Service recovery activities and customer satisfaction: mediating role of justice dimensions: a case study of China

Abstract

Customer satisfaction and its contribution to service quality improvement, especially through effective service recovery programs, are not new to researchers. Several studies have identified the impact of service recovery activities on customer post-recovery satisfaction mostly in Western countries, and very few have examined how Asian consumers react to service recovery efforts, especial in China. It implicates that the impact of a hotel's service recovery strategies is derived from three justice dimensions. Customer perception of overall distributive justice is influenced by apology, while providing cognitive control (i.e., keeping customers informed) affects procedural justice. Finally, the manner in which service personnel treat a customer (politeness, respect, and courtesy) during the recovery process affects perceptions of interactional justice. Finally, all three forms of justice (distributive, procedural, and interactional) positively impact overall service recovery satisfaction.