Surprise... Surprise..., An Empirical Investigation on How Surprise is Connected to Customer Satisfaction

Joëlle Vanhamme

ERIM Report Series Research in Management from Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam

Abstract: This research investigates the specific influence of the emotion of surprise on customer transaction-specific satisfaction. Four empirical studies-two field studies (a diary study and a cross section survey) and two experiments-were conducted. The results show that surprise positively [negatively] influences satisfaction directly and indirectly (via the amplification of positive [negative] emotions), even when disconfirmation is taken into account in the model. The amplification property of surprise and the How-do-I-feel-about-it? heuristic are believed to explain this influence. Some results also show that surprised customers display higher levels of satisfaction and dissatisfaction than non surprised customers.

Keywords: delight; disconfirmation; experiment; satisfaction; surprise (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C44 D12 M M31 M39 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2003-02-11
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ems:eureri:273

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