Consumer Satisfaction: Analysis of Academic Journal Articles Report

This report provides a comprehensive literature review of four academic journal articles focusing on consumer satisfaction. The study explores various theoretical perspectives, including psychological, physical, and normative views, tracing the evolution of customer satisfaction theories since the 1970s. It analyzes key concepts such as consumer expectations (ideal, expected, minimum tolerable, and desirable) and the impact of emotions, attitudes, and perceptions on purchase decisions. The report discusses common themes across the articles, such as the role of price, product performance, and emotional responses in determining customer satisfaction. It also highlights differing viewpoints, including how consumers manage dissatisfaction by adjusting their expectations. Limitations in the research, such as the absence of quantifiable data and challenges in data analysis, are also discussed. Finally, the report suggests avenues for future research, including investigating the influence of consumer satisfaction on future buying behavior and identifying industry-specific factors affecting customer satisfaction.

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1.DR.K.VANITHA, D. (2012). Customer Relationship Management on Customer
Satisfaction. International Journal of Scientific Research,
2.Hunt, D., Geiger-Oneto, S. and Varca, P. (2012). Satisfaction in the context of
customer co-production: A behavioral involvement perspective. Journal of Consumer
Behaviour
3.Lee, E. and Park, C. (2014). Does advertising exposure prior to customer
satisfaction survey enhance customer satisfaction ratings?. Marketing Letters, 26(4),
pp.513-523.
4.Paul, J., Sankaranarayanan, K. and Mekoth, N. (2016). Consumer satisfaction in
retail stores: theory and implications. International Journal of Consumer Studies

Abstract
This paper reviews the literature of four academic referenced journals on consumer
satisfaction. The paper critically analyzes the journal articles researched using
qualitative, quantitative and a combination of both methods. The aim of this paper is
to analyze the theory formulated to support the concept under review and thoroughly
evaluate the views and research outcomes of different researchers concerning the
subject (KrüGer, 2016) .
Summary of theory
Customer satisfaction is studied in different perspectives in theory. The perspectives
extend from psychological, physical normative or positive views. The theories on
consumer satisfaction have evolved and developed over the years. The theories
however attracted great interest in marketing in the 1970s. According to Miller
(1977), there are four types of expectations by consumers. They include: ideal,
expected, minimum tolerable, and desirable. Customer makes their judgments based
on a limited set of attributes. A research conducted in 1978 where the studies were
conducted by changing the actual product performance with the intention of findings
out how expectations influence perceived product performance. In many researches,
researchers have concluded that customer satisfaction is more of emotion than
physical performance. Other researchers observe that cognitive components of
consumer satisfaction affect other reciprocally with time hence determining customer
satisfaction.
Discussion of common themes
According to Dr.Vanitha (2012) Customer satisfaction can be defined as anything that
relates to the purchase of a product. It could be factors such as price, time of
execution, comfort, reliability, benefits, durability, and efficiency. He therefore argues
that customer satisfaction is a mix of this variable and none can act in isolation.
(Hunt, Geiger-Oneto and Varca, 2012) is also of this view. The author in his article
argues that customer satisfaction may be of a process, product, or use of a products or
period of execution of an exercise. Hunt, Geiger-Oneto and Varca, (2012) also views
customer satisfaction as an emotional response to the expectations of a consumer
before receiving a service of purchasing a product. The same extends to the point
where the customer has already used the product to evaluate whether their
expectations have been met or not. If the service or the product matches the consumer
expectations then the customer is said to be satisfied. In case the expectations are
exceeded, the consumer is very satisfied and if the expectations are not met, the
consumer is dissatisfied. Lee and Park (2014) also agree with this view. He argues
that customers make their purchase decisions based on their emotional status and the
satisfaction of that customer largely depends on the emotions of that customer. The
author argues that although performance of a product is important in determining the
level of satisfaction of a customer, the emotions, attitudes, and perceptions of a
customer towards that product influences the level of their satisfaction. Another

similarity of the articles under review is that the authors recognize the influence that
consumer satisfaction has on future consumer behavior. Paul, Sankaranarayanan and
Mekoth (2016) argues that the level of satisfaction a consumer draws from consuming
a particular good or service has a big influence on the buying patterns of a consumer
since it inspires confidence in the product or discourages the customer from
consuming such in future. A customer who is highly satisfied is more likely to come
back and buy the same product in future than an unsatisfied customer (Bartsch, 2012).
The authors also agree that the performance of a product has a great bearing or
influence on the level of customer satisfaction. Performance can be viewed in many
different perspectives depending on the product or service being considered
(Laurent,Lilien & Pras, 2014). It can be simply defined as the ability of a product or
service to satisfy the needs of the consumer. Lee and Park (2014) argue that this is
subjective and may also depend on a variety of factors such as durability,
attractiveness, time of execution, efficiency, and price. The combination of various
emotional and normative factors defines the overall level of customer satisfaction by a
consumer.
Discussion of differing themes
There are also different findings by the four different authors concerning various
aspects of customer satisfaction. According to Hunt, Geiger-Oneto and Varca (2012)
consumers seek to avoid dissatisfaction by changing their perceptions towards a
product to match their expectations. He argues that consumers can reduce the tension
as a result of differences between expectations and product performance. This will
happen by either changing expectations to bring it more in line with product
performance or by minimizing the significance of the level of dis-confirmation
experienced so as to increase satisfaction. This view is unlike that of Paul,
Sankaranarayanan and Mekoth, (2016) who in his findings, he argues that a surprise
effect must take place in order to lead to discrepancy between performance and
expectations being magnified or exaggerated. This means that the expectations of a
consumer depend on what they are made to believe about a product by the seller. The
price of a product could be too high that the consumer expects extra ordinary
performance since they believe it is of premium quality (Royse, Thyer & Padgett,
2016). The expectations of a consumer may also be influenced by advertising which
may shape the perception of the consumer towards that product. If the after-use
evaluation result is that performance does not meet expectations, it therefore means
the consumer will get dissatisfied.
Research limitations
During these studies, the researchers faced various limitations. Absence of numerical
data that could be used to measure consumer satisfaction is one of the biggest
limitations in the studies. This is because consumer satisfaction is based on emotions
and subjective and therefore, it is difficult to put a benchmark upon which to measure
customer satisfaction. The other challenge is that the primary data collected from

respondents was difficult to analyze and interpret scientifically because of lack of the
necessary analytic tools for the study (Adamson, Dixon,Spenner& Toman,2015). This
challenge was experienced by qualitatively researched articles.
Suggest future researches
Dr.K.Vanitha (2012) proposes that further studies need to be done on ways in which
consumer satisfaction influences future buying behavior by a consumer. He also
proposes that marketers in various different industries need to conduct researches to
establish the specific factors that affect consumer satisfaction in the industry.
References

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Hunt, D., Geiger-Oneto, S. and Varca, P. (2012). Satisfaction in the context of
customer co-production: A behavioral involvement perspective. Journal of Consumer
Behaviour, 11(5), pp.347-356.
KrüGer, f. (2016). The Influence Of Culture And Personality On Customer
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Lee, E. and Park, C. (2014). Does advertising exposure prior to customer satisfaction
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