Literature has amassed a considerable number of models trying to explain behaviour. Behavioural models stressing learning and the importance of stimulus-response patterns exist besides models favouring psychological variables like personality and attitudes when it comes to the explanation of behaviour. Especially personality traits gained some prominence in explaining behaviour. Other models highlight situational factors and their influence on rational decision making while a final set of models is concerned with individual’s motives and other variables inherent to actors and not visible to the outside world.
Most economic models assume actors to be rational and furthermore assume that – given particular circumstances or situational variables only one course of action is feasible or rational. Restrictions to this model have been made by authors that highlight individual decisions’ dependency on the way the respective individuals see reality, i.e. the way they frame their decision problem. For example, an economist of Keynesian origin will come-up with completely different solutions when he addresses the problem of general demand as by contrast will a libertarian economist raised in the heredity of F. A. Hayek’s teachings. Thus, subjective rationality depends on circumstances (and preferences) and accordingly, it becomes interesting to look at the circumstances surrounding and influencing individual decision-making. Icek Ajzen and Martin Fishbein have done so and suggested a model for explaining individual behaviour based on a number of variables which will be elaborated in the course of this paper. Furthermore, Engel, Blackwell and Miniard proposed an elaborate model designed to explain customer’s decision making. This model will also be discussed in the remainder of this paper the aim of which is to provide a model capable of explaining investors decisions and the place “customer satisfaction” can take within such a model. To do so, the next chapter will elaborate the two models designed to explain individual behaviour mentioned so far. This done, the following chapter will look into the properties of customer satisfaction and use the identified properties to fit it into the theoretical model elaborated in the previous chapter. The paper ends with a summary and a short discussion of the way the developed model can be used in research.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction: Modelling behaviour
2. Modelling Consumer Behavior
2.1 Consumer’s choice as planned behaviour
2.2 The Environment of consumer’s choice
3. Customer satisfaction
4. Summary
Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual model that explains investment and re-investment decisions through the lens of customer satisfaction, integrating insights from established behavioral and consumer decision-making theories.
- Theoretical modelling of consumer behavior and rational choice.
- Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to investment scenarios.
- Evaluation of customer satisfaction as a cognitive, affective, and conative attitude.
- Analysis of environmental factors and risk perception in investment environments.
- Integration of feedback loops in consumer decision-making models.
Excerpt from the Book
3. Customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is assessed past experience. While definitions in customers satisfaction differ to a vast degree they at least agree in the fact that satisfaction requires some kind of assessment. Consequently, customer satisfaction requires a preceding purchase to come into being. Once established, customer satisfaction lives a life of its own and influences future purchases. The question, however, is how it does that and this is largely a question of status, which means a question of what customer satisfaction is considered to be within a given theoretical framework.
Complying with Ajzen, I will take customer satisfaction for an attitude, with attitudes expected to show cognitive, evaluative and conative properties. The division of attitudes usually thought of as mainly being sourced by affective components is one of the major contributions by Ajzen: “It is generally acknowledged that attitude is a latent variable or hypothetical construct. Being inaccessible to direct observation, it must be inferred from measurable responses …”. An actor can show three kinds of responses to an object, he can express beliefs about the object or make perceptual responses, he can express feelings or show physiological reactions, and he can express behavioural intentions or show overt behaviour. These three response modes constitute the cognitive, affective and conative dimension or structure of attitudes.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Modelling behaviour: This chapter provides an overview of existing behavioral models and introduces the paper's intent to explore the role of customer satisfaction in investor decision-making.
2. Modelling Consumer Behavior: This section discusses the rational-actor model and introduces the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Engel, Blackwell and Miniard model as frameworks for understanding consumer choices.
3. Customer satisfaction: This chapter defines customer satisfaction as an attitude with cognitive, affective, and conative dimensions and explores its potential to reduce risk in investment contexts.
4. Summary: The final chapter synthesizes the proposed model, acknowledging the complexities of indirect experience and identifying the need for future empirical research.
Keywords
Customer satisfaction, Investment behavior, Re-investing, Rational actor model, Consumer choice, Theory of planned behaviour, Risk perception, Self-efficacy, Decision-making, Cognitive dissonance, Behavioral models, Attitude, Locus of control, Portfolio analysis, Indirect experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on developing a behavioral model that incorporates customer satisfaction as a key variable to explain investor decision-making and re-investment patterns.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The central themes include behavioral economics, consumer psychology, decision-making theory, and the impact of perceived risk on financial investment behavior.
What is the primary research goal?
The goal is to determine how "customer satisfaction" can be theoretically integrated into a decision model to explain how investors process past experiences when making future investment choices.
Which scientific methods are utilized?
The author employs a deductive theoretical approach, synthesizing existing models like the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Engel, Blackwell, and Miniard framework to construct a new explanatory model.
What is addressed in the main body of the work?
The main body evaluates the rational-actor model, analyzes the psychological dimensions of attitudes (cognitive, affective, conative), and explores the influence of environmental factors and risk assessment on investors.
Which keywords best characterize the paper?
The paper is characterized by terms such as customer satisfaction, investment behavior, rational actor, risk perception, and decision-making.
How does the author define the relationship between customer satisfaction and risk?
The author suggests that customer satisfaction serves as an auxiliary tool that helps investors reduce the risk attached to a decision by influencing their assessment of alternatives.
Why is the "indirect experience" concept considered an enigma in the model?
It is treated as an enigma because the author finds it difficult to track how information from external sources (like satisfaction indices) is processed and weighted by investors against their own direct experiences.
What role does self-efficacy play in the proposed model?
Self-efficacy is linked to perceived behavioral control, helping to explain why different investors have varying risk tolerances and how they judge their own ability to navigate investment situations.
Why are intentions excluded from the final model shown in Figure 1?
Intentions are excluded because the model assumes that the investors in question have already formed the intention to invest, shifting the focus to the specific choice of the investment asset.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Thomas Bister-Füsser (Autor:in), 2011, Satisfied investors: Modelling customer satisfactions’ influence on re-investing, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/170283
