From disconfirmation to switching: an empirical investigation of switching intentions after service failure and recovery

Abstract

This research proposes and empirically tests a customer switching intentions model from a disconfirmation perspective in a service failure and recovery context. Specifically, the research examines how initial (discrepancy between service failure expectation and service performance) and recovery (discrepancy between recovery expectation and recovery performance) disconfirmations influence satisfaction when a service failure occurs and a recovery offer is given, and subsequently impact switching intentions. The results support the hypotheses that both initial and recovery disconfirmations influence switching intentions via satisfaction. In addition, switching costs directly influence switching intentions and also moderate the effect of satisfaction on switching intentions.