Interactive app-based services: Recovery evaluations and the mediating role of satisfaction in the relationship between customer-brand engagement and electronic word of mouth

Abstract

Based on the theory of co-creation and resource-based theory, this study examines the differential impact of varying levels of customer participation in service recovery (firm, customer, and joint) on recovery satisfaction, customer-brand engagement (CBE), and electronic-word of mouth (e-WoM). Besides, using social exchange theory, this study examines the mediating role of consumers’ recovery satisfaction in the relationship between the types of service recovery and electronic word of mouth (e-WoM). The data to accomplish the research objectives was collected from 495 customers of interactive food delivery apps in India. The experimental design was used to collect the data. The multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and PROCESS macro techniques were used to test the hypotheses. The findings suggest that joint recovery results in better recovery evaluations such as CBE, recovery satisfaction, and e-WoM. Also, recovery satisfaction mediated the relationship between CBE and e-WoM. These findings provide empirical evidence for the linkages among the theory of co-creation, resource-based theory, and social exchange theory. The marketers of interactive food delivery apps may use these findings to ascertain which recovery type they should emphasize to improve recovery satisfaction. Moreover, they are encouraged to take steps for improving recovery satisfaction as CBE affects e-WoM through recovery satisfaction.