The effects of perceived justice on recovery satisfaction, trust, word-of-mouth, and revisit intention in upscale hotels

The purpose of this study is to assess the relative influences of distributive (DJ), procedural (PJ), and interactional (IJ) justices on customer satisfaction with service recovery and to examine the relationship between recovery satisfaction and subsequent customer relationships: trust, word-of-mouth (WOM), and revisit intention. On-site surveys were administered to collect data from hotel guests who stayed, and experienced a service failure, at five-star hotels. The effect of DJ on satisfaction with service recovery was stronger than those of PJ and IJ. Since DJ, PJ, and IJ have significant effects on trust, WOM, and revisit intention through recovery satisfaction, recovery satisfaction was found to be an important mediating variable. In addition, the mediational role of trust between recovery satisfaction and WOM/revisit intention is substantial. Thus, in a case where strong trust is formed between the service provider and the customer, a long-term relationship can be expected.