ABSTRACT Purpose: This theoretical essay aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of distributive justice in situations of service recovery. More specifically, we seek to investigate distributive justice evaluations based on social comparisons. Originality/value: This article seeks to fill a gap in the existing knowledge to discuss the social comparison theory applied to the service recovery context. Design/methodology/approach: After a literature review, we present three research propositions about comparisons between consumers in terms of compensation received after complaining about a service and their effects on the evaluation of distributive justice, taking into account the perceived similarity between consumers and the time elapsed between the complaint handling and the comparison. Findings: Even though social comparisons are increasingly frequent, they have been neglected in the service marketing literature. It is possible for consumers to compare the compensation received after a complaint with the compensation given to another consumer and, perceiving upward differences, have negative reactions to the company.

RESUMO Este estudo analisou o impacto que a adoção do recall voluntário de produto para corrigir uma situação de falha exerce na confiança do consumidor. A confiança é composta pelos atributos de integridade, competência e benevolência; portanto, foi verificado o efeito mediador dessas variáveis na relação analisada. Uma vez que a confiança é fundamental para estabelecer uma situação de relacionamento, o estudo também avaliou o efeito moderador da situação de compra, seja esta relacional ou transacional, sobre a confiança e seus construtos. Para atingir os objetivos, foi realizado um estudo com desenho experimental entre sujeitos de 2 (recall: controle; recall voluntário) x 2 (situação de compra: relacional; transacional). Os resultados apontam que o recall voluntário impacta positivamente nas variáveis estudadas. Integridade e competência medeiam completamente a relação entre recall voluntário e confiança. A situação de compra modera o efeito do recall voluntário na competência.

ABSTRACT This study analyzed the impact of voluntary product recall due to product failure on consumer's trust. Since trust is composed by integrity, competence and benevolence, this study verified the mediator effect of these constructs on the relation between recall and trust. Once trust is essential for the establishment of a relationship between companies and consumers, this research also evaluated the effects of relational and transactional purchase situations on consumer's trust and its constructs. We conducted an experimental study with a 2 (recall: control; voluntary recall) x 2 (purchase situation: relational; transactional) between subjects design. The results indicated that voluntary recall has a positive effect on the variables analyzed. Integrity and competence fully mediate the relation between voluntary recall and trust. Purchase situation moderates the effect of voluntary recall on competence.