Revisiting power messaging in service failures: Pitfalls and proposed solutions

Abstract

Past research shows that company messaging can inflate consumers' feelings of power, which in turn alleviate the negative effects of service failures. Extant research, however, has not examined how various types of power messaging can have a differential effect on consumers, with some leading to counterproductive consequences for companies. Across five experiments, we show that power messaging stressing that consumers have power over the company can backfire by increasing manipulative intent. Power messaging communicating that consumers will obtain a power boost from the service is more acceptable and less likely to be perceived as manipulative. Furthermore, we demonstrate that messaging eliciting power from the service is most effective when (1) targeted at consumers with low levels of skepticism, (2) delivered by an underdog brand, and (3) paired with co-created recovery. Following a service failure, messaging communicating how customers will gain a power boost from the service experience increases identification with underdog brands. Our examination of power messaging as an overt communication strategy contributes to the literature on service failure and recovery. The research advances knowledge of the potential pitfalls of power messaging while proposing strategies to overcome risks associated with this communication strategy.