Is It Possible to Retain Customer Loyalty When a Service Has Failed?

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the impact of recovery on loyalty in the context of a service chain characterized by the e-quality-perceived value-loyalty relationship. A sample of 91 out of 1,201 respondents claimed to have had service problems with an online travel agency website. A causal model to test relationships was performed using structural equations modeling, and it was found that data fit with the proposed model. The really important point to retaining customers is quality. It is not so clear that the recovery effort might affect loyalty. Our findings underpin some previous stream of literature confirming that recovery does not always affect loyalty. Although the literature has not reached a consensus in this topic, we add new elements in this debate

This article was written as part of a research project entitled “Customer Satisfaction Improvement in Spanish Organizations through Standardization” (ECO2009-12754-CO2-01), financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation within the aid program for research and development projects