Journal of Services Marketing

An empirical test of a proposed customer satisfaction model in e-services

Hong‐Youl Ha, Swinder Janda,
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 An empirical test of a proposed customer
satisfaction model in e-services
Hong-Youl Ha
Marketing and International Studies, Faculty of Business and Enterprise, Swinburne University of Technology,
Hawthorne, Australia, and
Swinder Janda
Department of Marketing, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, USA

Abstract
Purpose – This research aims to build on recent advances in services marketing theory to propose and evaluate empirically a model of online customer
satisfaction and its key antecedent and consequent constructs. This research also aims to establish the role of attribution and disconfirmation within this
context.
Design/methodology/approach – An online survey is utilized to collect data and the proposed theoretical model is estimated using structural
equation modeling via the AMOS software.
Findings – The findings indicate that perceived value may both directly and indirectly (via disconfirmation) affect not just satisfaction, but it may also
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indirectly affect attribution via disconfirmation.

Originality/value – This research contributes to extant literature via further extending theory related to customer satisfaction in the online
environment. For example, one major contribution of the study pertains to illustrating the role of perceived value in affecting an online shopper’s
satisfaction. Since satisfaction and attribution further influence website loyalty and repurchase intentions, websites that desire long-term customer
loyalty and resultant success must ensure that customers perceive their website to provide them with great value. Such companies must also strive to
establish systems to ensure that all the company’s marketing activities and practices are geared toward ensuring that customers consistently perceive
good value. Other ways in which the current study provides significant value to extant research is by exploring the role of attribution and
disconfirmation in the online context.

Keywords Customer satisfaction, Internet shopping, Services marketing, Customer loyalty

Paper type Research paper

An executive summary for managers and executive
readers can be found at the end of this article.
Introduction
Extant research conceptualizes customer satisfaction as a
cumulative construct that is affected both by service
expectations and performance perceptions in the current
time period, as well as in prior time periods (Johnson et al.,
1995). Satisfaction plays a particularly important role in
competitive environments such as e-commerce because of its
impact on customer loyalty (Auh and Johnson, 1998; Shankar
et al., 2000; Söderlund, 1998; Zeithaml et al., 1996). Thus it
is not surprising that many practical and theoretical models of
customer retention have considered satisfaction as a key
determinant in consumer decisions to continue/discontinue
their relationship with a given product or service (Bolton,
1998; Lemon et al., 2002; Rust and Zahorik, 1993). The
recent shakeout in the e-commerce environment has seen a
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
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variety of established companies participating in the web
business environment. Considering such trends, it is
particularly imperative for online marketers to understand
and monitor customer satisfaction and response (Mittal et al.,
2001; Sultan and Henrichs, 2000).
Several prominent researchers have argued for a need to
focus more on the invariance of the relationship between
antecedent and consequent variables (e.g. Anderson and
Fornell, 2000; Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Bitner, 1990;
Westbrook, 1987; Westbrook and Oliver, 1991). Most recent
research has utilized Oliver’s (1980)[1] framework to establish
further understanding of e-consumer satisfaction (Boulding
et al., 1993; Johnson et al., 1995; Oliver and Bearden, 1983;
Shaffer and Sherrell, 1997; Spreng and Page, 2001; Yi,
1993). For instance, Yi and La (2004) utilize Oliver’s
framework to explain the relationship between customer
satisfaction and repurchase intentions. They introduce the
concept of adjusted expectations, which are expectations
updated after consumption experience and are treated as
outcomes of satisfaction. In this research, however, we
propose that adjusted expectations may also affect
disconfirmation, and the attribution process may be utilized
effectively to better understand this relationship. This is a
contribution to extant literature because theoretical

Journal of Services Marketing

22/5 (2008) 399– 408 Received: February 2006
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0887-6045] Revised: July 2006
[DOI 10.1108/08876040810889166] Accepted: October 2006

399
 Empirical test of a customer satisfaction model in e-services
Hong-Youl Ha and Swinder Janda
approaches to studying online shopping are limited in the
academic literature (You et al., 2004).
Anderson and Fornell (1994) have noted that despite the
overwhelming quantity of literature surrounding the concept
of satisfaction certain “key issues have either gone unresolved
or have recently been brought into question” (p. 244). One
such issue pertains to how best to conceptualize online
satisfaction. In particular, an evaluation of the determinants
and effects of customer satisfaction on the internet is
necessary to further our understanding in this context. The
present research helps fill this research gap by first proposing
and testing an integrative model which focuses on the
relationship between customer satisfaction and its
determinants, and then presenting an integrative guide to
customer satisfaction on the web from the perspective of both
marketing practitioners and academics.
The remainder of this paper is organized as follows:
1 a literature review that sets up research hypotheses, and
develops an integrative model which focuses on the
factors associated directly with customer satisfaction in
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e-commerce environments;
2 a description of the sample and measurement tools
employed, as well as an overview of empirical research
results and their implications; and
3 a brief account of the study limitations and future research
directions.
Theoretical background and proposed hypotheses
Antecedents of customer satisfaction
Although the marketing literature recognizes the importance
of satisfaction, there is no general agreement on how the
concept should be defined (Rogers et al., 1992). This lack of
consensus implies that satisfaction may not mean the same
thing to everyone (Oliver, 1980). In this study, we utilize a
recent perspective to define e-satisfaction as the perceived
degree of contentment with regard to a customer’s prior
purchase experience with a given electronic commerce firm
(Anderson and Srinivasan, 2003).
Of the various models advanced to explain customer
satisfaction, the confirmation/disconfirmation model for
expectation and performance is one of the more widely
accepted (Bitner, 1990; Oliver, 1980; Oliver and Bearden,
1983; Oliver and DeSarbo, 1988; Spreng et al., 1996; Wirtz and
Bateson, 1999; Yi, 1993). According to this framework, an
increase in satisfaction occurs if performance is higher than
expectation, while a decrease in satisfaction results if
performance fails to meet expectation. Within this framework,
customer satisfaction is conceptualized as a cumulative
construct that is affected by market expectations and
performances in any given period and is influenced by prior
satisfaction from one time period to another (Johnson et al.,
1995).
Several researchers have recently highlighted problems
related to how customer satisfaction has been measured (e.g.
Payne and Holt, 2001; Reichheld, 1996). One key criticism of
customer satisfaction and the dominant theoretical model
(expectancy-disconfirmation) on which it is based is that
instead of consumers using expectations as the basis for
judging satisfaction, they may use their judgments of
perceived value (O’Brien and Jones, 1995). The service
management literature argues that customer satisfaction is the
result of a customer’s perception of the value received (Cronin
400
Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2008 · 399 –408
et al., 2000). Similarly, a recent study in the health care
context found that perceived value has a positive influence on
patient satisfaction (Choi et al., 2004).
More recently, Anderson and Srinivasan (2003) proposed
that e-satisfaction is moderated by perceived value. According
to their argument, even satisfied customers are unlikely to
patronize an e-business if they feel that they are not getting
the best value for their money (p. 128). However, in the
current study we posit that perceived value will directly affect
satisfaction because of the perception of utility received. This
position is supported by prior research that illustrates the
paramount importance of value in an online context (Burke,
2002; Reibstein, 2002). Thus:
H1. Perceived value will be positively related to satisfaction.
An individual may compare perceived value to disconfirmation
in order to arrive at an evaluation. Here it refers to customers’
perceived level of service quality relative to the price they pay.
Although it may be not clear that the effects of value and
disconfirmation are conceptually independent, performance
may affect the perception of value. Moreover, prior research
indicates that performance has a significant effect on
disconfirmation (Yi, 1993; Oliver, 1997). Thus perceived
value may be related to disconfirmation (Andreassen and
Lindestad, 1998; Wirtz, 1994). For example, if perceived value is
negatively related to confirmation, the consumer is likely to be
disappointed. On the other hand, if perceived value is negatively
related to disconfirmation, the gap between perceived value and
disconfirmation is likely to be reduced. Furthermore, Fornell
et al. (1996) found that the perception of value can also be created
without any actual experience with a service. We thus propose:
H2. Perceived value will be negatively related to
disconfirmation.
Perceived value is conceptualized as the consumer’s
evaluation of the utility of perceived benefits and perceived
sacrifices (Zeithaml, 1988). Thus, consumers may cognitively
integrate their perceptions of what they get (benefits) and
what they had to give up (sacrifices) in order to receive a
certain service. In e-services, benefits are largely the result of
good performance in both outcome and process domains.
Perceived value from the performance is closely related to
attributional search (Weiner, 2000). For example, a customer
who enjoys a vacation package recommended by a specific
online agency is likely to plan another future vacation via the
same site. After all, s/he will expect the next vacation via the
same website to likely result in a favorable experience. More
specifically, the greater the perceived value from performance,
the more the likelihood of expectancy shift because of
attributions made to stable causes. We thus posit that
customer attribution will be directly influenced by the
perceived value of e-services:
H3. Perceived value will be positively related to customer
attribution.
Disconfirmation
Disconfirmation of expectations implies that the service
performance fell short of (or exceeded) what a consumer
expected when s/he made a purchase decision. This can have
negative (or positive) implications for the experience (Moore
and Shuptrine, 1984). Therefore, it is plausible that a service
performance exceeding expectations can cause pleasure and a
shortfall in performance can cause displeasure for a customer.
 Empirical test of a customer satisfaction model in e-services
Hong-Youl Ha and Swinder Janda
Some studies have shown that customer satisfaction is directly
affected by expectation (Bearden and Tell, 1983; Kong and
Mayo, 1993; Yi, 1993) without the mediating role of
disconfirmation. However, Wirtz and Bateson (1999) found
that confirmation/disconfirmation have direct effects on both
pleasure and satisfaction. Consumers thus experience pleasure
when they perceive positive disconfirmation and they experience
displeasure when they perceive negative disconfirmation.
Ultimately, a consumer may tend to resolve this gap by
discounting the evidence rather than forming a higher
expectation. In this study, we propose that this gap will
decrease customer satisfaction, and, in turn, will influence
switching behaviors.
Eagly et al. (1981) assert that expectancy confirmation leads
to causal attribution. More specifically, the reaction is
generated by the disconfirmation response, which occurs at
the beginning stage of the attribution process (Oliver, 1997).
Accordingly, it is necessary to connect the attribution process
to the primary appraisal assessment in order to understand
the nature of the outcome (whether it is a success or a failure).
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This leads to the following hypothesis:
H4. Disconfirmation will be positively related
attribution.
Thus, positive or negative disconfirmation results when
perceived performance is compared with expectations and the
evaluation is related to customer satisfaction (Oliver, 1997;
Spreng and Page, 2001; Yi, 1993). According to Yi (1993),
expectation and disconfirmation are two very key variables
that affect customer satisfaction. For example, when little
experience goes into forming an expectation, a customer may
not be as surprised or upset if his/her expectations are not
met. Thus the following hypothesis is proposed:
H5. The higher the level of positive expectation-
disconfirmation, the greater will be the customer
satisfaction level.
Attribution
When service performance fails to meet customer
expectations (an occurrence of disconfirmation) the
resultant psychological discord may encourage customers to
engage in causal attributions (Folkes, 1988; Jones and Davis,
1965; Mittal et al., 2001). Thus a customer’s satisfaction or
dissatisfaction with the brand may result in causal inferences
about satisfaction or cause of dissatisfaction and
responsibility. If the perceived cause is expected to remain
the same (stable), then success may be followed by an increase
in success expectancy and motivation, while failure may be
detrimental to both expectancy and motivation. Conversely, if
the cause is not expected to reoccur (unstable), then success
may lead to lower expectancy and motivation, but failure may
not necessarily decrease the expectation of future success and
motivation to engage in similar behaviors. Besides influencing
motivation via expectancies, attributions also have a direct
effect on motivated behavior (Weiner, 2000).
Consumer attributions have been noted to be key
determinants of satisfaction (Oliver, 1997). Further, Weiner
(1995) emphasizes the role of emotion as a mediator between
attributions and behavior. In the process model portrayed in
Figure 1, we characterize satisfaction as an affect that
mediates between attributional property (i.e. stability) and
future consumer behavior (i.e. choice). We thus hypothesize
that the attribution process will positively affect repurchase
Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2008 · 399 –408
Figure 1 Conceptual model of attribution effects on customer
satisfaction
intentions via a customer’s ongoing relationship with a
particular website. This is because positive attributions will
result from positive experiences related to products/services
associated with the website, and will thus positively affect
satisfaction (Oliver, 1997) and future purchase intentions.
H6. Attribution will be positively related to satisfaction.
to H7. Attribution will be positively related to repurchase
intention.
Outcome variables for customer satisfaction
Brand (website) loyalty
In competitive environments, building a brand loyal customer
base is particularly relevant because such consumers may
perceive unique value in brand ownership that they may feel
other brands cannot provide (Griffin, 1996; Reichheld,
1996). However, building strong loyalty on the web may be
particularly challenging because of the relative difficulty of
differentiating one’s website from other websites (McWilliam,
2000; Reichheld and Schefter, 2000).
However, we contend that positive attributions and the
resulting satisfaction, particularly as a result of multiple
positive experiences, will contribute toward loyalty (Anderson
and Srinivasan, 2003). Numerous studies in the traditional
marketing (non-online) context have found a positive link
between satisfaction and loyalty (e.g. Bitner, 1990; Dick and
Basu, 1994; Kandampully and Suhartanto, 2000; Oliva et al.,
1992). These arguments suggest the following hypothesis:
H8. Satisfaction will be positively related to website loyalty.
Repeat-purchase intention
In e-commerce, repeat-purchase behavior of satisfied
consumers may be closely related to customer loyalty.
Uncles et al. (1998) argue that customer loyalty can be
improved by considering buyer habits and reinforcement in a
variety of situations. Meanwhile, Shankar et al. (2000)
recently found that satisfaction for a service chosen online is
higher when information content at the website is deeper and
when the individual enjoys the online experience. As Kumar
(2002) points out, consumers’ repurchase intent is reference
dependent, in that it incorporates their evaluation of the focal
supplier’s performance relative to that of a reference
competing supplier with whom they have had a concurrent
or past experience (Kumar, 2002). Thus satisfaction should
positively affect repurchase intention at a website.
H9. Customer satisfaction will be positively related to
repurchase intention.
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 Empirical test of a customer satisfaction model in e-services Journal of Services Marketing
Hong-Youl Ha and Swinder Janda Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2008 · 399 –408

Research methodology 2 disconfirmation, with two items adapted from Oliver

Data collection was accomplished via a survey design. The
survey instrument was an e-mail web fill-out form administered
in the UK during November and December 2004. The survey
was designed to include a number of different types of travel
websites based on consumer experience. We selected this
category because travel-related websites (e.g. Expedia.com) are
very common and widely utilized by online customers all over
the world. In particular, the main criteria for selecting
participants for the sample was a minimum of six months’
experience of shopping on the internet with at least one travel-
related purchase within that period.
To ensure the integrity of the data collection instrument
and the mode of administration, a pretest was conducted.
Pretest interviews were conducted with a convenience sample
of 32 graduate students having various e-purchase experiences
in the city of Manchester. The pattern of answers from the
pretest indicated that the survey instrument was adequate
(Hunt et al., 1982).
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(1980); and
3 attribution, with four items adapted from Oliver (1997).
The three outcome facets of satisfaction were measured as
follows:
1 satisfaction, with three items adapted from Auh and
Johnson (1998) and Anderson and Sullivan (1993);
2 loyalty, with three items adapted from Jacoby and
Chestnut (1978); and
3 repurchase, with two items adapted from Uncles et al.
(1998).
All the constructs in the model utilized seven-point Likert
scales (1 ¼ strongly disagree to 7 ¼ strongly agree; or 1 ¼
very unlikely to 7 ¼ very likely) (see the Appendix). For
example, customer satisfaction was measured with three
seven-point scales anchored as “very satisfied/very
dissatisfied”, “very pleased/very displeased”, and “delighted/
terrible” (Spreng et al., 1996).

As previously mentioned, subjects pre-tested this

questionnaire with respect to layout, item sequence, item Analysis procedures and results
wording, and item difficulty. Care was taken that subjects A reliability analysis of multi-item scales yielded favorable
tested were similar to those included in the final data results. All Cronbach’s coefficient a values exceeded 0.8
collection in terms of gender and familiarity with the topic. (Nunnally, 1978) (see the Appendix). Factor analysis was
Items were pre-tested by conducting a self-administrated used as a preliminary way to refine multi-item measures.
survey. Thirty-two postgraduate students were selected as
Table I shows the factor analysis results utilizing Varimax
pretest respondents because they are more familiar with
rotation. Only items with factor loadings greater than 0.50
online access than other users, and thus are more likely to be
were retained for further analysis. Validity was assessed
online shoppers. Respondents were asked to describe the
utilizing confirmatory factor analysis (Bentler and Chou,
meaning of each question, to explain their answer, and to
1987). In the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we
state any problems they encountered. More specifically,
standardized our model by constraining one indicator for
respondents were instructed to consider their most recent
each construct to 1.0. The results of the CFA (x2 ¼ 109:20,
internet shopping experience (e.g. travel industry or travel
df ¼ 60, p ¼ 0:00) suggest that our measurement model
agency) during which they seriously considered buying a
provides a good fit to the data (for a complete list of fit
product or service. To avoid confusion, respondents were also
statistics, please refer to the bottom of Table I). As evidence of
asked to respond based on their experience with one
convergent validity, the CFA results indicate that all items are
particular e-store when shopping for a particular product or
significantly (p , 0:01) related to their hypothesized factors
service.
without high cross loadings.
In the main study, survey respondents were essentially
The average variance extracted (AVE) was computed for
asked about their satisfaction with the website from which
multi-item measures, and the values all exceeded the
they had recently made a purchase within the last six months.
minimum of 0.50, thus suggesting convergent validity
Additionally, respondents were asked to write down why they
(Fornell and Larcker, 1981). Moreover, in all cases, the
believed an outcome occurred since such information plays a
AVE estimate for a construct exceeded the squared
crucial role in understanding customer satisfaction in our
correlations between that construct and all other constructs
hypothesized model. This research did not evaluate the
thus suggesting discriminant validity (Fornell and Larcker,
transaction-specific satisfaction for one-time consumption but
1981). Based on these tests, we concluded that the measures
evaluated the cumulative[2] future-oriented behaviors
in the study exhibited sufficient evidence of convergent and
regarding customer satisfaction. Accordingly, a customer’s
discriminant validity (Table II).
repetitive purchase behavior was critical and each subject
The data from this study were analyzed in two stages. The
evaluated a particular web-site related to their repetitive
measurement model was first assessed to confirm that the
experiences. A total of 824 surveys were originally distributed
scales were undimensional and reliable. Further analysis
via e-mail, out of which a total of 386 (46.8 percent) replies
utlilized the structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques
resulted in valid surveys.
via the AMOS 4.01 program. SEM techniques helped
Based on Weiner’s (2000) work, we measured the degree of
determine the efficacy of the model and the proposed
causal attribution in terms of two dimensions:
hypotheses.
1 a stability dimension reflecting the anticipated likelihood
In specifying the SEM model, each of the constructs with
of service satisfaction; and
multiple measures was represented by a single scale score.
2 a controllability dimension reflecting judgments of
This is consistent with the way prior research utilizes
responsibility and retributive actions (Weiner, 2000).
measures of these constructs. In addition, because the
The three antecedent facets of satisfaction were as follows: dichotomous turnover measure was not distributed
1 perceived value, with two items adapted from Sweeney normally, it was treated as a censored variable – censored at
et al. (1999); zero from below (Muthén, 1984). Finally, the measurement

402
 Empirical test of a customer satisfaction model in e-services Journal of Services Marketing
Hong-Youl Ha and Swinder Janda Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2008 · 399 –408

Table I Differences of impact on determinants of customer satisfaction index (r), and Bentler and Chou (1987) comparative fit index
(CFI). Each of these indices showed an adequate fit: D was
Travel 0.980, r was 0.983, and CFI was 0.992, respectively (see
respondents Table III).
Measurement item (n 5 386)a Factor loading Overall, the structural equation parameter estimates
Exogenous constructs provide empirical support for eight of the nine proposed
Perceived value hypotheses (for an overview, see Table III). As hypothesized,
perceived value is positively related to satisfaction. Perceived
Value for money 4.31 (1.44) 0.80
value also indirectly affects satisfaction via disconfirmation.
Quality 3.37 (1.47) 0.82
Results also indicate that satisfaction positively affects loyalty
Disconfirmation
and repurchase intentions. Further results show that
Positive disconfirmation 4.32 (1.01) 0.66
disconfirmation exerts a positive influence on attribution,
Good price 4.06 (1.02) 0.75 which in turn affects satisfaction and repurchase intention. H3
(relationship between perceived value and attribution) was
Endogenous constructs not supported by these data. A discussion of these results and
Satisfaction potential implications are summarized in the following
Overall satisfaction 4.50 (1.38) 0.78 section.
Good choice 4.24 (1.50) 0.80
Unhappiness 4.16 (1.51) 0.78
Brand loyalty
Discussion and managerial implications
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High preference 3.88 (1.22) 0.77 The results of this study provide empirical evidence
Switching barriers 4.06 (1.28) 0.74 pertaining to the relationships between online customer
Trust regardless of price 3.86 (1.29) 0.76 satisfaction and key antecedent and consequent constructs
Attribution identified via a review of the extant research. This research
Stability 5.25 (1.23) 0.44 also establishes the role of attribution and disconfirmation
Controllability 4.99 (1.04) 0.71 within this context. Our research thus builds upon and
Repurchase extends current research pertaining to online customer
Repurchase intention 4.34 (1.32) 0.91 satisfaction. Although this study focuses on one unique
Frequency visits 4.04 (1.24) 0.72 context (travel-related websites), the nature of relationships
established in this research have wider theoretical
Notes: Confirmatory factor analysis fit statistics: x2 ¼ 109:20, df ¼ 60, implications. Future research aimed at replicating these
p ¼ 0:00, x2 =df ¼ 1:82; goodness-of-fit index ðGFIÞ ¼ 0:966, adjusted relationships in other online contexts will help establish
goodness-of-fit index ðAGFIÞ ¼ 0:923, normed fit index ðNFIÞ ¼ 0:977, further efficacy of this model.
comparative fit index ðCFIÞ ¼ 0:990, root mean square error of An important theoretical contribution of this research
approximation ðRMSEAÞ ¼ 0:046; afigures shown are means, with pertains to illustrating the role of perceived value in affecting
standard deviations in parentheses an online shopper’s satisfaction. The immense relevance of
perceived value in the online context has been pointed out in
many recent research studies (e.g. Burke, 2002; Reibstein,
Table II Factor correlation matrix 2002). Our findings also show that perceived value may both
directly and indirectly (via disconfirmation) affect not just
AVE 1 2 3 4 5
satisfaction, but also indirectly affect attribution via
1. Perceived value 0.77 disconfirmation. Since satisfaction and attribution further
2. Disconfirmation 0.68 0.41 influence website loyalty and repurchase intentions, websites
3. Satisfaction 0.76 0.73 0.58 that desire long term customer loyalty and resultant success
4. Loyalty 0.72 0.80 0.40 0.80 must ensure that customers perceive their website to provide
5. Repurchase 0.81 0.71 0.55 0.37 0.58 them with great value. Such companies must also strive to
6. Attribution 0.54 0.42 0.29 0.41 0.28 0.37 establish systems to ensure that all the company’s marketing
activities and practices are geared toward ensuring that
customers consistently perceive good value. One simple way
to achieve this includes providing prospective customers
error terms for each construct were fixed at zero for the initial information about major competitors’ prices for the same
estimation and revision of the proposed model and then fixed product. Another strategy, which is already used by many
at (1 2 a) times the variance of each scale in the final model companies these days, is to provide a low price guarantee so a
to determine the extent to which measurement error affected customer who finds the same product at a lower price
the observed pattern of relationships. elsewhere can contact the company and get a refund for the
In the SEM analysis, the multiple indicators were summed difference.
together for each construct and the resulting summated score The role of attributions in affecting satisfaction and
was used to represent that construct in the simultaneous repurchase intentions indicates that companies that market
equation model[3]. The overall fit of the structural model was products and services online need to pay special attention to
determined initially by examining the x2 statistic which was policies and practices that are designed to ensure that
significant. As such, other measures of fit compensating for customers come across positive purchase and customer
sample size were also applied: Bentler and Bonett’s (1980) service experiences at the website. Company-wide policies
normed fit index (D), Tucker and Lewis’s non-normed fit must be in place to ensure that negative attributions do not

403
 Empirical test of a customer satisfaction model in e-services
Hong-Youl Ha and Swinder Janda
Table III Structural model parameter estimates
Description Path coefficient
H1. Perceived value ! satisfaction
H2. Perceived value ! disconfirmation
H3. Perceived value ! attribution
H4. Disconfirmation ! attribution
H5. Disconfirmation ! satisfaction
H6. Attribution ! satisfaction
H7. Attribution ! repurchase
H8. Satisfaction ! loyalty
H9. Satisfaction ! repurchase
Notes: Goodness-of-fit statistics: x2 ¼ 94:977, x2 ðdfÞ ¼ 57, x2 =df ¼ 1:666. Normed fit index ðNFIÞ ¼ 0:980, TLI ¼ 0:983, CFI ¼ 0:992, RMSEA ¼ 0:042
affect a customer’s satisfaction and loyalty with the company.
One way to accomplish this goal is to make sure that customer
service representatives receive proper training such that in
every instance a customer calls in with a complaint or
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concern, the company should take responsibility and
volunteer to fix the problem, for instance by willingly
accepting returned merchandise with no questions asked
and refunding the shipping fees. Such policies will result in
enhanced satisfaction, and also via positive word-of-mouth,
contribute to enhanced levels of loyalty to the website. Over
time, such positive experiences will result in positive
attributions to the company and strong customer loyalty as
well enhanced levels of positive word-of-mouth (llbean.com is
a website that accomplishes this very well).
Limitations and future research
The major limitation of this study pertains to the selectivity of
the sample (drawn from customer experiences with the travel
industry alone). Although results derived from this sample
provide a useful understanding pertaining to online
satisfaction, these results are not intended to be universally
generalizable to all online purchase contexts, but are intended
to be utilized as a starting point to further establish these
relationships in other contexts. Future studies need to test the
model relationships in other online contexts in order to
establish further efficacy of the model.
A significant extension of this research would be to test
relevant constructs that may moderate key model
relationships. For instance, the role of perceived value in
affecting online satisfaction and disconfirmation may be quite
different in case of a specialty product purchase (e.g. a Rolex
watch) versus a repetitive convenience product purchase (e.g.
vitamins). Similarly, it may be interesting to investigate the
role of online consumers’ individual characteristics as
moderators in the model. It may be pertinent, for example,
to establish whether perceived value plays a significant role in
affecting satisfaction and disconfirmation, and finally site
loyalty and repurchase intentions only for consumers with low
levels of involvement or for those with higher levels of
involvement as well (both with the online buying process and
the product category being purchased). The moderating role
of need for cognition (NC) would also be important to
investigate in this context, particularly considering that NC
has recently been established as a moderator for the
relationship between website layout and online customer
attitudes (Martin et al., 2005). Future research also needs to
Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2008 · 399 –408
t-value Probability
0.232 3.852 0.000
20.567 2 12.395 0.017
0.103 1.149 0.250 (NS)
0.443 2.973 0.003
0.786 7.022 0.000
0.171 2.264 0.024
0.204 3.252 0.001
0.672 12.538 0.000
0.577 9.632 0.000
further investigate the role of attribution in web customer
satisfaction, particularly since the direct affect of perceived
value on attribution was not statistically significant in our
sample.
Although the survey methodology was useful in establishing
the relationships in our model, future researchers attempting
to replicate and extend these findings may wish to collaborate
with companies marketing products and services online and
track customers’ actual behaviors. This would be an excellent
way to validate the current model relationships, particularly
those involving repurchase intentions and site loyalty. Finally,
a major contribution to the literature would involve
integrating findings from this study with findings from
numerous recent studies focusing on online service quality
(e.g. Janda et al., 2002; Trocchia and Janda, 2003; Zeithaml
et al., 2000) and online website quality (e.g. Yoo and Donthu,
2001). Such an integrative study would certainly be a very
worthwhile addition to extant knowledge in this area.
Notes
1 More recently, Oliver (1997, p. 13) brings together these
definitions in the following overall view of satisfaction:
“Satisfaction is the consumer’s fulfillment response. It is a
judgment that a product or service feature, or the product
or service itself, provided (or is providing) pleasurable
levels of consumption-related fulfillment, including levels
of under-or over-fulfillment”.
2 Cumulative satisfaction recognizes that customers rely on
their entire experience when forming intentions and
making repurchase decisions (Olsen and Johnson, 2003).
Thus, one advantage of cumulative evaluation is that they
should better predict customers’ intentions and behavior.
3 The path-analysis procedure used here is becoming
common in studies in which a small size restricts the use
of the full structural equation model. Please see Li and
Calantone (1998) for further details about this approach
and for other citations related to this approach.
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 Empirical test of a customer satisfaction model in e-services
Hong-Youl Ha and Swinder Janda
Appendix
Table AI Items used to measure constructs
Perceived value (Sweeney et al., 1999) a ¼ 0:89
Value for money is important to me
Service quality is crucial to purchase
Disconfirmation (adopted from Oliver, 1980) a ¼ 0:81
Quality of product or service is much more higher than
my expectation
I am happy that prices offered by the website were
lower than my expectation
Brand loyalty (adopted from Jacoby and Chestnut, 1978) a ¼ 0:90
I seldom consider switching to another website
I can be willing to pay more at this website relative to
the competition for the same benefit
I prefer using this website to another website
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Attribution (adopted from Oliver, 1997) a ¼ 0:84
Reason for the outcome will always be different
Expect the outcome to vary over time
Outcome was controllable by me or other people
No one is responsible for the outcome
Repurchase (adopted from Uncles et al., 1998) a ¼ 0:83
Even if this web store was more difficult to reach, I
would still keep repurchasing there
I often visit the website in order to buy another product
or service
Satisfaction (adapted from Auh et al., 1998; Anderson
and Sullivan, 1993) a ¼ 0:89
I overall satisfy a specific experience with the website
I am unhappy about my decision to purchase from this
website
I am satisfied with my decision to purchase from this
website
Notes: All measures used seven-point Likert-type scales (ranging from
“strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”; from “very pleased” to “very
displeased”; and from “very likely” to “not at all likely”)
Corresponding author
Swinder Janda can be contacted at: swinder@k-state.edu
Executive summary and implications for
managers and executives
This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives
a rapid appreciation of the content of the article. Those with a
particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in
toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the
research undertaken and its results to get the full benefit of the
material present.
“How long is a piece of string?” might be an easier question to
answer these days than asking how much choice a consumer
has in finding a website offering the sort of service he or she
wants.
407
Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2008 · 399 –408
There has been an explosion of services on the web, so
people have enormous scope to “shop around” and find
which sites suit them best. Whereas shopping around in a
traditional bricks-and-mortar context might mean time-
consuming or expensive out-of-town trips to compare what’s
on offer with what you might find locally, the internet can
provide the comparisons cheaply and almost instantaneously.
And, if you’ve tried one supplier and been less than satisfied
with the outcome, ditching that unsatisfactory supplier and
giving your custom to someone else is another area where the
web offers burgeoning choice and opportunity.
Fine for the consumer, but providers should beware –
online it might be easier to get customers, but it’s also easy to
have them desert you if you don’t live up to their increasingly
high expectations.
Consequently, those who manage websites which want
success through the long-term loyalty of their customers have
got to keep those customers satisfied and, as a result, coming
back again and again. But first you have to know more – a lot
more – than you might think you do about exactly what
constitutes satisfaction. Even a good dictionary might only
devote a few lines to defining the word; in contrast, the
marketing literature has filled volumes in trying to get to grips
with such an enigmatic concept.
Seemingly simple questions such as “Were you satisfied
with the service provided?” turn into complex conundrums
when you start introducing questions about whether or not
the consumer had low or high expectations in the first place,
whether their satisfaction stemmed from getting exactly the
service they wanted, or better than they expected, or whether
their satisfaction had more to do with the price they paid
rather than anything else. Even more complex when the
qualities which consumers attribute to a service (rightly or
wrongly) from their own unique experiences are brought into
the equation. However, it’s a complexity which has to be
worked on if customer retention is the valuable prize at stake.
In their study of people using travel websites in the UK,
Hong-Youl Ha and Swinder Janda start by conceding that,
despite the importance marketers put on satisfaction, there is
no general agreement on how it should be defined. Recent
moves in the e-commerce environment have seen a variety of
established companies participating in the web business
environment and, consequently, it is particularly imperative
for online marketers to understand and monitor customer
satisfaction and response.
An important theoretical contribution of their research
pertains to illustrating the role of perceived value in affecting
an online shopper’s satisfaction, the immense relevance of
perceived value in the online context having been pointed out
in many recent research studies.
Their findings also show that perceived value may both
directly and indirectly (via disconfirmation) affect not just
satisfaction, but also indirectly affect attribution via
disconfirmation. Since satisfaction and attribution further
influence website loyalty and repurchase intentions, websites
that desire long-term customer loyalty and resultant success
must ensure that customers perceive their website to provide
them with great value. Such companies must also strive to
establish systems to ensure that all the company’s marketing
activities and practices are geared toward ensuring that
customers consistently perceive good value.
One simple way to achieve this includes providing
prospective customers information about major competitors’
 Empirical test of a customer satisfaction model in e-services
Hong-Youl Ha and Swinder Janda
prices for the same product. Another strategy, which is
already used by many companies these days, is to provide a
low-price guarantee so that a customer who finds the same
product at a lower price elsewhere can contact the company
and get a refund for the difference.
The role of attributions in affecting satisfaction and
repurchase intentions indicates that companies that market
products and services online need to pay special attention to
policies and practices that are designed to ensure that
customers come across positive purchase and customer
service experiences at the website. Company-wide policies
must be in place to ensure that negative attributions do not
affect a customer’s satisfaction and loyalty with the company.
One way to accomplish this goal is to make sure that
customer service representatives receive proper training such
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408
Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 22 · Number 5 · 2008 · 399 –408
that in every instance a customer calls in with a complaint or
concern, the company should take responsibility and
volunteer to fix the problem, for instance by willingly
accepting returned merchandise with no questions asked
and refunding the shipping fees.
Such policies will result in enhanced satisfaction, and also
via positive word-of-mouth, contributing to enhanced levels of
loyalty to the website. Over time, such positive experiences
will result in positive attributions to the company and strong
customer loyalty as well enhanced levels of positive word-of-
mouth recommendations.
(A précis of the article “An empirical test of a proposed customer
satisfaction model in e-services”. Supplied by Marketing
Consultants for Emerald.)
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