SERVICE FAILURE ATTRIBUTION, PERCEIVED JUSTICE AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN MOBILE MONEY SERVICE RECOVERY

Abstract

The study set out to examine the impact of service failure attribution on the relationship that
has been observed between perceived justice and customer satisfaction in mobile money
service recovery. Premised on relevant literature in the field, the research hypothesized that
service failure attribution acts as a moderator in the relationship between perceived justice
and customer satisfaction. The population of the study was mobile money transfer service
subscribers in Kenya. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Semistructured
questionnaires were used to collect primary data and sample of 782 respondents
was arrived at. Reliability and validity tests were conducted and data analysis was done by
using linear regression analysis. The study findings revealed that perceived justice has a
positive and statistically significant relationship with recovery satisfaction and that service
failure attribution has a considerable moderating impact on the link between perceived
justice and recovery satisfaction. The results add to existing theory by confirming a linkage
between attribution and equity theories in the context of customer satisfaction in encounters
involving service failure redress. The study is beneficial to service providers and managers
as it creates a comprehensive framework for assessing recovery satisfaction for strategic
decision-making. The study recommends that managers incorporate attribution and justice
perspectives in the design of service recovery strategies in order to improve recovery
satisfaction. The study contributes to policy makers and regulators by augmenting the
evidence available to support the development of standards and guidelines on service
reliability and redress systems.