Social mobility beliefs moderate customers' response to service failure

This research explores Social Mobility Beliefs in service failure responses within hospitality. Across three studies, findings show that high-Social Mobility Beliefs customers blame employees more, leading to harsher evaluations, while low-Social Mobility Beliefs customers are more forgiving. Study 1 establishes this link, Study 2 tests causality, and Study 3 examines attribution processes as a mediator. Extending Attribution Theory, this research identifies Social Mobility Beliefs as a key cultural and socioeconomic factor. Practically, it underscores the need for culturally adaptive service recovery strategies, suggesting that shifting blame away from employees can reduce negative evaluations. By integrating socioeconomic perceptions, this study fills a gap in hospitality research and enhances service management strategies. • There are countries in which service failures are more or less severe. • Cross-cultural differences affect customer response toward a service failure. • We examine if Social Mobility Beliefs moderate response to service failure. • Customers high in Social Mobility Beliefs react more harshly after a failure. • These customers assign greater internal locus of causality to service employees.