Service performance and procedural justice: the mediating roles of family life cycle and culture

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine how service performance and procedural justice are related and how this relationship is moderated by family life cycle (FLC) and culture. While it has long been assumed that customer perceptions of fair treatment by service providers are related to service quality perceptions, there has been little research that explicitly examines this relationship. Previous research has established that justice is an influential antecedent of behavior and attitudes in many different settings. Design/methodology/approach – Using a 42‐item survey instrument combining the SERVPERF scale, a procedural justice scale and several demographic measures, responses were obtained from 717 individuals from Central and Eastern Europe and the USA. A 2×2 factorial design was used to evaluate the relationship between service performance and justice perceptions, and the moderating impacts of FLC position and culture on these perceptions. Findings – Strong evidence was found to support the notion that fair treatment of customers affects service performance perceptions across both FLC position and culture. Research limitations/implications – Only one service industry (higher education) was used. This study should be replicated in other industry settings to provide validation across industries. Originality/value – From both empirical and theoretical standpoints, this study bridges the gap between two separate but related literature streams of service performance and procedural justice.