Service failures in e-retailing: Examining the effects of response time, compensation, and service criticality

This study examines the role of response time in recovering from service failures in e-retailing. Employing an experimental design, the study reveals that customers construe time in abstract terms. Response time during service recovery is evaluated in combination with the compensation provided by the firm and criticality of the service experience. The extent to which the three factors - response time, compensation, and criticality - activate abstract construals, matters to customers. The study demonstrates that delaying the process of recovery can result in customer satisfaction, repatronage, and positive word of mouth, when an apology is provided and criticality of the service is low. Further, delay in service recovery is acceptable when negative emotions elicited by the failure are low. The findings provide empirical insights on the viability of delayed recovery following service failures in e-retailing, contravening the notion that delayed recovery is always inefficacious. The study advances a novel perspective on the role of response time in online service failure and recovery, and also accounts for how customers construe recovery efforts. Whilst establishing the prominence of construal levels in understanding customer responses to online service recovery, the study highlights avenues for future research and proposes innovative managerial perspectives for e-retailers.