An Integrated Perspective of Service Recovery: A Sociotechnical Systems Approach

The need for service practitioners to consider designing and implementing integrated recovery systems in order to enhance the abilities of employees, while heightening the likelihood of failure correction is highlighted.

Abstract

This study examines service recovery from an internal, operations-oriented perspective. Specifically, a model grounded in sociotechnical systems (STS) theory is developed and tested to investigate the relationships between service recovery systems, recovery climates, employee abilities and actions, and recovery performance. A sample of 221 general service employees is used to empirically test the proposed model. Results support the STS perspective and suggest that an integrated recovery system is essential in establishing a recovery climate, which in turn enables employee efficacy and reduces avoidance behaviors. Additionally, employee efficacy has a positive effect on performance, while avoidance leads to ineffective failure correction. The results presented herein highlight the need for service practitioners to consider designing and implementing integrated recovery systems in order to enhance the abilities of employees, while heightening the likelihood of failure correction. Furthermore, this study provides an initial step in moving the recovery literature into a more theory-driven direction.