Service Failure: The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility on Consumer Forgiveness

Is CSR effective to influence consumers to forgive service firms following a service failure? This research not only found that CSR has a direct positive effect on consumer forgiveness, but this direct effect indeed is mediated by perceived warmth or/and perceived competence toward the firm, and is moderated by consumers’ construal level. This work provides practical implications by offering fresh insights to managers and service firms on how to reduce harm of a service failure.