This study examined
whether the relationship between service recovery and customer loyalty was
statistically significant, and to examine the influence of firm responses on
customer loyalty. Descriptive cross-sectional survey and stratified random
sampling were used to produce a sample of 384 phone subscribers. Pilot study
established reliability and validity of the questionnaire and testing for
parametric assumptions performed. Descriptive statistics and inferential
statistics (factor analysis, correlations, and regression tests) were used to
analyze the data. Results indicated that these relationships were all positive
and statistically significant. Moreover, combined impact of service recovery,
firm responses, and service quality on customer loyalty was the strongest.
Based on the findings, policymakers, and managers of mobile phone companies in Uganda
should focus more on service quality, which showed the highest beta values and
had a relatively high predictive value for customer loyalty. This study
contributes to extant literature by illuminating firms’ responses to service
recovery, by offering more explicit clarification of the relationship between service
recovery, firm responses and customer loyalty. Mobile phone companies should
improve how customer complaints are handled by considering the various dimensions of firm responses. Because
of the study’s cross-sectional design, there remains a need to expand our
knowledge by conducting similar but longitudinal studies.
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