Customer Satisfaction
Since the early 1970s the volume of consumer satisfaction research has been impressive. Numerous theoretical structures have been proposed to examine the antecedents of satisfaction and develop meaningful measures of the construct. Most of these studies have used some variant of the disconfirmation paradigm which holds that satisfaction is related to the size and direction of the disconfirmation experience, where disconfirmation is related to the person's initial expectation (Churchill and Surprenant, 1982; Oliver, 1980, 1981, Semente, 2017).
The Expectations Confirmation Theory (ECT)
The Expectations Confirmation Theory/Model has been the dominant model in consumer satisfaction research. The model has consumers using pre-consumption expectations in a comparison with post-consumption experiences of a product/service to form an attitude (perception) of satisfaction or dissatisfaction toward the product/service. In this model, expectations originate from beliefs about the level of performance that a product/service will provide (Jiang and Klein, 2009).
According to Jiang and Kein (2009, p.384), “the Expectation-confirmation theory (ECT), posits that satisfaction is determined by the interplay of prior expectations and perception of delivery. As such, there are many applications in research and practice that employ an ECT model”. They also argue that researchers may apply the theory in a multitude of contexts where satisfaction is a variable of interest, either as the dependent, mediator, or moderator variable.
For instance, rail transport punctuality, along with scheduling, food quality, cost, frequency, baggage delivery, cabin service, and membership of alliances, usually seem to be the main elements of customer service in the transport industry (Weber and Sparks, 2004). In general, dissatisfaction after using the products or service is the primary reason for complaints. In service industries such as transportation, a major requirement for success is to understand and satisfy customer needs and expectations; through creating, communicating and delivering customer value, and keeping promises (Atilgan et al., 2003). Hence the notion of service quality cannot be overemphasized.