Buyer-Seller Relationship as a Moderator for Service Failure-Customer Satisfaction Relations

Abstract

This study examines the moderating role that buyer-seller relationship plays in determining customer satisfaction in service failure. The buyer-seller relationships borrowed from Clark and Mills’ (1979) research are classified into exchange and communal relationship. Exchange customers refer to customers pay monetary benefits to the service provider with the expectation of receiving comparable benefits soon after where as communal customers refers to customers pay monetary benefits to the service provider in response to his needs with the expectation that the service provider will show concern with their needs. The empirical results showed that when outcome failure occurs, exchange customers will be more dissatisfied than communal customers. However, when process failure occurs, communal customer will be more dissatisfied than exchange customers. In addition, the study further investigated customer satisfaction improvement after provision of immediate or delayed recovery to different relation type customers who have received unsuccessful services. The findings revealed that when outcome failure occurs, immediate recovery strategy is the best way to enhance exchange customers’ satisfaction. On the other hand, when process failure occurs, delayed recovery strategy is the best way to improve communal customers’ satisfaction. This research provides a more subtle and in-depth definition of buyer-seller relationship and shows that relationship does moderate the service failure-customer satisfaction relations.