Service failure and loyalty: an exploratory empirical study of airline customers

There has been considerable analysis of buyer‐seller relationship development within the services sector. While a lot of attention has been given to the processes by which relationships are developed, the subject of relationship deterioration is less well researched. Examines the impacts of service failure on the quality of relationships between airlines and their customers who have suffered service failure. In particular, the effects on customers’ trust and commitment to the relationship are studied, the latter being assessed in terms of their willingness to recommend the airline they use to others. Reports on a study of airline customers in the south‐eastern USA which suggests that the impact of a given level of service failure is dependent on the duration to date of a customer’s relationship with the airline they use. However, a non‐linear correlation was found, suggesting that customers experience stages of being initially open‐minded about service failure, followed by lower tolerance of failure, which gradually gives way to a closer relationship which is more resistant to service failure