Employee emotional competence and service recovery satisfaction

The mediating role of consumer forgiveness

Bibliographic Data

ID21295620
AuthorsRana Muhammad Umar (0000-0003-4747-5671, University of Udine, corresponding author), Salman Saleem (0000-0002-1026-139X, Tampere University of Applied Sciences)
Year2022
Volume124
Issue13
Pages445-459
Publication date2022-12-19
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Food Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0007-070X • E-ISSN: 1758-4108
PublisherEmerald (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1108/bfj-04-2022-0386
OpenAlexW4297910340
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited46

Purpose Employees' emotional competence (EEC) is gaining increasing attention in service failure and recovery research. This study investigates the mediating role of consumer forgiveness between perceived EEC and recovery satisfaction among casual dining consumers. Additionally, this study examines the effect of perceived EEC on recovery satisfaction across process failure vs outcome failure. Design/methodology/approach A critical incident technique (CIT) in conjunction with a self-administered online survey was carried out. Using the snowball sampling technique, a total of 204 useable responses were collected. To test the hypotheses, this study used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings The study finds that perceived EEC influences service recovery satisfaction. Additionally, the study identifies the mediating role of consumer forgiveness in the relationship between perceived EEC and recovery satisfaction. Multi-group moderation analysis shows that the relationship between perceived EEC and recovery satisfaction is weaker in process failures as compared to outcome failures. Practical implications Based on obtained results, this study recommends that after service failure consumer forgiveness and subsequent recovery satisfaction can be obtained with perceived EEC. To do so, managers need to incorporate emotional competence while recruiting and training the employees. Moreover, managers need to train employees on failure types and respective recovery strategies. Lastly, the study suggests that in emerging markets managers should pay greater emphasis on process failure, because such failure decreases customer satisfaction greatly than outcome failure. Originality/value To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the impact of perceived EEC on consumer forgiveness which subsequently determines the recovery satisfaction in the emerging markets. It extends the application of the emotional contagion and affect infusion theories by exposing the effect of perceived EEC on recovery satisfaction through consumer forgiveness. In addition, the study provides insights that the influence of perceived ECC on recovery satisfaction significantly varies across service failure types

Business · Competence (human resources) · Customer satisfaction · Forgiveness · Moderation · Originality · Service (business) · Service quality · Service Recovery · Snowball sampling · Customer Service Quality and Loyalty · Emotional Labor in Professions · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Marketing · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology

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