Toward a model of satisfaction processing in social marketing: The role of knowledge among maintenance stage consumers

Despite agreement on the importance of satisfaction processes to the adoption and maintenance of pro-social behaviors (Andreasen, 1995), social marketing theory in this area is limited. This paper proposes a model that integrates mainstream and social marketing theories in order to better understand how increasing knowledge within the "maintenance stage" affects the ways that contraceptive, social marketing clients reach satisfaction judgements. The model's research propositions are currently being tested in a four-country study involving Nepal, Australia, the US and Vietnam. Preliminary results will soon be available. The paper concludes with a discussion of the proposed model's potential applications for social marketing managers.