Effect of service transgressions on distant third-party customers: The role of moral identity and moral judgment

Isha Sharma, Kokil Jain and Abhishek Behl

Journal of Business Research, 2020, vol. 121, issue C, 696-712

Abstract: Service failure studies have paid little attention to the role of the other customers or bystanders present in a service setting. Using a mixed method approach, the current study examines the effect of visible service transgressions on distant third-party customers in a shared service territory. A netnography study reveals that a distant third-party customer is most affected by service transgressions that are unethical, that is violating the prescriptive norms of social and human behavior, and can lead them to engage in negative e-Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) against the transgressor. To reaffirm these findings, a conceptual model is proposed based on moral identity theory, moral judgment, distrust, and moral reasoning choice to explain the effect of ethical service transgression on distant third-party customers’ intentions to engage in negative eWOM and brand avoidance. The study highlights the strategic significance of the other customers in a triadic setting for firms and contributes theoretically to the research on ethical service transgressions, moral identity, and third-party customers.

Keywords: Third-party customers; Ethical service transgression; Moral identity; Moral judgment; Netnography (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:121:y:2020:i:c:p:696-712

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.02.005

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