Comparing customer satisfaction across industries and countries
Journal
Journal of Economic Psychology
ISSN
0167-4870
ISSN-Digital
1872-7719
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2002-12-01
Author(s)
Abstract
Although aggregate satisfaction measures continue to proliferate, their value in making broad-based comparisons remains unclear. This study uses arguments from the economics, psychology, sociology and marketing domains to predict systematic differences in aggregate customer satisfaction across both industries and countries. These predictions are tested using a database created from three broad-based national satisfaction surveys in Sweden, Germany and the United States. The results reveal that, across countries, satisfaction is highest for competitive products, lower for competitive services and retailers, and lower still for government and public agencies. However, the differences vary by country. Satisfaction is also predictably lower in Sweden and Germany compared to the US, and shown to change systematically in Sweden over time. Methodological differences do not appear to limit the comparability of the aggregate satisfaction measures. Overall the study supports the use of national indices for making meaningful comparisons of satisfaction on a broad scale.
Language
English
HSG Classification
not classified
Refereed
No
Publisher
Elsevier
Publisher place
Amsterdam
Volume
23
Number
6
Start page
749
End page
769
Pages
21
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
2903