Only those companies that fully satisfy their customers will be able to maintain a top market position in the long run. Despite the fact that this rule has been known for a very long time, it has drastically gained in importance in the last years. The reasons are multifarious, but three main aspects can be named: the upswing of customer needs, exacerbating competition, and more complex market conditions. Rising customer demands can best be explained by a growing range of products competing against each other.
In times of fierce competition, companies must deliver optimal products for the purpose of maintaining their competitiveness and strengthening their market positions. To ensure maximum customer loyalty, it is essential to know the status quo regarding the so called customer satisfaction and how consumer needs developed over time.
This thesis presents the current state of research in the field of customer satisfaction measurement. In its macro-structure it can be divided into a theoretical and an empirical part. In the first one, the main measurement and calculation methods are described and discussed with focus on their capability to provide valid and reliable results concerning customer satisfaction. Chapter 2 sets the thematic framework by examining different conceptions of the formation of customer satisfaction. On this basis, a coarse presentation and categorization of prevalent measurement approaches is given.
Not all of those approaches are up to today’s standard of providing valid and reliable measures. Hence, in Chapter 3, only the promising subset of those approaches is further analyzed. Those methods are critically analyzed and assessed with the help of the existing literature. Building on this, a holistic customer satisfaction measurement system is introduced. Subsequently, Chapter 4 addresses the issue of comparability of different customer satisfaction measures and represents the transition from the theoretical to a praxis-based empirical part. Chapter 4.1 focuses on challenges for obtaining comparable data in international measurements. A closer look is taken at the different national CSI models as well as a recently established uniform European approach. Furthermore, study results of individual countries and industries are examined for their similarities and differences. The thesis concludes with a summary of the most important findings and provides an outlook on future developments in the field of customer satisfaction research.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Theoretical Framework
2.1 Formation of Customer Satisfaction
2.1.1 The C/D-Paradigm as a Conceptual Framework
2.1.2 In-Depth Theories of Satisfaction Formation
2.2 Consequences of Customer Satisfaction
2.3 Overview of Measurement Methodology
2.3.1 Objective vs. Subjective Methods
2.3.2 Event- vs. Attribute-Specific Methods
2.3.3 Indirect vs. Direct Measurement
2.3.4 One-Dimensional vs. Multi-Dimensional Methods
2.3.5 Ex Ante/Ex Post vs. Ex Post Measurement
3 Subjective Measurement Methods
3.1 Event-Specific Measures
3.1.1 Critical Incident Technique
3.1.2 Frequency Relevance Analysis for Problems
3.2 Attribute-Specific Measures
3.2.1 SERVQUAL
3.2.2 SERVPERF
3.2.3 SERVIMPERF
3.2.4 Customer Satisfaction Index
3.2.5 National Customer Satisfaction Indices
3.3 Comparison and Critical Evaluation
4 Comparability of Customer Satisfaction Measures
4.1 Sources of Error for International Comparisons
4.2 Single- vs. Multi-Dimensional Measures - An Empirical Study
4.2.1 Data and Study Approach
4.2.2 Results and Discussion
5 Customer Satisfaction across Industries and Countries
5.1 Comparison of National Customer Satisfaction Indices
5.1.1 The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI)
5.1.2 The German Customer Satisfaction Barometer
5.1.3 The Extended Performance Satisfaction Index (EPSI)
5.2 Cross-Industrial Findings
5.3 Cross-National Findings
6 Conclusion and Outlook
Research Objectives and Key Themes
The primary objective of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the current state of research in the field of customer satisfaction measurement, distinguishing between theoretical frameworks and practical empirical applications. The work aims to evaluate how different measurement methods can be utilized to generate valid, reliable, and comparable results across various industries and international markets.
- The theoretical formation and conceptualization of customer satisfaction constructs (C/D-Paradigm).
- A critical comparison of objective vs. subjective and event-specific vs. attribute-specific measurement methodologies.
- Challenges regarding the international comparability of customer satisfaction indices due to cultural and linguistic differences.
- Empirical evaluation of single-item versus multi-item (multi-dimensional) measurement approaches.
- Analysis of national customer satisfaction barometers and their role in industrial and cross-national benchmarking.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1.1 Critical Incident Technique
The Critical Incident Technique (CIT) is a primarily qualitative, inductive, and active method for the ascertainment of enduring customer impressions. It was developed in the 1950s by J.C. Flanagan and was adapted for the measurement of customer satisfaction in the 1980s by M.J. Bitner et al. They define critical events as “specific interactions between customers and service employees that are especially satisfying or dissatisfying”53. The central idea lies in collecting and evaluating extreme encounters that often live on as stories, producing positive and negative word-of-mouth behavior. The events are surveyed with the help of personal interviews with standardized, but open questions54. The test person is required only to report, not to interpret. The customer’s inherent expectations as well as perceived weaknesses in the processes and the personnel are supposed to be extracted by the interviewer without bias55. Following the interviews, a multi-level analysis classifies the events as either positive or negative ones and sorts them into different problem categories by their cause. The results of the CIT can be illustrated in a table by showing the respective frequency of the corresponding categories with their positive or negative value.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter highlights the growing importance of customer satisfaction as a competitive advantage and defines the macro-structure of the thesis, splitting the research into a theoretical and an empirical part.
2 Theoretical Framework: This section examines the formation of customer satisfaction using the C/D-Paradigm as a baseline and offers an overview of various measurement methodologies, classifying them into objective and subjective approaches.
3 Subjective Measurement Methods: This chapter provides a detailed analysis of event-specific and attribute-specific methods, including critical evaluation of techniques such as CIT, SERVQUAL, and the Customer Satisfaction Index.
4 Comparability of Customer Satisfaction Measures: This part addresses the sources of error in international comparisons and presents an empirical study comparing single-item with multi-dimensional measurement models.
5 Customer Satisfaction across Industries and Countries: This chapter compares national customer satisfaction indices such as ACSI, the German Customer Satisfaction Barometer, and the EPSI, while discussing findings from cross-industrial and cross-national studies.
6 Conclusion and Outlook: The thesis summarizes the key findings regarding the selection of satisfaction measurement tools and provides an outlook on the impact of the Internet and globalization on future research.
Keywords
Customer Satisfaction, C/D-Paradigm, SERVQUAL, SERVPERF, SERVIMPERF, Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), Critical Incident Technique (CIT), Frequency Relevance Analysis for Problems (FRAP), ACSI, EPSI, Customer Loyalty, Cross-National Comparison, Service Quality, Benchmarking, Market Research
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this thesis?
This work examines the state of research regarding customer satisfaction measurement, analyzing the theories behind it and comparing various methodologies used in practice to quantify consumer satisfaction.
What are the central themes discussed?
The core themes include the formation of satisfaction, the distinction between objective and subjective measures, the challenges of international data comparability, and the efficacy of different satisfaction indices.
What is the ultimate goal of the research?
The goal is to determine how companies can effectively measure customer satisfaction to gain actionable insights for improving products, services, and overall market competitiveness.
Which scientific methods are primarily analyzed?
The analysis covers event-specific methods like the Critical Incident Technique and Frequency Relevance Analysis, as well as attribute-specific methods such as SERVQUAL, SERVPERF, and complex multi-dimensional index models like the ACSI.
What does the main body of the work address?
The main body critiques the suitability of different tools for specific company needs, transitions from theoretical frameworks to an empirical study on multi-dimensional measures, and contrasts various national barometers.
How would you characterize the key concepts?
The work focuses on constructs such as the C/D-Paradigm, the role of perceived performance and expectations, and the methodological rigor required for cross-national benchmarking.
Why is the comparison between ACSI and YouGov BrandIndex significant?
This empirical comparison highlights that while simple single-item measures offer faster and cheaper data collection, multi-dimensional models are superior for in-depth diagnostic analysis at the firm level.
What limitation does the author mention regarding the German Customer Satisfaction Barometer?
The author notes that the German barometer is not based on a single unified theoretical model and, due to its single-item approach, is arguably not a "true" customer satisfaction index in the strict sense.
How does the EPSI model attempt to improve upon national indices?
The EPSI model serves as a supranational approach designed to enable meaningful intercontinental comparisons by utilizing identical methodologies and common questionnaires across participating countries.
- Quote paper
- David Willemsen (Author), 2010, The Measurement of Customer Satisfaction, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/167014
