The effects of brand relationships on justice perceptions in service recovery

Purpose This paper aims to explore how brand relationship quality (BRQ) influences consumers’ perceived sense of justice in the context of service recovery situations. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a survey of 368 Brazilian consumers who experienced real-life automotive service recovery situations. The authors tested their model and underlying hypotheses using structural equation modeling. Findings Stronger BRQ led to higher levels of perceived justice (distributive, procedural and interactional), which in turn led to higher customer satisfaction of complaint handling. Ultimately, higher customer satisfaction led to lower complaining, lower retaliation and higher purchase intention. The authors' alternative model tested the effects of BRQ sub-dimensions on justice perception. Interestingly, trust produced a “love-is-blind” effect, while intimacy revealed a “love-becomes-hate” effect. Originality/value This study assessed BRQ and its sub-dimensions (self-connection, satisfaction, commitment, trust and intimacy) on sense of justice (distributive, procedural and interactional) within service recovery. Also, this study demonstrated the opposing effects of the brand relationship sub-dimensions trust and intimacy on perceptions of justice.