The effect of groups on trust violation and recovery

Marcos Paulo Albarello Friedrich; Kenny Basso; Lélis Balestrin Espartel; Vitor Francisco Dalla Corte

doi:10.5585/remark.v18i3.16364

Authors

Marcos Paulo Albarello Friedrich Faculdade Meridional - IMED
Kenny Basso Faculdade Meridional - IMED
Lélis Balestrin Espartel Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul - PUCRS
Vitor Francisco Dalla Corte Faculdade Meridional - IMED

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5585/remark.v18i3.16364

Keywords:

Trust, Trust violation, Trust recovery, Group polarization effect, Service.

Abstract

Objective: This study explores the effect of groups in client trust violation and consequent recovery. Moreover, the group polarization effect is examined as the mechanism to explain this effect.

Method: Two experimental studies were used to test four hypotheses. Each experiment used a different context. Study 1 was based on hotel service, while Study 2 was based on taxi service. We used ANOVA to test the main effects and a mediation analysis to test the role of group polarization.

Main results: The presence of a group will enhance the erosion of a client’s trust in cases of failure and increase the effectiveness of the trust recovery attempt. Moreover, the results demonstrate that the manipulation of the number of individuals has a significant effect on the trust violation and recovery and that these relationships are mediated by a group polarization effect.

Theoretical contribution: Most trust violation and recovery studies have addressed individual subjects. However, in consumption situations, clients are frequently found to be in groups. Thus, this study highlights how the presence of a group can influence trust violation and recovery.

Managerial implications: In the case of client groups, service failure can be expected to have a greater impact on client trust and can be more decisive in creating negative behaviors. To restore trust, it was found that client groups have a higher positive variation of trust than when they are alone, which influences in the efficacy of recovery tactics.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Marcos Paulo Albarello Friedrich, Faculdade Meridional - IMED

Professor of Decision Sciences at the IMED Business School, Faculdade Meridional - IMED, Brazil and Manager at Banrisul Bank. His research interests include services marketing, decision making and behavioral finances. He has papers published in Brazilian journals and conferences.

Kenny Basso, Faculdade Meridional - IMED

Professor of Marketing at the IMED Business School, Faculdade Meridional - IMED, Brazil. His research interests include services marketing, trust and consumer behavior. He has papers published in the Journal of Service Research, Journal of Services Marketing, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, International Journal of Bank Marketing and Journal of Product & Brand Management.

Lélis Balestrin Espartel, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul - PUCRS

Professor of Marketing at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul – PUCRS. His research interests include services marketing, retailing and consumer behavior. He has papers published in Brazilian journals and conferences.

Vitor Francisco Dalla Corte, Faculdade Meridional - IMED

Professor of Economy at the IMED Business School, Faculdade Meridional - IMED, Brazil. His research interests include innovation, food market and consumer behavior. He is a member of the IFAMA. He has papers published in the Journal of Technology Management and Innovation.