Service failure and recovery (SFR) is a well-established area of research that has made considerable progress over the past 30 years. In this study, we used a combination of text mining, co-word analysis, and social network analysis (SNA) to explore the relationships among keywords in SFR research. We analyzed a dataset of 533 SFR articles published between 1990 and 2020, extracting the most frequently used keywords using text-mining techniques. These keywords were then subjected to co-word analysis and SNA to understand the development of themes and topics in SFR research. By examining changes in network centrality measures, we gained insights into the evolution of research in this field. Furthermore, by identifying gaps or disconnections in the keyword networks, we identified future research opportunities related to the impact of service recovery strategies on customer reactions, employee reactions, and firm outcomes, as well as the relationship between customer and employee responses.

PurposeManagerial ties (i.e. business ties and political ties) could help manufacturers conduct learning ambidexterity by providing external resources. However, the resource management perspective claims that merely accessing external resources does not guarantee learning ambidexterity. As manufacturers utilize their resources by implementing services, this study aims to investigate how the impact of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity depends on human resource service practices (i.e. manager service support and employee service rewards).Design/methodology/approachThis study collected data from 150 high-tech manufacturing firms through a survey-based questionnaire, which was completed by two managers in one firm. The ordinary least squares regression was employed to test the research model and hypotheses.FindingsBusiness ties hurt learning ambidexterity when manager service support is high, whereas business ties benefit learning ambidexterity when employee service rewards are high. Similar findings are not applied to political ties.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors did not examine the mechanism underlying the effect of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity. The non-significant findings on political ties suggest potential mediators for future research. Another limitation is that the study’s data are only from China. Manager ties are also important in other developing countries like Turkey. More data from other countries are needed to test the generalization of the authors’ findings.Practical implicationsFirst, managers should focus on business ties more than political ties when learning ambidexterity is important to their firms. Second, managers should reward service-oriented employees.Originality/valueThe study enriches the literature on investigating the impact of managerial ties on learning ambidexterity. The authors also contribute to the literature by examining servitization as a service context. Prior studies mainly examine servitization as a driver of firm performance. The findings suggest that servitization as a business context can affect other business activities.