Customer Satisfaction

5.2.1.6. Customer Satisfaction

  The latent variable customer satisfaction is an outcome of the preceding variables in the model and should therefore be seen as a dependent result-variable. Below the variable will be evaluated for its employment in the conceptual model.

  5.2.1.6.1. Definition Satisfaction is a subjective evaluation and an individual determined feeling. Throughout the years many different definitions of the term have been provided by different authors, 5.2.1.6.1. Definition Satisfaction is a subjective evaluation and an individual determined feeling. Throughout the years many different definitions of the term have been provided by different authors,

  a quote by Oliver, who is one of the most cited authors within the area of customer satisfaction:

  “Everyone knows what [satisfaction] is, until asked to give a definition. Then it seems, nobody knows. 123 ”

  Nevertheless, Kotler has managed to word a definition of satisfaction;

  “…a person’s feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a product’s

  perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. 124 ”

  This call for that expectations are an important factor within satisfaction. Oliver argues that;

  “expectations have two components: a probability of occurrence (e.g. the likelihood that

  a clerk will be available to wait on customers) and an evaluation of the occurrence (e.g. the degree to which the clerk’s attention is desirable or undesirable, good or bad etc.). Both are necessary because it is not at all clear that some attributes (clerks, in our example) are desired by all shoppers. 125 ”

  Concerning WLNs, the readers have expectations of which attributes the paper should contain, and after reading the paper, an evaluation of the performance of these attributes will determine their level of satisfaction. However, expectations were excluded as a self-contained variable of the conceptual model based on research conducted by Martensen et al. which recommended an exclusion of expectations in future use of the ECSI model. 126 It is believed that, from a psychological point of view, expectations are implied in the overall satisfaction, but that expectations are stored in the subconscious mind and it is not always something the customers are aware of. One should therefore be aware of, that even though expectations are excluded as a variable in the conceptual model, expectations are still implied in the shaping of satisfaction. 127

  A definition, which fits the purpose of this thesis, is also written by Oliver;

  123 Quote: Oliver, Richard L. (1997), p. 13 124 Quote: Kotler, Philip (2000), p. 36 125 Quote: Oliver, Richard L. (1981), pp. 33-34 126 Martensen, Anne et al. (2000), p. 547 127 Martensen, Anne et al. (1998) Working Paper, p. 52

  “Satisfaction is the consumer’s fulfillment response. It is a judgment that a product or service feature, or the product or service itself, provided (or is providing) a pleasurable level of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of under- or overfulfillment. 128 ”

  This definition recognizes the psychological processes, which the consumers use in connection with their evaluation of satisfaction. The definition of satisfaction evolves around, to which degree a product or service satisfies a consumer’s needs. It calls for that there are at least two stimuli present – an outcome and a comparison referent. An outcome which will or will not satisfy the consumer’s needs, and a comparison referent from which a “standard” is created and which the experience or product will be measured up against. Possible comparison referents include prior satisfaction, others’ satisfaction etc.

  5.2.1.6.2. Empirical Research Customer satisfaction is important since satisfied customers are more likely to refer new customers to the business, which dramatically decreases the cost of actively acquiring these new customers. 129

  Customer satisfaction can be seen as being a transaction-specific satisfaction or as a cumulative satisfaction. The transaction-specific customer satisfaction is the older of the two. Here satisfaction is based upon the consumer’s evaluation of one specific product- or service experience. It is the degree of satisfaction with a product or service at a specific point in time.

  Another way to evaluate customer satisfaction is the cumulative satisfaction. In this case, satisfaction is defined as the customer’s overall evaluation based on total purchase and consumption experience with a product or service. Cumulative satisfaction is said to be an indicator of a company’s past, current, and future performance. Therefore, cumulative satisfaction is often the motivation for companies to invest in customer satisfaction and is therefore most companies’ point of departure in satisfaction measurements. 130 Fornell and Johnson support the use of a cumulative perspective on satisfaction and argue that it is better able to predict subsequent behaviors and economic performance, than a more transaction-specific view is. 131 Furthermore, Fornell argues that consumers repurchase products or services on the basis of an evaluation of their experience and use of the product or service over time, and not just on the basis of a specific transaction or

  128 Quote: Oliver, Richard L. (1997), p. 13 129 Christopher, Martin et al. (2002), p. 56 130 Johnson, Michael D. et al. (2001) 131 Fornell, Claes et al. (1996) Johnson, Michael D. et al. (2001) 128 Quote: Oliver, Richard L. (1997), p. 13 129 Christopher, Martin et al. (2002), p. 56 130 Johnson, Michael D. et al. (2001) 131 Fornell, Claes et al. (1996) Johnson, Michael D. et al. (2001)

  According to the Expectancy Disconfirmation Model it is most desirable to reach positive disconfirmation, where performance exceeds expectations, in order to reach a high level of satisfaction. Zero disconfirmation occurs when expectations and performances match, and the customer is satisfied. 133 However, since many authors argue that companies need their customers to be more than just satisfied, and actually need them to be highly satisfied or delighted for the satisfaction to transfer into ambassador-loyalty, 134 the goal for WLNs must be positive disconfirmation in the sense that their performance should exceed the expectations.

  As mentioned before, a high level of satisfaction can lead to customer loyalty, 135 which makes satisfaction an applicable aspect to be included in the conceptual model, as a sub subject for loyalty. The satisfaction variable is suitable for the model of loyalty within WLNs, however, it is chosen to modify the variable somewhat, and combine it with loyalty. This choice will be explained and argued for in section 7.6.