Table Of ContentConsumer Responses To Service Failure Events In Strategic
Alliances: A Justice Theory Perspective
Author
Weber, Karin
Published
2006
Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
School
Griffith Business School
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/3379
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Downloaded from
http://hdl.handle.net/10072/365404
Griffith Research Online
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Consumer Responses To Service Failure Events In Strategic Alliances:
A Justice Theory Perspective
Karin Weber
Bachelor of Business (Honours), Monash University, Australia
Master of Science, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA
Griffith Business School
Griffith University
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the
Doctor of Philosophy
November 2005
Abstract
Service failure and recovery is the topic of this thesis, with a focus on strategic
alliance settings. There is little research on consumer responses to service failure events in
settings that involve multiple organizations in the service provision. That is despite the fact
that in the past decade many service firms have committed significant resources to
operational aspects of collaborative business arrangements such as strategic alliances. This
research aims to address the lack of service failure/recovery research in settings other than
the currently prevalent individual service provider-consumer setting. At the same time it
attends to the paucity of alliance research on consumers in, and their evaluation of, alliance
entities. Drawing on organizational justice theory as a theoretical framework, this thesis
adapts, extends, and tests in an airline alliance setting a model of organizational justice,
recently proposed by Cropanzano and colleagues (2001). Consequently, considerable
insights into consumer responses to service failure events in strategic alliance settings were
gained.
The thesis consisted of three major studies. In the first study, the in-depth
interviewing technique was employed with 22 informants to 1) explore consumer responses
to service failure events in airline alliance settings, 2) identify factors that influence these
responses, and 3) assess the applicability of the proposed model of organizational justice in
an alliance setting. Findings indicated that consumer responses differed significantly,
depending on which alliance entity was evaluated. Consumers’ identification with a
particular airline (social identity), the mood they are in prior the service encounter with
alliance entities (pre-consumption mood), and which alliance airline caused the service
failure (locus of service failure) emerged as important factors influencing consumer
responses. Results also provided initial support for the proposed model.
Study 2 examined the impact of pre-consumption mood (positive versus negative),
interactional (high versus low) and distributive justice (comparison of the outcome of
others: better versus unknown) (manipulated), and social identity (strong versus weak)
(measured) on consumer evaluations of, and behaviour towards, three distinct alliance
entities (home carrier, partner airline, alliance). The 2x2x2x3 mixed factorial design used a
student sample (n=241), randomly allocated to one of eight treatment conditions. Repeated
measures MANOVA was used to analyse the results. Findings showed 1) main effects for
interactional justice and entity that were further clarified by an interaction effect of
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interactional justice and entity, 2) a main effect for social identity, and 3) an interaction
effect of pre-consumption mood, distributive justice, and entity.
Building on the results of Study 2, the third major study utilized a 2x2x2x3 mixed
factorial design that tested the impact of social identity strength (strong versus weak), locus
of service failure (home carrier versus partner airline), and social accounts (excuse versus
apology) (manipulated) on consumer evaluations and behavioural intentions of the three
alliance entities (home carrier, partner airline, alliance). Furthermore, the model of
organizational justice in a multiple service provider setting was tested. A sample of business
travellers (n=200) was randomly assigned to one of eight treatment conditions. Results were
analysed using repeated measures MANOVA and multiple regression analysis. Findings
identified three main effects for social identity, locus of service failure and entity that were
further clarified by two interaction effects: 1) social identity and entity, and 2) locus of
service failure and entity. A consumer’s strong identification with the home carrier resulted
in greater satisfaction and more favourable intentions towards the home carrier than both
the partner airline and the alliance. In contrast, a consumer weakly identifying with the
home carrier was more satisfied with and had more favourable intentions towards the home
carrier than the partner airline but not the alliance. Furthermore, if the home carrier caused
the service failure it was rated significantly lower than the partner airline in terms of event
fairness but higher for in terms of global fairness, satisfaction, and behavioural intentions.
Similarly, the partner airline was rated significantly higher than the alliance in terms of
event fairness, while the alliance received significantly higher behavioural intention ratings.
In contrast, if the service failure was caused by the partner airline, consumers perceived the
partner airline significantly less fair at the event and global level, and rated it significantly
lower in terms of satisfaction and behavioural intentions than the home carrier and the
alliance. Finally, study results provided support for the proposed model of organizational
justice in a multiple service provider setting.
The thesis made several theoretical contributions. To the researcher’s knowledge,
this was the first investigation of the impact of service failure events on consumer responses
in an alliance. It was also the first study that identified factors that influence consumer
responses to service failures in alliances. Finally, Cropanzano and colleagues’ (2001) work
was extended beyond a single organization setting.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract i
Table of Contents iii
Acknowledgments xi
Certification xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Research Problem 1
1.3 Justification for this Research 4
1.4 Methodology 5
1.5 Thesis Structure 6
1.6 Definitions 7
1.7 Delimitations 9
1.8 Chapter Summary 10
CHAPTER 2: SERVICE FAILURE & RECOVERY IN STRATEGIC
ALLIANCES
2.1 Introduction 11
2.2 Service Failure & Recovery – Single Service Provider Setting 11
2.2.1 Service Encounter 12
2.2.2 Service Failure 14
2.2.3 Service Recovery 15
2.3 Service Failure & Recovery – Multiple Service Provider Setting 19
2.3.1 Brand Alliance Research 20
2.3.2 Positivity/Negativity Effect Research 21
2.4 Strategic Alliance Research 23
2.4.1 Strategic Alliances in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry 24
2.4.2 Strategic Airline Alliances 25
2.5 Chapter Summary 30
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CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
3.1 Introduction 32
3.2 Organizational Justice Theory 32
3.2.1 Interactional Justice (IJ) 33
3.2.2 Distributive Justice (DJ) 34
3.2.3 Procedural Justice (PJ) 37
3.2.4 Informational Justice (INFG) 38
3.3 Nexus of Organizational Justice Theory and Alliance Research 41
3.3.1 Event versus Social Entity Paradigm 41
3.3.2 Model of Organizational Justice 41
3.3.3 Model of Organizational Justice in Airline Alliances 42
3.4 Chapter Summary 45
CHAPTER 4: STUDY 1 – IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS
4.1 Introduction 47
4.2 Method 47
4.2.1 In-depth Interviews - General Considerations 47
4.2.2 Sample 49
4.2.3 Material 51
4.2.4 Procedure 51
4.2.5 Data Analysis 52
4.3 Results 53
4.3.1 Service Failure Events 53
4.3.2 Model of Organizational Justice in Airline Alliances 55
4.3.2.1 Elements - Model of Organizational Justice 55
4.3.2.2 Consumer Responses to Multiple Social Entities in an
Alliance Setting 58
4.3.3 Factors influencing Consumer Responses 61
4.3.3.1 Consumer’s Relationship with an Airline 61
4.3.3.2 Focus beyond an Encounter with a Service Provider 67
4.3.3.3 Locus of Service Failure – Assignment of Responsibility 69
4.4 Chapter Summary 73
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CHAPTER 5: EXTENDED THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
5.1 Introduction 74
5.2 Extended Model of Organizational Justice 74
5.3 Factors affecting Consumer Responses 81
5.3.1 Attribution 82
5.3.2 Social Identity 85
5.3.3 Pre-Consumption Mood 90
5.3.4 Service Recovery Measures 94
5.4 Chapter Summary 96
CHAPTER 6: STUDY 2 – EXPERIMENT 1
6.1 Introduction 102
6.2 Method 102
6.2.1 Experimental Designs – General Considerations 102
6.2.2 Design 109
6.2.3 Sample 110
6.2.4 Stimulus Material 110
6.2.5 Procedure 114
6.2.6 Data Analysis 115
6.3 Results 115
6.3.1 Realism and Manipulation Checks 115
6.3.2 Attributions of Responsibility 117
6.3.3 Consumer Evaluations and Behaviour 120
6.4 Discussion 128
6.4.1 Social Identity 128
6.4.2 Pre-Consumption Mood 128
6.4.2 Service Recovery Measures 130
6.5 Chapter Summary 131
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CHAPTER 7: STUDY 3 – EXPERIMENT 2 (MANOVA)
7.1 Introduction 134
7.2 Method 134
7.2.1 Design 134
7.2.2 Sample 135
7.2.3 Stimulus Material 135
7.2.4 Procedure 142
7.2.5 Data Analysis 143
7.3 Results 144
7.3.1 Scale Reliabilities 144
7.3.2 Realism and Manipulation Checks 144
7.3.3 Consumer Evaluations and Behaviour 145
7.4 Discussion 155
7.4.1 Attributions/Locus of Service Failure 155
7.4.2 Social Identity 158
7.4.3 Social Accounts 159
7.5 Chapter Summary 160
CHAPTER 8: STUDY 3 – EXPERIMENT 2 (MODEL TESTING)
8.1 Introduction 162
8.2 Results 162
8.2.1 Correlation Analysis 163
8.2.2 Multiple Regression Analysis 168
8.2.3 Mediation Analysis 182
8.3 Chapter Summary 187
CHAPTER 9: CONCLUSION
9.1 Introduction 193
9.2 Conclusions about the Research Issues and the Research Problem 194
9.2.1 Conclusion about Research Issue 1 197
9.2.2 Conclusion about Research Issue 2 200
9.2.3 Conclusion about Research Issue 3 201
9.2.4 Conclusion about Research Issue 4 203
9.2.5 Conclusion about the Research Problem 206
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9.3 Managerial Implications 207
9.4. Limitations 210
9.5 Future Research 211
9.6 Chapter Summary 212
References 213
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 Definitions of Useful Terms 8
Table 4.1 Informant Profile 50
Table 4.2 Service Failure Events Identified by Informants 54
Table 4.3 Illustrative Samples – Event Justice Perceptions and 62
Event Fairness; Global Justice Perceptions and Global
Fairness
Table 5.1 Summary of Research Questions and Hypotheses 97
Table 6.1 Overview of Experimental Designs 105
Table 6.2 Scripts for the Manipulation of Independent Variables 112
Table 6.3 Realism Checks 116
Table 6.4 Manipulation Checks 117
Table 6.5 Descriptives for Responsibility - Interactional Justice x 117
Entity Interaction
Table 6.6 Descriptives for Responsibility - PCM x Entity 119
Interaction
Table 6.7 Summary of Significant MANOVA Results 121
Table 6.8 Descriptives for Anger and Satisfaction - Interactional 123
Justice x Entity Interaction
Table 6.9 Descriptives for Repeat Purchase Intentions – PCM x DJ- 126
OO x Entity Interaction
Table 6.10 Summary of Findings – Study 2 133
Table 7.1 Demographic and Travel Profile of the Sample 136
Table 7.2 Scripts for the Manipulation of Independent Variables 138
Table 7.3 Dependent Variables and Scale Reliabilities 140
Table 7.4 Realism Checks 144
Table 7.5 Manipulation Checks 146
Table 7.6 Summary of Significant MANOVA Results 147
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Table 7.7 Descriptives for Event and Global Fairness, Satisfaction 150
and Behavioural Intentions - Locus of SF x Entity
Interaction
Table 7.8 Descriptives for Satisfaction and Behavioural Intentions – 153
Social Identity x Entity Interaction
Table 7.9 Summary of Findings – Study 3 (Part 1) 161
Table 8.1 Pearson Correlation Coefficients for Correlations 164
Between Event/Global Justice Perceptions and
Event/Global Fairness Evaluation
Table 8.2 Pearson Correlation Coefficients for Correlations 165
Between Event/Global Justice Perceptions and Consumer
Response Measures
Table 8.3 Pearson Correlation Coefficients for Correlations 165
Between Event/Global Justice Perceptions and Consumer
Response Measures
Table 8.4 Pearson Correlation Coefficients for Correlations between 166
Event and Global Fairness
Table 8.5 Pearson Correlation Coefficients for Correlations between 167
Event/Global Fairness and Consumer Response Measures
Table 8.6 Pearson Correlation Coefficients for Correlations 167
Between Satisfaction and Behavioural Intentions
Table 8.7 Multiple Regression Analysis – Tests of Model 178
Relationships
Table 8.8 Multiple Regression Analysis - Tests of Mediation 188
Effects – Partner Airline dealt with SF
Table 8.9 Multiple Regression Analysis - Tests of Mediation 189
Effects – Home Carrier dealt with SF
Table 8.10 Summary of Findings – Study 3 (Part 2) 190
Table 9.1 Research Contributions 195
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