It is common practice for service providers, such as cell phone network providers, to utilise relationship marketing strategies in an effort to retain their customers and thereby to increase profitability. Customers with relationship intentions are willing to respond to such efforts while other customers will refrain. Service failures negatively impact relationship marketing efforts and thus complicate service providers’ relationship-building efforts. Therefore, service providers endeavour to restore customers’ post-recovery satisfaction and loyalty through service recovery efforts to retain their customers. However, the influence that customers’ relationship intentions have on this process has not been considered. Previous research on relationship intention in South Africa focussed only on developing a valid and reliable relationship intention measurement scale. For this reason, the primary objective of this study was to determine the influence of relationship intention on customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery within the cellular industry. Supporting the primary objective, a model depicting the influence of respondents’ relationships intentions on satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery was developed. Furthermore, a model depicting the interrelationships of the relationship constructive dimensions of the service recovery process uncovered during this study was also developed. Through non-probability convenience sampling of adults 18 years and older (residing in Johannesburg and the surrounding residential suburbs) who have used a cell phone network provider for three years or longer, 605 respondents completed interviewer-administered questionnaires. Demographic and patronage information, together with respondents’ relationship intentions, attitudes towards complaining, customers’ complaint behaviour, expectations of service recovery, perceived service recovery as well as satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery, were obtained. Results indicated that no associations exist between respondents’ levels of relationship intention and their relationship lengths, as well as whether they had contractual agreements with their cell phone network providers. It is therefore recommended that instead of using relationship length or contractual agreements, cell phone network providers should use customers’ relationship intentions to identify customers for relationship marketing purposes. Findings from this study furthermore include that respondents’ relationship intentions influence their propensities to complain, as well as the likelihood that they will voice a complaint regarding dissatisfactory service delivery. It is therefore recommended that cell phone network providers use the opportunity to identify customers with relationship intentions through customers’ complaint behaviour. This study found that respondents’ relationship intentions influence both their expectations of cell phone network providers to take service recovery action, as well as their perceptions of service recovery. Respondents’ relationship intentions also positively influence their satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery. Based on these findings, it is recommended that cell phone network providers should always take corrective action following service failures (such as billing errors in this study), preferably by including at least an acknowledgement, apology, explanation and rectification of the problem as part of the service recovery efforts. Such a combination of service recovery efforts will increase the satisfaction, loyalty and retention of customers with higher relationship intentions. From the results it can be concluded that customers’ relationship intentions influence their behaviour with regard to propensity to complain, voicing, expectations of service recovery action, perceptions of service recovery, as well as satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery, when service failures occur. The proposed model developed from these findings results in the recommendation that cell phone network providers should view the service recovery process as an interrelated process influenced by customers’ relationship intentions. Cell phone network providers should note that customers with higher relationship intentions will attempt to salvage the relationship when service failures occur, which contributes to their satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery. This study contributes to establishing relationship intention theory by confirming the positive influence of customers’ relationship intentions on constructive behaviour when service failures occur. Moreover, practical recommendations concerning cell phone network providers’ response to billing errors are proposed. Future research should address the methodological limitations of this study by using probability sampling, and data should be collected from all South African provinces. Real-time service failures should be considered as opposed to the scenario-based approach used in this study. Important influences on customer behaviour when service failures occur, such as the perceived severity of service failure, service failure type, perceived justice and attributions, should also be considered with regard to their influence on the constructs of this study. Lastly, the antecedents of or differences with regard to customers’ relationship intentions based on personality, generational cohort or population group deserve further attention to establish relationship intention as study field within the domain of relationship marketing. / PhD (Marketing Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014.

It is common practice for service providers, such as cell phone network providers, to utilise relationship marketing strategies in an effort to retain their customers and thereby to increase profitability. Customers with relationship intentions are willing to respond to such efforts while other customers will refrain. Service failures negatively impact relationship marketing efforts and thus complicate service providers’ relationship-building efforts. Therefore, service providers endeavour to restore customers’ post-recovery satisfaction and loyalty through service recovery efforts to retain their customers. However, the influence that customers’ relationship intentions have on this process has not been considered. Previous research on relationship intention in South Africa focussed only on developing a valid and reliable relationship intention measurement scale. For this reason, the primary objective of this study was to determine the influence of relationship intention on customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery within the cellular industry. Supporting the primary objective, a model depicting the influence of respondents’ relationships intentions on satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery was developed. Furthermore, a model depicting the interrelationships of the relationship constructive dimensions of the service recovery process uncovered during this study was also developed. Through non-probability convenience sampling of adults 18 years and older (residing in Johannesburg and the surrounding residential suburbs) who have used a cell phone network provider for three years or longer, 605 respondents completed interviewer-administered questionnaires. Demographic and patronage information, together with respondents’ relationship intentions, attitudes towards complaining, customers’ complaint behaviour, expectations of service recovery, perceived service recovery as well as satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery, were obtained. Results indicated that no associations exist between respondents’ levels of relationship intention and their relationship lengths, as well as whether they had contractual agreements with their cell phone network providers. It is therefore recommended that instead of using relationship length or contractual agreements, cell phone network providers should use customers’ relationship intentions to identify customers for relationship marketing purposes. Findings from this study furthermore include that respondents’ relationship intentions influence their propensities to complain, as well as the likelihood that they will voice a complaint regarding dissatisfactory service delivery. It is therefore recommended that cell phone network providers use the opportunity to identify customers with relationship intentions through customers’ complaint behaviour. This study found that respondents’ relationship intentions influence both their expectations of cell phone network providers to take service recovery action, as well as their perceptions of service recovery. Respondents’ relationship intentions also positively influence their satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery. Based on these findings, it is recommended that cell phone network providers should always take corrective action following service failures (such as billing errors in this study), preferably by including at least an acknowledgement, apology, explanation and rectification of the problem as part of the service recovery efforts. Such a combination of service recovery efforts will increase the satisfaction, loyalty and retention of customers with higher relationship intentions. From the results it can be concluded that customers’ relationship intentions influence their behaviour with regard to propensity to complain, voicing, expectations of service recovery action, perceptions of service recovery, as well as satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery, when service failures occur. The proposed model developed from these findings results in the recommendation that cell phone network providers should view the service recovery process as an interrelated process influenced by customers’ relationship intentions. Cell phone network providers should note that customers with higher relationship intentions will attempt to salvage the relationship when service failures occur, which contributes to their satisfaction, loyalty and retention following service recovery. This study contributes to establishing relationship intention theory by confirming the positive influence of customers’ relationship intentions on constructive behaviour when service failures occur. Moreover, practical recommendations concerning cell phone network providers’ response to billing errors are proposed. Future research should address the methodological limitations of this study by using probability sampling, and data should be collected from all South African provinces. Real-time service failures should be considered as opposed to the scenario-based approach used in this study. Important influences on customer behaviour when service failures occur, such as the perceived severity of service failure, service failure type, perceived justice and attributions, should also be considered with regard to their influence on the constructs of this study. Lastly, the antecedents of or differences with regard to customers’ relationship intentions based on personality, generational cohort or population group deserve further attention to establish relationship intention as study field within the domain of relationship marketing. / PhD (Marketing Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014.

Titel: Kritik till allmän beskådan - En kvalitativ studie om service recovery på sociala medier Nivå: C-uppsats inom ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Cornelia Gustafsson och Emma Smyth Handledare: Akmal Hyder Datum: 2018 - maj Syfte: Denna studie syftar till att skapa förståelse för hur service recovery på sociala medier skiljer sig åt i jämförelse med traditionell service recovery som sker fysiskt på plats.   Metod: Studien antog en induktiv ansats och genomfördes med en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Utifrån tidigare forskning genomfördes tio semistrukturerade intervjuer som spelades in och transkriberades. Materialet har bearbetats och analyserats för att kunna besvara studiens syfte.    Resultat och slutsats: Studien konstaterar att det är av yttersta vikt att företag bemöter och besvarar negativt eWOM som skrivs på deras sociala medier och att detta sker snabbt och effektivt.  Vi fann i studien att företag besvarar negativa recensioner på sociala medier med en positiv tonalitet, vilket kan handla om att visa förståelse, visa uppskattning och tacka för feedback. Studien kan även konstatera att service recovery-processen delvis har förändrats i och med utvecklingen av sociala medier och att företag numera ställs inför nya utmaningar när de ska hantera negativt eWOM   Förslag till vidare forskning: Utifrån begränsningarna i denna studie kan vidare forskning genomföras. En av begränsningarna är att studien är avgränsad till att studera enbart hotellbranschen. Detta innebär att ett alternativ till vidare forskning är att studera även andra branscher, för att ta reda på om resultatet är tillämpningsbart även då. En annan begränsning är att studien enbart studerar service recovery ur ett företagsperspektiv. En intressant aspekt hade därför varit att genomföra en studie som fokuserar på konsumenternas perspektiv.   Uppsatsen bidrag: Studien bidrar till en ökad förståelse för hur företag använder service recovery för att hantera negativt eWOM på sociala medier. Den bidrar även med en större förståelse för hur hanteringen av negativa kommentarer och recensioner ser ut i praktiken för hotellföretag. Detta kan ge nya insikter vad gäller personalbehov och strategier för att hantera de utmaningar som utvecklingen av service recovery på sociala medier medför.    Nyckelord: Sociala medier, service recovery, marknadsföring, word-of-mouth, WOM, eWOM / Title: Criticism on display - A qualitative study on service recovery on social media Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Cornelia Gustafsson & Emma Smyth Supervisor: Akmal Hyder Date: 2018 – may   Aim: This study aims to increase the understanding about the way service recovery on social media differs in comparison to traditional service recovery that occurs face-to-face.   Method: This study takes an inductive approach and it was conducted with a qualitative research design. Based on the theoretical frame of reference, ten semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The material has been processed and analyzed to answer the purpose of the study.   Result & Conclusions: The study shows that it is extremely important that businesses respond to negative eWOM that is written on their social media, and that this response needs to happen quickly. Our research shows that businesses responds to negative eWOM with a positive approach; this can include showing understanding, appreciation and thanking the person that wrote the comment for the feedback. From this research we have come to the conclusion that the service recovery process partially has changed due to social media and that businesses today are faced with new challenges when it comes to dealing with negative eWOM.   Suggestions for future research: We suggest further research to be made in other industries as we have only focused on companies within the hotel industry. We also believe more research should be made from the customers perspective, as we have solely focused on the company perspective. Therefore, the same research could be concluded, studying service recovery on social media, but from the customer point of view taking things like customer satisfaction in to account.   Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes with an increased understanding about the way businesses use service recovery to deal with negative eWOM on social media. The study also contributes with an increased understanding about the way hotels deal with negative comments and reviews. This knowledge can lead to a better understanding about a possible change when it comes to hotel staff. The knowledge can also be beneficial when creating strategies on how to deal with the changes it brings, when service recovery takes place on social media.   Key words: Social media, service recovery, marketing, word-of-mouth, WOM, eWOM

As more hotels are established and that competition in turn increases, it becomes increasingly important to offer a good service to attract customers. If the hotels do not satisfy the guest they may complain. With the Internet's advancement, new approaches were established for dissatisfied guests to raise their complaints and, in other words, the criticism does no longer reach only family and friends. The study aims to create an understanding of how the hotel's complaint management works on the internet. This has been examined by answering the following research questions: • What strategies are used in digital complaint management in social networks? • How does complaint management affect Word of Mouth? To answer the research questions a qualitative approach with five semi-structured interviews and a non-participation observation has been conducted. The study indicates that communication has become more digital, but that personal contact is still more important. The conclusions that can be drawn are that the strategies used in digital complaint management are to respond quickly, to be understanding, to apologize to some extent, use a clear and well-formulated language, consider every word, take a direct dialogue from public to private and compensate the guest if necessary. If the strategies are taken into account in digital complaint management the work towards a satisfied guest will be simplified. A general conclusion drawn in the study is that the formulated strategies are important to work with to increase customer satisfaction and to successfully reverse the guest before spreading negative WOM or e-WOM. It has also been found in the present study that traditional WOM still has a greater impact than e-WOM, despite the fact that e-WOM reaches a larger audience. / I takt med att allt fler hotell etableras och att konkurrensen i sin tur ökar blir det viktigare för hotell att kunna erbjuda en god service för att locka till sig kunder. Lyckas hotellen inte tillfredsställa gästen kan de komma att klaga. Med internets framfart grundades nya tillvägagångssätt för missnöjda gäster att föra fram sina klagomål och med andra ord når kritiken inte längre bara bekantskapskretsen. Föreliggande studie ämnar att skapa en förståelse kring hur hotellens arbete med klagomålshantering fungerar på internet. Detta har undersökts genom att besvara följande forskningsfrågor: • Vilka strategier används vid digital klagomålshantering i sociala nätverk? • På vilket sätt påverkas Word of Mouth av klagomålshanteringen? För att besvara forskningsfrågorna har en kvalitativ ansats med fem semistrukturerade intervjuer samt en icke-deltagande observation genomförts. De slutsatser som dras i studien är att allt mer kommunikation sker via det digitala, men att den personliga kontakten fortfarande är viktigare. Studien visade även att strategier som används vid digital klagomålshantering är att svara snabbt, vara förstående, be om ursäkt i viss mån, använda ett tydligt och välformulerat språk, överväga vad man säger, ta en direkt dialog från det offentliga till det privata samt kompensera gästen vid behov. Om strategierna tas i beaktande vid digital klagomålshantering kommer arbetet mot en nöjd gäst att underlättas. En generell slutsats som dras i studien är att de formulerade strategierna är viktiga att arbeta med för att öka kundnöjdheten och för att lyckas vända gästen innan den sprider negativ WOM eller e-WOM. Det har också framkommit i föreliggande studie att traditionell WOM fortfarande har en större påverkan än e-WOM trots att e-WOM når en större publik.

Aim: The purpose of the study is to gain an understanding of the most effective factors in service recovery that companies apply when managing negative eWOM.  Method: With the help of a qualitative cross-sectional study based on a deductive research approach, five semi-structured interviews were conducted with marketing managers.  Conclusion: The results show that companies in this study use several components in the theory of service recovery to deal with negative eWOM. The most popular and advantageous methods that the majority of respondents use, to manage negative eWOM in the most optimal way, are done primarily by responding to criticism and preferably at an early stage, as well as an application of psychological recovery methods such as apologizing and showing empathy. Less popular factors in service recovery that companies in the study do not experience are as effective , but which some respondents use are concrete compensations, systems similar to web care, to maintain a continuous dialogue with their consumers and ensure that the same problems do not arise. / Syfte: Syftet med studien är att få en förståelse för de effektivaste faktorerna inom service recovery som företag tillämpar vid hantering av negativ eWOM. Metod: Med hjälp av en kvalitativ tvärsnittsstudie baserad på en deduktiv forskningsansats har fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med marknadsföringsansvariga. Slutsats: Resultatet visar att företag i studien använder sig av flera komponenter i teorin om service recovery för att hantera negativ eWOM. De populäraste och fördelaktigaste metoderna som majoriteten av respondenterna använder, för att hantera negativ eWOM på det mest optimala sättet, sker främst genom att bemöta kritik och helst i ett tidigt skede, samt en tillämpning av psykologiska återhämtningsmetoder såsom att be om ursäkt och visa empati. Mindre populära faktorer inom service recovery som företag i studien inte upplever är lika effektiva, men som vissa respondenter använder, är konkreta kompensationer, system som liknar webbvård, att upprätthålla en kontinuerlig dialog med sina konsumenter och se till att samma problem inte uppstår.

La service-dominant logic (S-D logic) est une approche qui montre l'importance de créer le marketing avec les consommateurs (orienté-processus) et non vers les consommateurs (orienté-output). En outre, la S-D logic souligne l'importance des ressources opérantes (immatérielles, par exemple les compétences) plutôt que les ressources opérandes (matérielles). La contribution la plus importante de la S-D logic est que le consommateur n’y est pas considéré comme un acteur passif mais comme un partenaire actif toujours cocréateur de valeur. La compréhension de ce qui mène à la co-création de valeur et son importance est rarement étudiée. De plus, bien que la S-D logic ait des implications majeures pour toutes les autres activités de marketing, il n’existe que peu de recherches abordant le processus de rétablissement de service après un incident. Plus spécifiquement, les études précédentes ont peu abordé des points tels que ce qui contribue à la co-création de la valeur, le rôle des ressources opérantes, le moment de co-création de la valeur et la motivation des consommateurs à contribuer au processus de rétablissement du service. Cette recherche se propose de répondre à ces questions en étudiant le mécanisme psychologique sous-jacent à la façon dont les ressources opérantes sont utilisées pour le processus de rétablissement de service et sur leurs conditions de co-affectation pour générer une valeur co-créée. Cette thèse soutient que la capacité des consommateurs à intégrer leurs ressources pour co-créer le rétablissement de service les motive à exprimer une volonté plus forte de co-création et les amène à profiter de valeurs hédoniques et utilitaires. Pour tester cette hypothèse, cette thèse étudie lΥimpact de la capacité des consommateurs pour la cocréation de rétablissement de service sur leur participation à ce rétablissement en tenant compte des motivations extrinsèque et intrinsèque en tant que médiateurs. De plus, elle explore le rôle de plusieurs variables modératrices (clarté du rôle, blâme interne, confiance dans la capacité de résolution du fournisseur de services et émotions négatives) pour acquérir une meilleure compréhension de la co-création de rétablissement de service. Les résultats révèlent que seulement la motivation extrinsèque médiatise partiellement la relation entre la capacité des consommateurs pour la co-création et la participation des consommateurs au rétablissement du service. En outre, les résultats démontrent que la participation des consommateurs au rétablissement de service augmente sa valeur utilitaire mais diminue sa valeur hédonique. / Service-dominant logic is a mindset in marketing literature which embraces a process orientation rather than an output orientation. Moreover, S-D logic emphasizes the role of operant resources (e.g skills) rather than operand (tangible) resources, which importance is high as there are the source of competitive advantage. The most important contribution of this emerging school of thought is that customers shift from being passive to active, who always co-create value with firms and other stakeholders. Understanding therefore what leads to value co-creation is a major issue and also neglected. Furthermore, although this shift has important implications for all service activities, very little research has focused on service recovery context. What is more it is not yet known what contributes to value co-creation and what is the role of operant resources in a service recovery context, while prior studies have no examined under which circumstances value is co-created and what motivates customers to contribute their resources in the service recovery process. With the goal of addressing these issues, this study focuses on the underlying mechanism of how operant resources are utilized during service recovery and, in turn, under which conditions co-allocation of these resources generates co-created value. It argues that the consumers’ ability to integrate their resources to co-recover from a service failure motivates them to express higher value co-recovery in-role behavior and hence enjoy higher hedonic and utilitarian values. To test this claim, this dissertation investigates the impact of consumers’ ability to co-recover on value co-recovery in-role behavior by taking into account extrinsic and intrinsic motivation as mediators. It also explores the role of several moderating variables (role clarity, internal blame, trust in service provider’s resolution ability, and negative emotions) to gain a deeper understanding of the co-recovery process. The results reveal that only extrinsic motivation partially mediates the relationship between ability to co-recover and value co-recovery in-role behavior. Furthermore, outcomes demonstrate that value co-recovery in-role behavior increases utilitarian value but decreases hedonic value.

Titel: Service Recovery inom telekombranschen - Hantering av eWOM Nivå: C-uppsats inom företagsekonomi Författare: Allan Mohammad & Jens Olsson Handledare: Akmal Hyder & Michelle Rydback Datum: 2019 - juni Syfte: Syftet är att analysera hur telekomföretag hanterar negativ eWOM genom arbetet med Service Recovery. Metod: Studien präglas av en kvalitativ forskningsmetod där datainsamlingen utgörs av tio semistrukturerade intervjuer som sedan bearbetats. Resultat & slutsats: Utifrån studien framgår det att de tillfrågade butikscheferna inom telekombranschen inte har specifika riktlinjer och strategier för att hantera negativ eWOM utan att det hanteras mer centralt inom företaget av andra avdelningar. Studien visar att butikscheferna lägger stor vikt på att skapa förståelse för kunder och utformar hanteringen av deras missnöje därefter. Studien visar också att negativ eWOM kan ha en positiv påverkan på företag då de kan korrigera arbetssättet för att få färre missnöjda kunder. Studiens bidrag: Studien bidrar till forskning inom området marknadsföring eftersom den ger en ökad förståelse för hur telekomföretag i Sverige hanterar negativ eWOM. Det praktiska bidraget är att studien kan underlätta för telekomföretag genom förslag på nya strategier för att hantera negativ eWOM och effektivisera Service Recovery-processen. Förslag till vidare forskning: Forskningen kan fördjupas genom att utgå från ett kundperspektiv. I studien ges en kortfattad beskrivning av kundens perspektiv. Studien utgår huvudsakligen från ett företagsperspektiv. Ett kundperspektiv kan bidra till att studien ses ur en ny synvinkel och kan därmed stärka studiens resultat. Ett förslag är också att utvidga den geografiska avgränsningen för ett generaliserbart resultat. / Title: Service Recovery in the telecom business - Handling of eWOM Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration Author: Allan Mohammad & Jens Olsson Supervisor: Akmal Hyder & Michelle Rydback Date: 2019 - June Aim: The purpose of the study is to analyze how telecom companies handle negative eWOM through Service Recovery. Method: The study is characterized by a qualitative research method and the data collection consists of ten semi-structured interviews, which have been processed later on. Result & conclusions: The conclusion of the study is that store managers in the telecom industry do not have specific guidelines and strategies for managing negative eWOM. Negative eWOM is handled by other departments within the company. The study shows that store managers place their emphasis on creating understanding of customer needs and approach customer dissatisfaction based upon customer needs. The study also shows that negative eWOM can have a positive impact on companies as they can develop working methods to get fewer dissatisfied customers. Contribution: The study contributes to research in the field of marketing as it provides an increased understanding of how telecom companies in Sweden handle negative eWOM. The practical contribution is that the study can make it easier for telecom companies by proposing new strategies to handle negative eWOM and streamline the Service Recovery-process. Suggestions for future research: We believe that the research can be deepened by viewing the situation from a customer perspective. In this study, we have provided a short description of the customer perspective. The main focus is the business perspective. The customer perspective can contribute to a new point of view and can thus strengthen the result. For further research, we also suggest that researchers expand the geographical boundaries to generalize the result.

Titel:“The Tip of The Iceberg” - Det dolda missnöjet. En kvalitativ studie kring icke-klagande kunders känslor och beteenden till följd av servicefel. Nivå:Examensarbete på Grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi   Författare:Lisa Palola och Sandra Ngene  Handledare:Signe Jernberg, Peter Edlund och Jens Eklinder-Frick  Datum:2019 – juni Syfte:Vårt intresse för tjänster och kringliggande problem väcktes tidigare under utbildningen varifrån vi skapade vår förförståelse om att en individs känslor influerar dennes handlingar. Därav var syftet med studien att öka förståelsen för att det är få missnöjda kunder som klagar vilket vi ansåg att individens känslor låg till grund för.  Metod:Med en utgångspunkt i hermeneutiken tillämpade vi en kvalitativ studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer för att finna en ökad förståelse för det studerade ämnet. Vår abduktiva tolkning av detta har varit en ständigt pågående process i det som senare resulterade i avsnittet för empirisk analys.  Resultat & slutsats:Fynd från studien betonar vikten av att serviceföretag ökar förståelsen för att känslor ligger till grund för kundens beteende relaterat till en serviceupplevelse. Därtill är det även centralt att anställda närmast kunden kan tolka och hantera kunden på för den ett lämpligt sätt då känslor och beteenden är ytterst individuellt. Detta belyser enligt vår mening vikten av vidare forskning inom ämnet.  Examensarbetets bidrag:Vår studie har bidragit med en ökad helhetsbild för känslornas inverkan över det icke-klagande beteendet och följande handlingar efter ett upplevt servicefel. Studien har även medfört praktiska implikationer för hur vi ansåg att serviceföretag bör hantera dolt missnöje.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning:Framtida forskning bör fortsätta söka efter en ökad förståelse för kunders känslor och beteenden. Förslagsvis bör detta studeras med hjälp av mer kvalitativa studier med en inriktningpå icke-verbala signaler kunden utsänder samt aspekter kring kulturella skillnader.  Nyckelord:Dolt missnöje, känslor, beteende, återupprättning av servicefel. / Title:“The Tip of the Iceberg”: A qualitative study on the emotions and behavior of non-complaining customers following service failure.  Level:Student thesis, final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration  Authors: Lisa Palola and Sandra Ngene Supervisor: Signe Jernberg, Peter Edlund and Jens Eklinder-Frick Date: 2019 – June Aim:Our interest with services and service failure were based on previous studies and knowledge from which we developed our understanding that an individual's emotions influence his actions. Hence, the purpose of the study was to increase the understanding that out of numerous dissatisfied customers, only a few complains. And that the individual emotions of the non-complainers play a major part in their behavioral conduct. Method: Initially we found ourselves in the hermeneutics where we applied a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews to extend the understanding for our research questions. Our abductive interpretation has been an ongoing process in what later resulted in the chapter “Empirical analysis”.  Result & Conclusions:Findings from our study emphasizes the need for service organizations to increase their understanding that human emotions influence customer's behavior in relation to service experience. In addition, it is also significant that employees that interact directly with the customer can interpret their behavior better, and also manage the customer in an appropriate manner since human emotions and behaviors varies. This highlights the need for further research in this field. Contribution of the thesis:Our study has contributed with an increased overall picture of the emotions impact on the non-complainant behavior and following post-actions in the customer's complaint process. The study also resulted in practical implications for how service organizations should manage this. Suggestions for future research:Future research should continue to seek and increase the understanding of customers' feelings and behaviors in relation to services and service failures. This topic should be studied through more qualitative approach to capture customers non-verbal signals and also to intercept aspects of customers cultural differences.  Keywords:“The tip of the iceberg”, emotions, behavior, service recovery.

It is now well recognised that an effective service recovery program is an essential part of firms??? service quality programs and critical to generating customer satisfaction and loyalty. A number of studies have investigated the impact of service recovery efforts (compensation, speed of response, etc.) on post-recovery satisfaction, mostly in Western countries. However, despite the importance of global markets, very few have examined how Eastern consumers react to service recovery efforts. Furthermore, none have examined the impact of cultural value orientation (cultural values measured at the individual level) in implementing effective service recovery programs. This is one of the few studies that have attempted to avoid the ecological fallacy, i.e., assume all consumers within a country are culturally homogeneous. Based on Justice Theory, this research conducted in Thailand, employed an experimental design to investigate how customer evaluations of service recovery efforts are influenced by interplay of the consumer???s cultural value orientation and service recovery attributes (apology, compensation, cognitive control, recovery initiation, and formality). The results reveal that cultural values of power distance, uncertainty avoidance and collectivism do indeed interact with a firm???s recovery tactics to influence perceptions of justice. In other words, the impact of a firm???s tactics is culturally dependent, and consumer expectations and perceptions of service recovery efforts vary, depending on customers??? cultural value orientation. Finally, all three forms of justice (distributive, procedural, interactional) along with disconfirmation of expectations, positively impact on overall service recovery satisfaction. Unlike previous studies, we found evidence to indicate that there is a temporal sequence associated with the three justice dimensions i.e., interactional and procedural justice precede and thus impact perception of distributive (outcome) justice. The results have implication for marketing theory as well as managerial action.

This study can be used by Posten Sweden and China Post to understand their situation and the facts regarding service quality and the difference between the two. This study will also provide useful information for other post or logistic institutions