Service Failure Pattern in Banking Industry of Iran

Due to the nature of services, service failure is inevitable in the delivery of services. When customers encounter service failures, they are likely to engage in negative behavioral responses, such as complaining, spreading negative WOM, and switching providers. Thus needs to be managed to overcome them. The main purpose of this study is to find the service failure pattern in banking industry of Iran. Content analysis technique was used to identify the pattern of service failure. To find banking industry experts, targeted sampling was applied, leading to theoretical saturation after conducting 12 interviews. The MAXQDA software was used to analyze the results. According to research results, 'failure in services arena', 'failure in brand citizenship behavior', 'failure in organizational attitude' and 'failure in customer relation management' are among the most important influencing factors in banking service failure. Service failures are not completely unavoidable, even for the best service organization. If allowed to continue, poor service delivery threatens the long-term survival of the banks. Being aware of key areas of service failure, banking CEOs can develop appropriate strategies to avoid inefficiencies, put an end to customer churn and also improve their competitive position.