated the interaction effect of service failure types and recovery strategy orders on customers’intention to participate in the service recovery,and additionally,we probed the mediating effect of customer perceived corporate support in this process.Our results showed that:(1)there were partial interaction between service failure types and recovery strategy orders-in the process failure scenario,the“psychological recovery before tangible recovery”recovery strategy was more influential on customer behavioral intention;while in the outcome failure scenario,the“tangible recovery before psychological recovery”strategy was more effective;(2)in the process failure scenario,customer perceived corporate support was higher in the situation of“psychological recovery before tangible recovery”;while in the outcome failure scenario,customer perceived corporate support was higher in the situation of“tangible recovery before psychological recovery”;(3)customer perceived corporate support partially mediated the service recovery process.Theoretically,this study contributes to service recovery literature by exploring the ordering effect of service recovery strategies on customer participation in service recovery.Practically,this study provides guidance for companies to implement more effective service recovery strategies based on service failure types,so as to increase customer perceived support and inspire favorable customer behaviors.