Improvisation in service recovery

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of improvisation in service recovery.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a conceptual discussion that considers the relevance of improvisation in service recovery. It contributes to the clarification of the possible role of improvisation in the transformation of service failures into positive moments of truth.

Findings

The paper argues that improvisation may be viewed as a relevant, albeit largely ignored, topic in service recovery, and recommends that its role should be the object of theoretical and empirical research.

Practical implications

Managers may consider the possibility of creating conditions for competent improvisation to occur, such as training in improvisational skills and the creation of organizational contexts that facilitate the convergence of planning and execution in order to better deal with the characteristics of the situation.

Originality/value

The study addresses the under‐researched role of improvisation in the process of service recovery.

Citation

Pina e Cunha, M., Rego, A. and Kamoche, K. (2009), "Improvisation in service recovery", Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 19 No. 6, pp. 657-669. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604520911005053