WHAT MATTERS TO STUDENTS? A SCARF-BASED MODEL OF EDUCATIONAL SERVICE RECOVERY

Abstract

ABSTRACT Universities found themselves unprepared for the dynamic disruption in their delivery of educational services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid transition by universities to move all classes to an online format posed unexpected challenges and highlighted the lack of preparation. One of these challenges was service failure in several university offerings while not addressing the students’ perceived expectations. Within this context, the authors use the SCARF model to examine how motivational factors impact service recovery and value co-recovery in the face of dynamic changes to the students’ learning experience. Stemming from its nature in facilitating and improving collaborations and interactions with others, the SCARF model is considered a successful framework for improving collaboration and engagement in academia. Using PLS-SEM, the data supported Status, Certainty, Relatedness, and Fairness as relevant to having a service recovery that rectified, amended, and restored the student’s interrupted classroom experience. Overall, the results have some essential initial implications for teaching faculty who want to be prepared to recover in case of another educational service delivery failure like the COVID-19 forced transition experienced.