Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-1985

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Business Administration

Major Professor

Robert B. Woodruff

Committee Members

David J. Barnaby, Ernest R. Cadotte, John W. Philpot

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to provide insights into consumer post-usage evaluation processes. The study focused on: (1) replication and extension of research on the disconfirmation paradigm; and (2) the inclusion of involvement as an antecedent or triggering cue to the evaluation process. The literature review indicated that there has been inadequate attention given to the role of experience-based norms as consumer reference points. Focal brand expectations, product norms, and favorite brand norms were included as standards of comparison in this study. The involvement literature showed that both individual and situational components have been used to define involvement. This study defined involvement as a product specific, task-oriented concern for a consumption experience. The individual component was labeled enduring product importance to reflect long-term commitment and identification with a product category.

Experimental procedures were used in which two levels of expectations and two levels of involvement were manipulated and presented to 91 graduate students. Different brands of chablis and product messages were used for expectations, and different usage occasions were presented to create differing involvement levels. Each subject's perceived norms and expectations, performance evaluations, disconfirmation, and satisfaction were subsequently measured. Enduring product importance was included as a covariate to reduce experimental error.

Results suggest the expectations and involvement effects are moderately different for the two chablis brands and two consumption occasions. Expectations relationships were as typically hypothesized, i.e., significantly related to performance and satisfaction, and independent of disconfirmation. Involvement hypotheses indicated significant relationships between involvement and attributes used for evaluation, performance, latitude of acceptable performance, and favorite brand disconfirmation. Evaluation models were also different for the two involvement scenarios. For the low involvement occasion, disconfirmation was the major predictor of satisfaction. For the high involvement experience, neither disconfirmation nor initial standards affected subjects satisfaction. Rather, satisfaction was mainly determined by performance. It was concluded that involvement may affect the way in which consumers choose to evaluate products. Market segmentation and positioning analyses can benefit from better understanding of satisfaction process differences between consumer groups.

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