How do customers navigate perceived inappropriateness of collective emotion in group service recovery? An application of cognitive dissonance theory

Although group-level service failures usually cause more adverse consequences than individual-level ones, existing literature on group service failures is scarce. Besides, almost all service failure and recovery studies suggest that customers hold consistent emotional reactions during a group service failure, which causes a lack of exploring inconsistent emotional responses. This research focuses on this under-explored area and investigates how and why perceived inappropriateness of collective emotion (PICE) influences customer participation in service recovery. The present work proposed a moderated mediation model and conducted three scenario-based experiments to validate the influence of PICE on customer participation in service recovery and the mediating path of cognitive reappraisal. The present research also unveils the moderating effects of protective face orientation and relationship norms on the relationship between PICE and cognitive reappraisal. These findings enriched theories on group service failure and recovery and offered tourism companies suggestions on utilizing PICE to facilitate favorable recovery outcomes.