Mindset matters: Mitigating negative spillover effects in service failures

Chen, Hanyu Yuki; Hu, Jihao; Lin, Zhibin

Abstract

Mitigating the spillover effects of service failures has been a critical challenge in tourism management. This research investigates how tourists’ mindsets influence the negative spillover effects of service failures. Through six empirical studies using different scenarios, manipulation techniques, and types of service failures, we demonstrate that activating an incremental mindset mitigates negative spillover effects on unaffected destinations. Findings reveal a mediating role of perceived differences and moderating roles of destination typicality and service failure severity in the observed relationship. The study contributes to tourism literature by introducing mindset as a mitigating factor in negative spillover effects, integrating implicit theory with the heuristic-systematic model, and providing insights into cross-domain spillover effects. It suggests strategies to activate tourists’ incremental mindsets and highlight destination uniqueness to mitigate negative spillover effects.

Citation

Chen, H. Y., Hu, J., & Lin, Z. (2025). Mindset matters: Mitigating negative spillover effects in service failures. Tourism Management, 108, Article 105118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2024.105118

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 18, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Dec 21, 2024
• Publication Date: 2025-06
• Deposit Date: Jan 16, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 17, 2025
• Journal: Tourism Management
• Print ISSN: 0261-5177
• Electronic ISSN: 1879-3193
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 108
• Article Number: 105118
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2024.105118
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3336824