The impact of Covid-19 on how core and peripheral service satisfaction impacts customer satisfaction

The COVID-19 pandemic has done significant economic damage to the service industry and has also led to changes in how satisfaction with core and peripheral services impact overall customer satisfaction in services. In our study of 110,388 reviews of 145 major airlines from 2019 to 2022, we demonstrate how pre-pandemic, both core service satisfaction and peripheral service satisfaction impact overall customer satisfaction. However, we also observe that during the pandemic, the positive effect of peripheral service satisfaction on overall customer satisfaction is strengthened while the positive effect of core service satisfaction on overall customer satisfaction is weakened. Interestingly, these effects continue post-pandemic. Our results provide key theoretical and managerial implications.