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Customer satisfaction formation represents a dynamic phenomenon, especially in extended service encounters. A single service encounter may have an extended duration and feature several service interactions, which the customer can evaluate independently. This paper aims to offer a dynamic perspective on satisfaction formation, which indicates that what matters is not only the interactions a customer confronts but also when these interactions occur.

Research from social psychology provides a foundation for hypothesizing different effects of positive and negative critical incidents. Negative critical incidents likely are more important for overall satisfaction if they occur at the end of a service encounter. Positive critical incidents should have stronger effects at the beginning. In a 2×2 experimental design, participants considered a five‐day holiday hotel experience.

The data support the predicted dominance of a recency effect for negative critical incidents, such that a negative critical incident has a greater negative impact on customers' overall satisfaction when it occurs at the end of a service encounter instead of at the beginning. For positive critical incidents, no significant differences arose between primacy and recency effects.

The results highlight the importance of process designs of service experiences. Managers should pay particular attention to avoiding service failures at the end of a service encounter.

Unlike research that only assesses satisfaction formation for service encounters from a non‐dynamic perspective, this study posits the importance of the order of interactions within a service encounter.

The aim of this paper is to present a new framework for the evaluation of satisfaction in continually delivered business services (CDBS) contexts based on applicable theoretical perspectives and extant empirical research.

The paper first describes and justifies the importance of the CDBS context. Then, a literature review of CDBS satisfaction research over the past ten years is presented and utilized in conjunction with theoretical insights from expectancy disconfirmation theory and social exchange theory to develop conceptual definitions, a general conceptual framework, and research propositions.

The resulting conceptual framework focuses on global CDBS provider satisfaction as the outcome of three more specific satisfaction assessments: service satisfaction (driven by the actual performance of the service), economic satisfaction (driven by the customers’ economic outcomes from the exchange relationship) and social satisfaction (driven by the customers’ social outcomes and interactions in the exchange relationship).

The study is the first to develop a framework of satisfaction for the CDBS context and presents propositions to guide future satisfaction research. The conceptual framework leverages insights from two existing models of satisfaction formation: expectancy disconfirmation (which provides deeper insight on service satisfaction) and social exchange theory (which provides deeper insights on social and economic satisfaction). The integration of these two models results in a more comprehensive view of satisfaction formation in the CDBS context than by using either model separately.

When assimilation processes occur, expectations have a direct impact on experiences, and experiences bias the memory for prior expectations. Reports the results of two studies which examine assimilation processes using path analysis. Formulates implications and recommendations for service management and for research.

Service conveniences (SCs) play a deterministic role in motivating consumers’ participation in self-collection (via attended pickup points or unattended automated locker systems). Accordingly, the SERVCON model provides a multi-dimensional conceptualisation of SCs, whereas the Kano model explains consumers’ satisfaction formation in response to multi-dimensional service attributes. Anchored on synthesised insights of both models, the purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to qualitatively apply the SC concept to develop specific service attributes of self-collection; and second, to quantitatively examine these attributes in relation to consumers’ satisfaction formation.

A quantitative Kano model is adopted for survey questionnaire design and data analysis, and 500 valid responses are obtained from an online panel of respondents in Singapore.

SCs are decomposed into 11 service attributes reflecting access, benefit, transaction and post-benefit conveniences of self-collection services. Distinctive patterns of satisfaction formation are revealed in response to specific service attributes; for example, consumers are most responsive to improvement in transaction convenience. Furthermore, as service performance level increases, benefits of spatial accessibility diminish, whereas those of temporal accessibility increase.

This study reveals key service attributes influencing the self-collection services’ convenience and impact on consumers’ satisfaction. Guidelines are presented for designing an optimal resource allocation strategy for logistics service providers to promote self-collection services.

This study synthesises diverse logistics literature on self-collection services under the central theme of SCs, thus enriching the conceptual development of SCs with a decomposed framework of logistics service attributes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role service quality, satisfaction and commitment play in word of mouth (WOM) formation among adult learners in Singapore.

The study used a quantitative survey of 165 adult students who were enrolled in part‐time undergraduate programmes at the Singapore Institute of Management, to examine the relationships of interest.

The impact service quality had on WOM formation was examined, with student satisfaction and commitment being modelled as mediators of this relationship. The results suggested functional service quality, rather than technical service quality, impacted on WOM formation, with student satisfaction playing an important mediating role. The study also showed that, although student satisfaction had a significant effect on both aspects of commitment (affective commitment and high‐sacrifice commitment), affective commitment led to WOM being given.

The study examined adult learners enrolled in part‐time undergraduate management programmes. Younger, full‐time students’ WOM may not be impacted in the same way.

Having a better understanding of WOM formation helps education institution managers focus on the “right” antecedents, which are functional service quality, satisfaction and affective commitment. The results also suggest broader responsibilities for such managers. If their goal is to increase student enrolments, in which WOM plays an important role, the management of student services is crucial and should be seen as a marketing tool, as well as an administrative process.

The relationships examined have not been investigated previously in an educational environment and the results suggest education managers need to understand them as they plays crucial roles in determining WOM, which plays a significant role in determining students’ educational preferences. If processes and strategies can be developed that improve service quality, satisfaction, commitment and WOM will all be positively influenced.

No other research analyzes the formation of overall satisfaction across channels, including the reciprocal interactions between store and website satisfaction and the factors that moderate them. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to examine how overall customer satisfaction is formed from the image and perceived congruence of the two main existing channels and the satisfaction induced by each.

The online study covers 909 customers of a French mortar-to-click retailer specializing in women's and children's clothing. The conceptual model incorporates reciprocal interdependence between store satisfaction and website satisfaction. This model is tested using the procedure specific to non-recursive structural equation model.

Overall satisfaction with the retailer is not only generated by satisfaction with the store and the website, but also directly and indirectly by the image of each channel. The contribution of the variables depends on the personal and situational characteristics of the customer. Not only is the relationship confirmed from store satisfaction to website satisfaction, but for the first time, in rarer cases the reverse is also observed. On the other hand, while the perceived congruence of channels can improve satisfaction with the channel for certain types of customers, in other cases the congruence can also worsen customers' overall satisfaction.

The detailed analysis of the formation of this satisfaction shows the pre-eminence of the customer over the retailer's initiatives. A retailer may facilitate or encourage virtuous interaction between retailer's channels by making the transfer of information and products more fluid (click and collect for example); but in the end, the customer is the one who decides whether or not to bring the channels closer together.

Contrary to what the literature assumes, in some cases, the retailer's attempt to integrate the channels may even reduce overall satisfaction if customers do not want this integration, just as a high level of satisfaction on the website can reduce in-store satisfaction.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of consumer satisfaction formation for e-commerce. The study also predicts that the satisfaction formation model of e-commerce will differ between the US and Korean consumers due to differences in cultural background.

The study integrates the expectation disconfirmation theory (EDT) and the technology acceptance model (TAM). The hypotheses are examined by analyzing a structural equation model for consumers in the USA and Korea.

The results show that the model demonstrates good fit for both groups. For consumers in both countries, when purchasing fashion products on a new e-commerce site, the performance of the site’s usefulness was found to be a crucial variable in their satisfaction and intention to use the site. While there was no significant difference in the multiple group measurement model invariance test, the findings are meaningful because the slight differences in the standard coefficients of the two groups are considered.

It is meaningful to apply EDT and the TAM to the daily deal site environment. The influence of related variables can be reconfirmed and new consumer behaviors can be better understood. The research provides fresh insights into consumer behavior that can benefit managers when they make decisions in the e-commerce field.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the central role of communication within teams and jobs satisfaction of the participants in business enterprises. “How communication in the team affects job satisfaction of the team member” shaped the design of the study in developing several propositions.

The paper opted for an exploratory study using semi‐structured interviews at two locations, Singapore and Dalian, China. The respondents had taken part in one team, at least, in the past. These respondents were professionals, junior managers, and sales/marketing executives. The data were organized according to the contextual framework developed in the study. The contextual frame was developed by combing attention‐structure with the four phases in a typical team. The concepts and developed constructs were mapped to reach testable propositions.

The paper provides an empirical insight on the relationship between formal teams and their members’ job satisfaction. The findings are noted in two stages. First, formal teams, positive attitude to conflicts, effective conflict resolution, and “opinion‐count” of the members positive influence job satisfaction of the member. Second, it appears that “opinion‐count” may have more positive effects than any other concept. Therefore, it is concluded that “opinion‐count” in communication mediates the other effects in team communication for job satisfaction.

First, the research is based on limited interviews in only two locations, Singapore and Dalian, China; second, the study is a qualitative one. It lacks generalization. Third, it is acknowledged that the author's own interpretation may have influenced the findings ‐‐ it is often unavoidable. Fourth, the number of propositions is limited in the framework. Finally, the participants’ demographic factors are missing from the analysis. For instance, education, age, professional position, technical background, and financial rewards can be included in a future quantitative study.

It is known that employees’ job satisfaction can lead to better engagement of the employees in the organization. More participation of the employee can be productive for the organization. Since job satisfaction and innovation appear to be highly positively correlated, increasing one can increase the other. Business enterprises lose millions of dollars every year because of the disengagement of their employees. Improving the engagement of employees can improve their productivity.

Based on inductive methodology, this article links the individual employee's opinion‐count at work place and job satisfaction of the employee. These findings are important in the sense that employees’ engagement at work and well being depends on their satisfaction. Therefore, both the employer and employee can benefit from these findings. The study provides a new solution to an old problem. It suggests that opinion‐count is more effective in increasing job satisfaction than other policies.

Memorable tourism experiences (MTEs) can reinforce a destination's competitiveness. The literature has called for further research on this topic. This study develops and empirically examines a conceptual model exploring the relationships between MTEs, satisfaction, destination image (DI) and loyalty.

Quantitative research was conducted with 729 respondents who had visited the Greek island of Santorini in the last three years, and structural equation modeling was used.

The findings confirm the strength of the proposed model, which explained 58% of the variance for MTEs and 82% of that for tourist loyalty. The results reveal that MTEs influenced destination loyalty directly and indirectly through satisfaction, while DI influenced loyalty directly and indirectly.

This study provides new insight into the importance of MTEs, satisfaction and DI in the formation of destination loyalty.

This study provides new insight into the importance of MTEs, satisfaction, and DI in the formation of destination loyalty.

The proposed model is the first to include these factors and the specific relationships between them.

Customer satisfaction in a service encounter mainly depends on quality of the service provided. However, technological advancements and higher internet usage rates led to an over dependence of customers to social media. A research to identify the role played by information in the formation of satisfaction in service encounters is warranted. Thus, this study aims to examine the importance given by customers to various types of information in evaluating a service encounter and attempts to conceptualize the hierarchical process of formation, retention and modification of customer satisfaction under perceived information importance.

Perceptions of 385 bank customers were collected on their information-seeking behavior (ISB), importance of information on satisfaction, satisfaction modification intentions (SMI) and loyalty using a structured questionnaire. A variance-based structural equation modeling helped to identify significant linkages among variables such as satisfaction developers, satisfaction retainers, satisfaction modifiers, ISB, SMI and information allied loyalty.

The study could identify three distinct dimensions such as developers, retainers and modifiers for satisfaction construct under perceived importance to information measured using various attributes relevant to a service setting. ISB of customer emerged as an antecedent that cause paradigm changes in satisfaction as well as loyalty feel. The study could also establish that SMI significantly moderates loyalty from satisfaction dimensions even though intensities are different.

Theoretically, this study examined the manner in which information intervenes in the satisfaction–loyalty link, but many predispositions of the customer about service capabilities of the service provider might have critically influenced their modification intentions.

Providing customers with consistent and reliable information is critical to the development of stable satisfaction judgements. Understanding the true impact of information and its role in modifying satisfaction can help marketers to fine tune their strategies for effective relationship management. Now, to remain competitive, firms must constantly analyze the implications of emerging information and the importance customers assign to such information.

This paper helped marketers to identify new areas to focus their attention to ensure lasting customer loyalty.