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01-06-2016 | Empirical Article

The influence of the source and valence of word-of-mouth information on post-failure and post-recovery evaluations

Authors: Ronald L. Hess Jr., Lawrence Ring

Published in: Service Business | Issue 2/2016

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to better understand the impact that word-of-mouth recommendations (WOM) source (i.e., personal vs. impersonal sources) and WOM valence (average vs. excellent) have on satisfaction and trust following a failure and recovery event. Our results showed that customers who received WOM recommendations from personal rather than impersonal sources (WOM source) were less dissatisfied with the organization when severe versus mild failures occurred. Likewise, failure severity had less negative impact on customer satisfaction evaluations when the valence of WOM information was excellent versus average. These results were more pronounced for severe failures. In addition, WOM source and WOM valence both moderated the relationship between recovery quality and trust with the organization. Specifically, excellent recovery quality had a much greater influence on trust when WOM information was obtained from personal versus impersonal sources (WOM source). Finally, when customers received WOM information that rated the service organization as excellent (WOM valence), customers also considered recovery quality to have a greater impact on their perceptions of trustworthiness than if these recommendations were average.

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Title: The influence of the source and valence of word-of-mouth information on post-failure and post-recovery evaluations
Authors: Ronald L. Hess Jr.
Lawrence Ring
Publication date: 01-06-2016
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Service Business / Issue 2/2016
Print ISSN: 1862-8516
Electronic ISSN: 1862-8508
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-015-0272-3

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