The Influence of available alternatives and variable expectations on satisfaction

This paper examines the impact of the characteristics of available alternatives and expectation variance on customer satisfaction within a choice framework. Typical models for customer satisfaction use a disconfirmations paradigm based on the gap between mean expectations of product performance and actual product performance. This may not adequately explain satisfaction if expectations for the alternatives available have both mean and range expectations. Range expectations potentially create different contexts and expectation sub-zones which may moderate satisfaction levels. Using a designed choice experiment, this paper examines the impact of a given disconfirmation on satisfaction levels by joint manipulation of attribute levels of available alternatives and expectation variance for a key experience attribute. Results suggest satisfaction measurements depend on the attributes levels of both chosen and not-chosen alternatives, the level of expectation variance of all alternatives and interactions between these two factors. Given satisfaction judgments vary with these contexts, managers need to account for available alternatives when eliciting and assessing customer satisfaction measurements.