Influence of Regain Management Practices and Cultural Framework Conditions on Customer Recovery Success in Professional Service Firms
(A2022-107122)

AUTHORS

René Schleus, Freie Universität (FU) Berlin; Doreén Pick, University of Applied Sciences Merseburg

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the results of a study on regain management (RM) of professional service firms (PSFs). A preliminary exploratory study first confirmed the relevance of the research gap and obtained initial insight into the methods of PSFs to regain customer relationships. The subsequent main study examined the effects of regain actions and PSF-specific framework conditions on customer recovery success. The assumed correlations were analysed based on a survey of 112 PSFs and using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) Approach. The results show that setting up concrete targets, identifying and analysing lost customers, and the regain offer affect the RM quality and determine the regaining success. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of the recovery management culture paid little attention to so far, which in PSFs is primarily determined by the attitudes and behaviours of the owners. We can derive concrete recommendations to help increase the professionalism in RM of PSFs.