Who loves to forgive? The mediator mechanism of service recovery between brand love, brand trust and purchase intention in the context of food-delivery apps

Purpose This study investigates the mediating role of service recovery between brand love (BL), brand trust (BT) and purchase intention in the context of food-delivery apps. Design/methodology/approach This study follows a quantitative approach. The authors conducted an online survey and collected 275 responses from users of food-delivery apps in South America and Asia. The authors analyzed the conceptual model proposed using structural equation modeling (SEM) in Smart PLS 3.0. Findings The results showed a direct and significant relationship between brand love, BT and purchase intention. Additionally, the authors identified the mediating role of service recovery between brand love, BT and purchase intention. Research limitations/implications First, this study focused on the service recovery construct in general. Future research can address different types of service recovery, for example, core, interpersonal and procedure failures (Kim and Jang, 2016). Second, the authors restricted the study to the relationship between brand love, BT and purchase intention. Future studies can include other constructs, such as e-word of mouth, loyalty and information risk, as intervening variables. A larger sample can also be considered to support the generalization of the findings. Practical implications This study recommends that companies enchant customers with immediate actions after a service failure has occurred. In doing so, companies must monitor those customers who have experienced a service failure, measuring the level of trust in the branded app and checking the frequency of purchases after a service recovery. Interacting with customers through messages is also an important action to manage their purchase intention following the problem's solution. Furthermore, companies must segment customers who have experienced a failure and direct them to specific benefits to reinforce their trust in the app. Then, after correcting the problem, they should pay them special attention by offering benefits, like discounts, coupons and free delivery, as a strategy to promote future purchases. Originality/value This is the first paper to investigate the impact of service recovery on brand love, BT and purchase intention in the context of food-delivery services. The authors extend the knowledge about consumers' responses in the case of a failure caused by consumers' loved brands and show how service recovery actions can establish BT and influence future purchases.