Service Failure Research Articles

Virtual versus human: Unraveling consumer reactions to service failures through influencer types

In an era where both human and virtual influencers play pivotal roles in shaping consumer behavior, understanding their influence on consumers' reactions to service failures has become an essential scholarly pursuit. This research stands at the forefront of this burgeoning field, dissecting the unique impact of human versus virtual influencers on consumer attitudes toward service failures, including forgiveness propensity, behavioral responses, and punishment intention. Through a series of experimental studies, the research uncovers a nuanced preference for virtual influencers, who elicit higher levels of forgiveness, more positive behavioral responses, and lower punitive intentions during service failures. These findings are mediated by mind perception and responsibility attribution, and are moderated by familiarity, thereby unveiling a complex interplay of psychological processes. The study's contributions transcend mere observations, offering a theoretical framework with empirical testing that integrates consumer psychology with the emergent phenomenon of virtual influencers. The insights gleaned from this research not only enhance academic understanding of the dynamics between influencer types and consumer reactions but also provide actionable strategies for marketers. By bridging theory and practice, this study carves a new path in influencer marketing research, particularly illuminating how to leverage influencer types to mitigate negative consumer reactions due to service failures.

Interrogating Covid-19 Protocols and Policing in Nigeria: Implications of Government Distrust and Service Failure (2019 – 2022)

The study examined covid-19 protocols and policing in Nigeria, with implications of government distrust and service failure, 2019 – 2022. Specifically, the study interrogated how government’s attitude to healthcare delivery undermined covid-19 protocols and policing in Nigeria; and how multidimensional poverty in the country undermined Nigeria’s lockdown protocols and policing in the fight against the virus. By adopting documentary method of data collection, expost facto research design and securitisation theory, the study found that government’s historical attitude towards healthcare delivery for its citizens led to the failure of its covid-19 protocols and policing, as result of the poor compliance of citizens. The study further found that multidimensional poverty among Nigerians led to the undermining of governments lockdown measures and guidelines during the pandemic. This were borne out of the citizens’ distrust of their government who have hoarded palliatives meant to cushion the effect of the pandemic. The study concluded and recommended amongst others, that the government must invest in quality healthcare by increasing its spending and budget allocations to the healthcare sector. It must also ensure that it desist from playing politics with palliatives meant to help cushion the effect of the pandemic on its citizens.

Availability Aware Online Virtual Network Function Backup in Edge Environments

With the rapid advancement of edge computing and network function virtualization, it is promising to provide flexible and low-latency network services at the edge. However, due to the vulnerability of edge services and the volatility of edge computing system states, i.e., service request rates, failure rates, and resource prices, it is challenging to minimize the online service cost while providing the availability guarantee. This paper considers the problem of online virtual network function backup under availability constraints (OVBAC) for cost minimization in edge environments. We formulate the problem based on the characteristics of the volatility system states derived from real-world data and show the hardness of the formulated problem. We use an online backup deployment scheme named Drift-Plus-Penalty (DPP) with provable near-optimal performance for the AVBAC problem. In particular, DPP needs to solve an integer programming problem at the beginning of each time slot. We propose a dynamic programming-based algorithm that can optimally solve the problem in pseudo-polynomial time. Extensive real-world data-driven simulations demonstrate that DPP significantly outperforms popular baselines used in practice.

Effects of oil palm mesocarp fibers on the physical and mechanical properties of expansive soils

Palm fiber is one of the favorable materials used in stabilization of soft soil in geotechnical engineering projects, nowadays due to its sustainability, less damage of environment, biodegradability, availability and cost-effectiveness in a context of widespread appeal to the world for return to nature by protecting the earth. On the other hand, expansive soils are renowned for their swelling-shrinkage property and these volumetric changes resultantly cause huge damage to civil infrastructures. Likewise, subgrades consisting of expansive soils instigate serviceability failures in pavements across various regions worldwide. This paper presents results of the laboratory evaluation of expansive soils stabilized with oil palm mesocarp fiber (OPMF), with a view to determine its suitability as flexible pavement construction material. The mixtures were subjected to British Standard heavy (modified Proctor) compaction energy to determine their strength characteristics. The samples were subjected to different tests to ascertain their index properties. Varying proportions of OPMF from 1% to 4% were incorporated into the soil samples and the effects were observed based on compaction and California Bearing Ratio (CBR) results. The control samples without inclusion of OPMF achieved the highest Maximum Dry Densities (MDD), the MDDs reduced linearly as the OPMF content increased. Consequently, the CBR values decreased with increase in OPMF. The reduction in MDD ranged from 20.28g/cm3, 18.5 g/cm3, 15.65 g/cm3, 12.53 g/cm3 as the OPMF increased from 1%, 2% to 3%, 4%. and the optimum moisture content remained almost unaffected due to high-absorbent nature of the fibers. With the inclusion of the OPMF, the CBR value under soaked conditions dropped from 5% to 1.8% rendering them very unsuitable for pavement subgrade. It was concluded that the presence of fiber depreciated the engineering properties of the earth materials. Direct application of OPMF in any part of road pavement has been dissuaded.

The Mediating Role of Trust in Experiential Quality as a Determinant of Indonesian Online Buyers' Behavioral Intention

Merchants and sites that promote online businesses may face challenges in how to satisfy different online buyers. This research implies the organism-response (SOR) theory of stimuli, stimuli are considered as cognitive and affective reactions are organisms that measure online services and experiences in online purchases. This research is considered very important because the issue raised is how service failure, namely trust, is a phenomenon that is often heard about in this business. This research distributed 150 online questionnaires to a random sample of volunteers who had substantial online shopping experience from 15 provinces in Indonesia. The research results show that trust mediates the influence of experience quality on online buyers' behavioral intentions. The quality of experience directly influences behavioral intentions. For further research, other mediating variables need to be developed which are considered to support stimuli such as emotions and satisfaction. Big data is needed in consumer behavior segmentation.

Factors Influence MSME’s Switching Behavior in Digital Marketing Channel: Evidence from Indonesia

In realizing digital-based services and the application of people's economy, the Surabaya, Indonesia. The government has launched a website called E-Peken. It is hoped that the presence of digital marketing infrastructure can help MSME actors increase their business potential by expanding the marketing reach of their superior products. This study aims to determine the desire to switch to e-commerce regarding the failure of e-commerce services and the experience of using the E-Peken website. The research method used was quantitative with data collection through observation and questionnaires on 346 MSMEs in Surabaya City who were recorded as users of the E-Peken website. The results obtained show that the failure of e-commerce services has proven to affect switching intentions; usage experience is proven to affect switching intentions and switching intentions are proven to affect switching behavior from E-Peken to other e-commerce. In this manner, it is suggested that assist investigation include mediating or moderating variables. Managerial suggestions that can be submitted to the Surabaya Government as the E-Peken site service provider are to make strides in administrations on a progressing premise and continuously react to the desires of MSME’s players as users.

Tourism service failure, service recovery, and negative word-of-mouth: three-country comparison using a choice experiment

ABSTRACT This study analyzes service failures and recovery impacts on group tours using choice experiments and conditional logit models. It assesses negative word-of-mouth likelihood based on failures in food outlets, travel agencies, and scenic spots, and recovery actions like apologies, refunds, and punishment. Results show forced purchases, itinerary changes, and food sanitation significantly influence negative word-of-mouth. Preferences for recovery measures differ among Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean tourists, with Chinese favoring punitive actions, Japanese and South Koreans preferring refunds, and South Koreans finding personal apologies more acceptable.

An acoustic emission identification model for train axle fatigue cracks based on deep belief network

Railway axles are safety-critical components of the railroad rolling stock and the consequences of possible in-service failures can have a huge impact. Axle fatigue cracks are relatively common defects during train operation, but how to intelligently identify axle fatigue cracks in running trains is still a great challenge. In order to identify axle fatigue cracks more intelligently, the problem that needs to be solved is how to overcome the manual extraction of features by manual experience as well as shallow networks. Therefore, in this paper, an acoustic emission signal identification method based on deep belief networks (DBNs) for axle fatigue cracks is proposed. In this method, a DBN model is constructed. The axle fatigue crack acoustic emission signal data were obtained by our designed acquisition experimental setup, and these data were used to verify the accuracy of the constructed DBN network model identification. The experimental results show that the method of identification of axle fatigue cracks based on DBN, compared with the traditional fault diagnosis method, eliminates the operations of data feature extraction, feature screening, feature fusion, etc and makes complete use of all the information contained in the fault data. The method can not only identify fatigue crack signals but also has a high identification rate of fatigue cracks at different stages. In the axle fatigue crack acoustic emission identification field, it can be seen that the proposed method in this paper will be a promising approach.

Retail Karma: How Our Shopping Sins Influence Evaluation of Service Failures

Abstract Consumers have an intuitive belief in “karma” which dictates that bad (good) actions lead to bad (good) outcomes. Consequently, consumers perceive a causal connection between their own wrongdoing toward a company and a subsequent service failure that they experience in their interactions with another company. Eight experiments employing different contexts consistently show that consumers who have previously wronged a company (compared to those in a control group) evaluate another unrelated company more positively in response to a service failure by this company. We argue that this more positive evaluation is due to the greater blame consumers assign to themselves as dictated by the “karmic beliefs” held by consumers whereby the subsequent poor service by a different firm is seen as a karmic payback for their own prior transgression. The proposed effect is mitigated when a person’s karmic belief is reduced. We also examine a number of alternative explanations (e.g., negative experiences, moral balancing, and immanent justice reasoning) and find that our observed effect is more consistent with a karma-based account.

It takes two to empower: Customer responses to empowerment recovery in the context of robot service failure

Service robots have been gradually adopted by various providers. However, despite their significant potential in various service scenarios, robots can make mistakes during service interactions. Drawing on the concept of customer empowerment (CE), this study contributes to the existing literature by comparing the difference in the empowerment perceptions of younger and older customers toward robots and human employees. This study further examined empowerment strategies among two adult age groups in the context of robot service recovery and provided empirical evidence regarding the role of CE in service remediation. The results of the first experimental study revealed that older customers felt less empowered when encountering robot service failures than human service failures. The results from the follow-up two experiments indicate that the “wooden barrel effect” exists for effective recovery strategies to achieve empowerment perception and then, post-recovery customer satisfaction; that is, empowerment recovery strategies might succeed only when both information-sharing and compensation options are provided. These findings provide evidence-based guidance for policymakers and service providers in executing robot service recovery.

Examining the Connection between Service Failure and Recovery with Airline Passenger Satisfaction with Air Asia

Examining the Connection between Service Failure and Recovery with Airline Passenger Satisfaction with Air Asia

Micro-mechanics investigation of heterogeneous deformation fields and crack initiation driven by the local stored energy density in austenitic stainless steel welded joints

This work investigates the heterogeneous deformation and failure of HR3C austenitic stainless steel welded joints at room and typical service temperatures. Such types of welded joints are widely used in the new generation of fossil fuel power stations and are known to suffer from premature high temperature failure. Observation of in-service failures revealed that cracks may nucleate either in the heat affected zone or in the weld metal. The main objective of this work is to identify the local microstructural conditions and stress–strain fields responsible for both ductile failure and micro-crack nucleation within the weldment at low and high temperatures, respectively. To that purpose, a novel multi-scale micromechanics-based modelling framework is proposed. It relies on representative weld microstructure models digitally reconstructed from electron backscatter diffraction measurements, and dislocation density-based crystal plasticity models to describe the behaviour of individual grains in each weld region. A novel thermo-dynamically consistent relation for the configuration stored energy per unit volume is derived from the crystal plasticity framework.The single crystal models are calibrated and validated from a combination of uniaxial tensile tests on cross-weld specimens using high resolution digital image correlation techniques, representative volume elements of the polycrystals at the macro-scale, as well as micropillar compression tests at the scale of the individual grains. Predictions of heterogeneous inelastic deformation fields within the weldment at both 22 °C and 665 °C, and of micropillar compression behaviour of the individual weld single crystal phases are consistent with experimental data. The experimentally observed ductile failure of the weld metal at room temperature is successfully predicted using a Gurson-type void nucleation, growth and coalescence constitutive model. The suitability of the stored strain energy density and the accumulated plastic strain as crack initiation/creep failure indicators is investigated. It was found that predicted creep lifetimes with either indicator were very similar, and that they were relatively accurate for low stress levels.

Is cute AI more forgivable? The impact of informal language styles and relationship norms of conversational agents on service recovery

Conversational agents are increasingly handling a significant volume of service interactions and are projected to handle up to 95% of customer service interactions. However, like any service provider, conversational agents are not immune to service failures, which can result in negative customer experiences. Within the context of interactions between conversational agents and consumers, the informal linguistic strategies employed by conversational agents have been recognized as vital in recovering customer satisfaction after service failures. Nevertheless, research on how these linguistic strategies impact customer responses following service failures is still in its early stages. This study delves into the informal language styles used by conversational agents after service failures, examining the comparative effects of cute language styles (as informal language styles) and literal language styles (as formal language styles) on service recovery. Drawing upon the mind perception theory and the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) model, this research also unveils the underlying dynamics of whimsical and kindchenschema cuteness on customers’ forgiveness, along with literal language styles, in the context of service recovery. Furthermore, this study investigates the moderating influence of exchange and communal relationships, taking into account the boundary effects of relationship norms. To explore these hypotheses, three experiments were conducted. The findings of this research offer valuable theoretical insights and practical implications for designing linguistic strategies employed by conversational agents.

A Dining Experience Case Study for Hospitality Management Teaching and Learning

Case study as a teaching method has proven to be a mind stimulating technique that allows students to test different scenarios and to critically analyze practical incidents widening their knowledge perspective. Instructors achieve many goals through the application of such method where they enhance students learning by linking theory to practice in a cooperative environment based on team work, opinion sharing, and discussion. The aim of the current study is to demonstrate, analyze, and interpret a real dining experience case in order to be used in teaching by hospitality management instructors. This case as simple as it seems is a possible outcome of any service encounter. Its implications are profound on the organization image and guest loyalty. An experience that deviates away from its optimum scenario or ends with an unrecovered faulty service can render damages beyond just losing customers, to compensations, and even to law suits. It is an opportunity for hospitality management students to learn how to evade service failures, create successful memorable guest experiences, and to apply critical thinking techniques.

Would the blind box be more effective? The role of uncertainty in consumers’ post-recovery satisfaction

The tourism and hospitality industries are notably highly likely to experience service failures due to frequent contact with service personnel. These industries actively seek innovative strategies to enhance consumers’ post-recovery satisfaction without increasing costs. Drawing on social exchange theory and regulatory focus theory, this study examines whether uncertainty can be an effective recovery method for service failures through four experiments. Findings indicate that uncertainty can enhance perceived fun and post-recovery satisfaction in situations of low-severe failure severity and hedonic consumption. However, in cases of high-severity failures and utilitarian consumption, uncertainty can lead to perceived insincerity and reduce post-recovery satisfaction. We also investigate the moderating role of customer inoculation and find that customer inoculation is effective in amplifying the positive impact of the uncertainty effect and mitigating its negative impact. This paper expands the literature on uncertainty utilization and service recovery strategies by determining whether and when uncertainty is appropriate in service recovery.

Nursing diagnoses of patients with heart failure: a scoping review

Objective: To map the nursing diagnoses of patients with heart failure. Methods: A scoping review, using the Joanna Briggs Institute approach. Studies describing nursing diagnoses of patients with heart failure in health services were included. Twelve databases/directories were used to search for publications. Results: Forty-two nursing diagnoses were mapped in 40 studies included in the qualitative synthesis. Conclusion: The most researched nursing diagnoses were: decreased cardiac output; excessive fluid volume; activity intolerance; and fatigue.

Origin of surface oxidation induced the nucleation and propagation of microcracks in TNM alloy

This study investigated the impact of surface degradation caused by oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N) elements in the environmental atmosphere on the service failure of nearly lamellar TNM alloy. The results show that oxidation-induced phase transformations at the surface and subsurface regions strongly affect the alloy's tensile properties at high temperatures. The precipitation of Al2O3, which disrupts the integrity of the Ti2AlN layer, has a weaker deformation resistance capacity compared to the Z-phase. Under stress conditions, numerous dislocations concentrate at the Al2O3 phase, causing Al2O3 particles to easily detach and initiating crack nucleation at the Z-phase/Al2O3 interface. This is the origin of oxidation failure. Cracks nucleate at the Al2O3 detachment region, propagate, and connect with surface microcracks induced by the rough and loose outer oxide layer structure. This leads to the rapid propagation of cracks into the subsurface. The consumption of β-stabilizing elements at the surface, along with the internal diffusion of O and N elements into the subsurface region, results in the formation of the hard brittle Z-phase at the subsurface lamellar structure and a transition from β0 to α2 at the lamellar colony boundaries. The precipitation of α2 and Z-phase also accelerates crack propagation. In summary, the failure mode shifts from toughness fracture to brittle fracture.

Customer Responses to Airline Service Failure: Perspectives from Expectation Disconfirmation Theory

Air service failures and negative customer reactions have been the subjects of increasing media attention in recent years. Drawing upon the expectation disconfirmation theory (EDT), this study investigates the impact of airline service failures on various negative emotions and negative behaviors of customers based on prior expectations and actual experiences after a service failure. The collected data was from 561 customers who experienced an air service failure within the past 6 months. The results show that, consistent with the EDT theory, prior expectations and actual experiences when an airline service failure occurs lead to disconfirmation, and this determines the negative emotions of customers. The results also show that, worry and frustration only lead to negative word-of-mouth intentions. Meanwhile, anger over an airline service failure will affect both complaints, negative word-of-mouth, and intention to switch to another airline. This study contributes by expanding and showcasing the applicability of the EDT theory to the domain of airline service failures.

Seismic and dynamic response characteristics of flax fiber-reinforced epoxy pipes

Dynamic and seismic response characteristics of free-spanning above-ground flax fibre-reinforced epoxy (FFRE) pipes with various diameters of 38, 60, 100, 160, and 205 mm and different fabric layers of 2, 3, and 4 (thickness of 3.4 mm–6.65 mm), and a free span of 3870 mm were investigated experimentally and numerically. The FFRE pipes were subjected to harmonic ground motions with peak ground acceleration of 0.1g, 0.2g, and 0.3g, vibration frequency of 2, 4, and 6 HZ, and a duration of 40 s, and a record from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake when the pipe was empty, half-filled or completely-filled with water to establish the effect of peak ground acceleration, vibration frequency, pipe water content, diameter and thickness on pipe displacement, acceleration, strain, and internal pressure. FFRE pipes underwent larger displacements and strains and higher transverse accelerations when the pipe was completely-filled, while the pipe underwent higher vertical acceleration and higher internal pressure when the pipe was half-filled. The pipe strain increased by up to 719% by increasing the peak ground acceleration from 0.1g to 0.3g, up to 452% by increasing the vibration frequency from 2 to 6 Hz, and up to 1358% by increasing the pipe water content from empty to completely-filled. FFRE pipes remained below their material ultimate limits, and no service or structural failure in the form of seepage or excessive deformation was detected in the pipe body, indicating great potential for using FFRE pipes as an alternative option to conventional pipes at seismic zones.

Customer Responses Following Service Failures:

Customer Responses Following Service Failures: