TY  - JOUR
AB  - Purpose– This research seeks to examine how the expectation process and its components evolve over time and purchase experience.Design/methodology/approach– A longitudinal study was conducted over the period of one year using a sample of university students who were purchasing an undergraduate education. The sample was surveyed three times over the year. Structural equation analyses and regression were used to test various research hypotheses.Findings– Key findings include confirming two significantly different levels of expectations: a lower, predictive “will” level and a higher normative “should” level. Expectation antecedents change in their degree of influence on expectations, weakening over time and service purchase experience.Research limitations/implications– There is a need to extend the results to other service contexts.Practical implications– The consumer's expectation formation process changes over service purchase experience, thus indicating a need to segment on experience with the service firm.Originality/value– The application of an expectation formation process to a longitudinal study provides the first partnership of the theoretically‐based model and longitudinal methodology.
VL  - 22
IS  - 3
SN  - 0887-6045
DO  - 10.1108/08876040810871147
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040810871147
AU  - Licata Jane W.
AU  - Chakraborty Goutam
AU  - Krishnan Balaji C.
PY  - 2008
Y1  - 2008/01/01
TI  - The consumer's expectation formation process over time
T2  - Journal of Services Marketing
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 176
EP  - 187
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -