Is consumer forgiveness possible?

JungYun Hur · SooCheong Shawn Jang

48 citations0/0 files storedInternational Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Customer Service Quality and Loyalty AI in Service Interactions Forgiveness and Related Behaviors

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to investigate how consumer forgiveness is formed by examining rumination and distraction by consumers in hotel service failures. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire in the USA. A total of 371 usable responses were obtained. Anderson and Gerbing’s two-step approach was used to assess the measurement and structural models. Findings This study suggests that rumination and distraction play significant roles in processing consumer forgiveness. Self-focused rumination and distraction increase consumer forgiveness, whereas provocation-focused rumination exacerbates the negative effects of service failure severity on consumer forgiveness. This study also shows that gender differences exist. Men were more likely than women to link self-focused rumination and distraction to their intentions to forgive a service provider. Practical implications This study is helpful for hotel managers to understand the mechanisms of consumer forgiveness in service failures and develop effective recovery strategies. Managers should aim to lessen consumers’ provocation-focused rumination while encouraging self-focused rumination and distraction. In addition, because of the differences in the process of consumer forgiveness between men and women, it is critical to differentiate the two groups in designing targeted recovery strategies for service failures. Originality/value This study investigates consumer forgiveness as a behavioral outcome following service failures that may help consumers achieve psychological balance and allow service providers a chance to restore the broken relationship. This study adds new information for understanding consumer responses and provides a basis for effective service management strategies.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 48 citations exist upstream.

References

1981Evaluating Structural Equation Models with Unobservable Variables and Measurement Error 1988Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach.1991Progress on a cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotion.1999A Model of Customer Satisfaction with Service Encounters Involving Failure and Recovery 2009Anger is an approach-related affect: Evidence and implications.1999Private self-consciousness and the five-factor model of personality: Distinguishing rumination from reflection.1999A Model of Customer Satisfaction with Service Encounters Involving Failure and Recovery 1998Interpersonal forgiving in close relationships: II. Theoretical elaboration and measurement.

Cited by

2022The effect of service failure severity on brand forgiveness: the moderating role of interpersonal attachment styles and thinking styles 2021A pathway to consumer forgiveness in the sharing economy: The role of relationship norms 2020Gaining satisfaction: the role of brand equity orientation and failure type in service recovery 2025Undoing greenwashing: the roles of greenwashing severity, consumer forgiveness, growth beliefs and apology sincerity

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.