Abstract
This study investigated the relationships among justice dimensions (distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational), university image, service recovery satisfaction, and customer behavioural outcomes (trust, word of mouth, repurchase intention, and loyalty). This study adopted a cross-sectional survey approach and data were collected through a survey of 303 students of Open University Malaysia in Malaysia who experienced service failure and service recovery. The framework was tested via partial least square structural equation modelling, and the results revealed a significant relationship between justice dimensions and service recovery satisfaction in terms of procedural and interpersonal justice. Service recovery satisfaction had a significant effect on all customer behavioural outcomes investigated. University image did not have a moderating effect on the relationship between justice dimensions and service recovery satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed in this paper.
Highlights
The business landscape in the education sector has become more complicated due to the offering of similar academic programmes by many higher education institutions
This study has provided insight into the factors that may strengthen relationships and enable service providers to increase both their service recovery satisfaction level and overall student retention rates
The findings provide early empirical support to service providers in developing strategies that will encourage their customers to remain loyal to them
Summary
The business landscape in the education sector has become more complicated due to the offering of similar academic programmes by many higher education institutions. Higher education institutions often neglect to recover their students’ satisfaction right after the occurrence of service failure, and scarce information is available about the determinants of service recovery satisfaction and its outcomes. Research on service failure and recovery is still progressing, and more research is required in the area of service failure to facilitate the provision of satisfactory recovery and to transform students’ dissatisfaction into satisfaction (Phuong, 2018). There is a lack of research on service recovery in Malaysia’s private higher education institutions, open and distance learning (ODL) institutions. This study was carried out in the context of such institutions in order to offer useful information about the justice dimensions, service recovery satisfaction, and its outcomes
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