Service failure attributions and customer incivility intention: role of anger and mindfulness

Purpose This study aims to examine how externally attributed service failures lead to customer incivility intention through the mediating role of anger and explores customer mindfulness as a moderating factor. Design/methodology/approach Three experimental studies were conducted to test the conceptual model. Study 1 tested the direct effect of external attribution of service failures on customer incivility intention. Study 2 established anger as a mediator. Study 3 utilized a two-stage moderated mediation model to analyze the moderating effect of mindfulness. Data were collected via validated scenarios and scales, analyzed using Hayes’s PROCESS macro. Findings Across three experiments, externally attributed service failures increased customer incivility intention; this effect was fully mediated by anger. Furthermore, this study found that mindfulness attenuated this mediating relationship on both paths, i.e. on the relationship between externally attributed service failure and anger, and further on the relationship between anger and customer incivility intention. Originality/value This study identifies when and how service-failure attributions translate into customer incivility intention by introducing customer mindfulness as a boundary condition on the anger-mediated pathway. It extends attribution/AET theory by pinpointing conditions under which incivility intentions are most likely. For managers, the results suggest focusing recovery on shaping perceived responsibility (clear, empathetic explanations) and adjusting responses to customer cues to defuse anger.