‘Explain, but make no excuses’: service recovery after public service failures
基于组织公正理论和认知评价理论，通过两项调查实验检验不同解释策略（借口与辩解）对公共服务失败后客户情绪和投诉意愿的影响，发现辩解能减少客户沮丧和投诉，而借口可能使情况恶化。
Public service encounters between employees and citizens are daily fare which, makes the occurrence of service failures rather likely. However, public service failures and their recovery have been given only little attention in public administration research so far. Drawing from organizational justice theory and cognitive appraisal theory, the effects of different explanation strategies, excuses and justifications, are tested using representative population data from two survey experiments. Results show that justifications decrease the client’s frustration and likelihood to complain after service failures, whereas excuses could even worsen the situation. This article aims to promote public service management research by combining psychological theories with practical relevance.