Consumer Forgiveness in Online Travel Agency Service Recovery: Consumer Empathy and Negative Emotional Contagion

ABSTRACT Online travel agencies (OTAs) have significantly enhanced the efficiency of online travel services. However, frequent service failures have adversely impacted the reputation and performance of OTAs. Consequently, there is an urgent need for further academic exploration of this issue. This study employed a scenario experimental method to collect data and conduct empirical analysis. The findings indicated that perceived fairness enhances consumer empathy, while perceived risk reduces consumer empathy. Enhanced consumer empathy, in turn, leads to a greater willingness to forgive. Furthermore, negative emotions contagion negatively moderates the relationship between consumer empathy and consumer forgiveness. The mediating effect of consumer empathy was also examined. This study contributed to a deeper understanding of service failure and recovery in the context of OTAs, offering theoretical insights for improving OTA failure management strategies, psychological interventions, risk prevention capabilities, and overall competitiveness.