Modelling Customer Satisfaction with Food
Abstract
Purpose: The subject of the article is the relationship between customer satisfaction, loyalty and personality characteristics. It aims to analyse factors that influence customer satisfaction and loyalty, including their mutual relationships. For this purpose, a comprehensive model of customer satisfaction was created.
Methodology/Approach: The research was carried out using a questionnaire survey on a sample of 1,530 customers of food producers (and 103 food business products that were non-durable) corresponding to the Czech population in terms of gender, age and region. The questionnaires were statistically evaluated using Structural equation modelling (SEM).
Findings: The results show that a strong link between standard customer satisfaction factors (perceived quality, perceived value, customer expectation) overshadows the influence of weaker factors (personality). However, this effect is fully demonstrated when these strong factors are filtered out.
Research Limitation/Implication: The paper focuses on foods that are sold through retail intermediaries, which also affect customer satisfaction. It may be different for other types of products and services and for products sold otherwise. It can also be limited to CR, resp. transition economics, ie. that in developed countries it could be different.
Originality/Value of paper: The contribution of the paper is the finding that customer satisfaction is influenced by a personality factors, whose effect is at first glance weaker. It also shows that the factor image can be constructed taking into account the competitive ability of the company as a hybrid and the functionality of the customer loyalty factor influences the way of its construction.
References
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Chukwu, G. and Igani, D.C., 2017. Analysis of Personality Influences on Consumer Behavior: A Study of Genesis Fast Food. Journal of Accounting Business and Finance (FUJABF), 1(1), pp.63-71.
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Demeter, K., 2003. Manufacturing strategy and competitiveness. International Journal of Production Economics, [e-journal] 81-82, pp.205-213. DOI: 10.1016/S0925-5273(02)00353-5.
Eklöf, J. and Selivanova, I., 2008. Human aspect in service quality: EPSI benchmark studies. Total Quality Management, [e-journal] 19(7-8), pp.827-841. DOI: 10.1080/14783360802159493.
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Fornell, C., Johnson, M.D., Anderson, E.W., Cha, J. and Bryant, B.E., 1996. The American customer satisfaction index: nature, purpose, and findings. Journal of Marketing, [e-journal] 60(4), pp.7-18. DOI: 10.2307/1251898.
Frennea, C. and Mittal, V., 2017. Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty Behaviors, and Firm-Financial Performance: What 30 Years of Research Tells Us [Working Paper]. 02 July 2017. Houston, Texas: Rice University. 59p. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2996330.
Giese, J.L. and Cote, J.A., 2000. Defining consumer satisfaction. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 1, pp.1-22.
González Menorca, L., Fernández-Ortiz, R., Fuentes Lombardo, G. and Clavel San Emeterio, M., 2016. The EPSI model as the main factor for identifying customer satisfaction: empirical research. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, [e-journal] 27(3-4), pp.447-463. DOI: 10.1080/14783363.2015.1053805.
Gountas, J. and Gountas, S., 2007. Personality orientations, emotional states, customer satisfaction, and intention to repurchase. Journal of business research, [e-journal] 60(1), pp.72-75. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.08.007.
Gronholdt, L., Martensen, A. and Kristensen, K., 2000. The relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty: cross-industry differences. Total quality management, [e-journal] 11(4-6), pp.509-514. DOI: 10.1080/09544120050007823.
Grunert, K.G., 2005. Food quality and safety: consumer perception and demand. European review of agricultural economics, [e-journal] 32(3), pp.369-391. DOI: 10.1093/eurrag/jbi011.
Hair, J., Anderson, R. and Babin, B., 2010. Multivariate data analysis. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Hancock, G.R. and Mueller, R.O., 2006. Structural Equation Modeling: A Second Course. Greenwich: Information Age Publishing.
Hansen, T., Wilke, R. and Zaichkowsky, J., 2010. Managing consumer complaints: differences and similarities among heterogeneous retailers. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, [e-journal] 38(1), pp.6-23. DOI: 10.1108/09590551011016304.
Ho, M.Y., Cheung, F.M. and Cheung, S.F., 2010. The role of meaning in life and optimism in promoting well-being. Personality and individual differences, [e-journal] 48(5), pp.658-663. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2010.01.008.
Jani, D. and Han, H., 2014. Personality, satisfaction, image, ambience, and loyalty: Testing their relationships in the hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, [e-journal] 37, pp.11-20, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2013.10.007.
Johnson, M.D., Gustafsson, A., Andreassen, T.W., Lervik, L. and Cha, J., 2001. The evolution and future of national customer satisfaction index models. Journal of Economic Psychology, [e-journal] 22(2), pp.217-245. DOI: 10.1016/S0167-4870(01)00030-7.
Jones, T. and Taylor, S.F., 2007. The conceptual domain of service loyalty: how many dimensions?. Journal of Services Marketing, [e-journal] 21(1), pp.36-51. DOI: 10.1108/08876040710726284.
Juhl, H.J., Kristensen, K. and Østergaard, P., 2002. Customer satisfaction in European food retailing. Journal of retailing and consumer services, [e-journal] 9(6), pp.327-334. DOI: 10.1016/S0969-6989(02)00014-0.
Kandampully, J. and Suhartanto, D., 2000. Customer loyalty in the hotel industry: the role of customer satisfaction and image. International journal of contemporary hospitality management, [e-journal] 12(6), pp.346-351. DOI: 10.1108/09596110010342559.
Landon, E.L., 1980. The Direction of Consumer Complaint Research. In: Jerry C. Olson, ed. Advances in Consumer Research. San Francisco: Association for Consumer Research. pp.335-338.
McCrae, R.R., Costa, P.T. Jr. and Busch, C.M., 1986. Evaluating comprehensiveness in personality systems: the California Q-set and the five-factor model. Journal of Personality, 54(2), pp.430-446.
Nachtigall, C., Kröhne, U., Funke, F. and Steyer, R., 2003. (Why) Should We Use SEM? Pros and Cons of Structural Equation Modeling. MPR-Online, [online] 2003 Available at: [Accessed on 10 December 2019].
Oliver, R.L., 1997. Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York: Irwin-McGraw-Hill.
Ophuis, P.A.O. and Van Trijp, H.C., 1995. Perceived quality: A market driven and consumer oriented approach. Food Quality and Preference, 6(3), pp.177-183.
Paul, G. and Iuliana, M.G., 2018. Brand Awareness in Increasing Competitiveness and in Creating the Competitive Advantage of the Company. Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, 18(1), pp.297-302.
Samudro, A., Sumarwan, U., Simanjuntak, M. and Yusuf, E., 2020. Assessing the effects of perceived quality and perceived value on customer satisfaction. Management Science Letters, [e-journal] 10(5), pp.1077-1084. DOI: 10.5267/j.msl.2019.11.001.
Siudek, T. and Zawojska, A., 2014. Competitiveness in the economic concepts, theories and empirical research. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia, 13(1), pp.91-108.
Söderlund, M. and Vilgon, M., 1999. Customer satisfaction and links to customer profitability: An empirical examination of the association between attitudes and behavior. [Working Paper] January 1999. SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Business Administration. Stockholm School of Economics.
Söderlund, M., 2006. Measuring customer loyalty with multi-item scales: A case for caution. International Journal of Service Industry Management, [e-journal] 17(1), pp.76-98. DOI: 10.1108/09564230610651598.
Tan, H.H., Foo, M.D. and Kwek, M.H., 2004. The effects of customer personality traits on the display of positive emotions. Academy of Management Journal, [e-journal] 47(2), pp.287-296. DOI: 10.2307/20159579.
Taylor, M., 2011. Measuring financial capability and its determinants using survey data. Social Indicators Research, [e-journal] 102(2), pp.297-314. DOI: 10.1007/s11205-010-9681-9.
Westbrook, R.A., 1980. Intrapersonal affective influences on consumer satisfaction with products. Journal of consumer research, [e-journal] 7(1), pp.49-54. DOI: 10.1086/208792.
Xiao, J.J., Chen, C. and Chen, F., 2014. Consumer financial capability and financial satisfaction. Social Indicators Research, [e-journal] 118(1), pp.415-432. DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0414-8.
Azizli, N., Atkinson, B.E., Baughman, H.M. and Giammarco, E.A., 2015. Relationships between general self-efficacy, planning for the future, and life satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, [e-journal] 82, pp.58-60. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2015.03.006.
Beneke, J., Flynn, R., Greig, T., and Mukaiwa, M., 2013. The influence of perceived product quality, relative price and risk on customer value and willingness to buy: a study of private label merchandise. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 22(3), pp.218-228.
Bentler, P.M., 1992. On the fit of models to covariances and methodology to the Bulletin. Psychological Bulletin, [e-journal] 112(3), pp.400-404. DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.112.3.400.
Budianto, A., 2019. Customer loyalty: quality of service. Journal of management review, [e-journal] 3(1), pp.299-305. DOI: 10.25157/jmr.v3i1.1808.
Cardello, A.V., 1995. Food quality: relativity, context and consumer expectations. Food quality and preference, [e-journal] 6(3), pp.163-170. DOI: 10.1016/0950-3293(94)00039-X.
Chan, T.S. and Cui, G., 2004. Consumer attitudes toward marketing in a transitional economy: a replication and extension. Journal of Consumer Marketing, [e-journal] 21(1), pp.10-26. DOI: 10.1108/07363760410513932.
Chang, C.C., Wu, H.Y., Lin, H.H. and Chang, H.Y., 2016. A Study of Customer’s Perceived Quality, Perceived Value, Expectation and Satisfaction to Its Brand Loyalty: The Case of "Globe Trotter" Sportswear in Taiwan. In: ASBBS, Proceedings of the 23th Annual Conference. San Diego: San Diego: American Society of Business and Behavioral Sciences.
Chen, C.M., Chen, S.H. and Lee, H.T., 2011. The destination competitiveness of Kinmen’s tourism industry: exploring the interrelationships between tourist perceptions, service performance, customer satisfaction and sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, [e-journal] 19(2), pp.247-264. DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2010.517315.
Cho, Y., Im, I., Fjermestad, J. and Hiltz, S.R., 2003. The impact of product category on customer dissatisfaction in cyberspace. Business Process Management Journal, [e-journal] 9(5), pp.635-651. DOI: 10.1108/14637150310496730.
Chou, S.K. and Kohsuwan, P., 2019. Impact of Corporate Image, Service Quality, Trust, and Perceived Value on Chinese Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty. Human behavior, development and society, 20(3), pp.41-51.
Chukwu, G. and Igani, D.C., 2017. Analysis of Personality Influences on Consumer Behavior: A Study of Genesis Fast Food. Journal of Accounting Business and Finance (FUJABF), 1(1), pp.63-71.
Ciavolino, E. and Dahlgaard, J.J., 2007. ECSI–customer satisfaction modelling and analysis: a case study. Total Quality Management, [e-journal] 18(5), pp.545-554. DOI: 10.1080/14783360701240337.
Day, R.L. and Ash, S.B., 1979. Consumer response to dissatisfaction with durable products. In: W.L. Wilkie and A. Abor, eds. Association for Consumer Research - Advances in Consumer Research. MA: North American Advances. pp.438-444.
Demeter, K., 2003. Manufacturing strategy and competitiveness. International Journal of Production Economics, [e-journal] 81-82, pp.205-213. DOI: 10.1016/S0925-5273(02)00353-5.
Eklöf, J. and Selivanova, I., 2008. Human aspect in service quality: EPSI benchmark studies. Total Quality Management, [e-journal] 19(7-8), pp.827-841. DOI: 10.1080/14783360802159493.
Fornell, C., 1992. A national customer satisfaction barometer: The Swedish experience. The Journal of Marketing, [e-journal] 56(1), pp.6-21. DOI: 10.2307/1252129.
Fornell, C., Johnson, M.D., Anderson, E.W., Cha, J. and Bryant, B.E., 1996. The American customer satisfaction index: nature, purpose, and findings. Journal of Marketing, [e-journal] 60(4), pp.7-18. DOI: 10.2307/1251898.
Frennea, C. and Mittal, V., 2017. Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty Behaviors, and Firm-Financial Performance: What 30 Years of Research Tells Us [Working Paper]. 02 July 2017. Houston, Texas: Rice University. 59p. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.2996330.
Giese, J.L. and Cote, J.A., 2000. Defining consumer satisfaction. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 1, pp.1-22.
González Menorca, L., Fernández-Ortiz, R., Fuentes Lombardo, G. and Clavel San Emeterio, M., 2016. The EPSI model as the main factor for identifying customer satisfaction: empirical research. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, [e-journal] 27(3-4), pp.447-463. DOI: 10.1080/14783363.2015.1053805.
Gountas, J. and Gountas, S., 2007. Personality orientations, emotional states, customer satisfaction, and intention to repurchase. Journal of business research, [e-journal] 60(1), pp.72-75. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.08.007.
Gronholdt, L., Martensen, A. and Kristensen, K., 2000. The relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty: cross-industry differences. Total quality management, [e-journal] 11(4-6), pp.509-514. DOI: 10.1080/09544120050007823.
Grunert, K.G., 2005. Food quality and safety: consumer perception and demand. European review of agricultural economics, [e-journal] 32(3), pp.369-391. DOI: 10.1093/eurrag/jbi011.
Hair, J., Anderson, R. and Babin, B., 2010. Multivariate data analysis. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Hancock, G.R. and Mueller, R.O., 2006. Structural Equation Modeling: A Second Course. Greenwich: Information Age Publishing.
Hansen, T., Wilke, R. and Zaichkowsky, J., 2010. Managing consumer complaints: differences and similarities among heterogeneous retailers. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, [e-journal] 38(1), pp.6-23. DOI: 10.1108/09590551011016304.
Ho, M.Y., Cheung, F.M. and Cheung, S.F., 2010. The role of meaning in life and optimism in promoting well-being. Personality and individual differences, [e-journal] 48(5), pp.658-663. DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2010.01.008.
Jani, D. and Han, H., 2014. Personality, satisfaction, image, ambience, and loyalty: Testing their relationships in the hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, [e-journal] 37, pp.11-20, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2013.10.007.
Johnson, M.D., Gustafsson, A., Andreassen, T.W., Lervik, L. and Cha, J., 2001. The evolution and future of national customer satisfaction index models. Journal of Economic Psychology, [e-journal] 22(2), pp.217-245. DOI: 10.1016/S0167-4870(01)00030-7.
Jones, T. and Taylor, S.F., 2007. The conceptual domain of service loyalty: how many dimensions?. Journal of Services Marketing, [e-journal] 21(1), pp.36-51. DOI: 10.1108/08876040710726284.
Juhl, H.J., Kristensen, K. and Østergaard, P., 2002. Customer satisfaction in European food retailing. Journal of retailing and consumer services, [e-journal] 9(6), pp.327-334. DOI: 10.1016/S0969-6989(02)00014-0.
Kandampully, J. and Suhartanto, D., 2000. Customer loyalty in the hotel industry: the role of customer satisfaction and image. International journal of contemporary hospitality management, [e-journal] 12(6), pp.346-351. DOI: 10.1108/09596110010342559.
Landon, E.L., 1980. The Direction of Consumer Complaint Research. In: Jerry C. Olson, ed. Advances in Consumer Research. San Francisco: Association for Consumer Research. pp.335-338.
McCrae, R.R., Costa, P.T. Jr. and Busch, C.M., 1986. Evaluating comprehensiveness in personality systems: the California Q-set and the five-factor model. Journal of Personality, 54(2), pp.430-446.
Nachtigall, C., Kröhne, U., Funke, F. and Steyer, R., 2003. (Why) Should We Use SEM? Pros and Cons of Structural Equation Modeling. MPR-Online, [online] 2003 Available at:
Oliver, R.L., 1997. Satisfaction: A behavioral perspective on the consumer. New York: Irwin-McGraw-Hill.
Ophuis, P.A.O. and Van Trijp, H.C., 1995. Perceived quality: A market driven and consumer oriented approach. Food Quality and Preference, 6(3), pp.177-183.
Paul, G. and Iuliana, M.G., 2018. Brand Awareness in Increasing Competitiveness and in Creating the Competitive Advantage of the Company. Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, 18(1), pp.297-302.
Samudro, A., Sumarwan, U., Simanjuntak, M. and Yusuf, E., 2020. Assessing the effects of perceived quality and perceived value on customer satisfaction. Management Science Letters, [e-journal] 10(5), pp.1077-1084. DOI: 10.5267/j.msl.2019.11.001.
Siudek, T. and Zawojska, A., 2014. Competitiveness in the economic concepts, theories and empirical research. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia, 13(1), pp.91-108.
Söderlund, M. and Vilgon, M., 1999. Customer satisfaction and links to customer profitability: An empirical examination of the association between attitudes and behavior. [Working Paper] January 1999. SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Business Administration. Stockholm School of Economics.
Söderlund, M., 2006. Measuring customer loyalty with multi-item scales: A case for caution. International Journal of Service Industry Management, [e-journal] 17(1), pp.76-98. DOI: 10.1108/09564230610651598.
Tan, H.H., Foo, M.D. and Kwek, M.H., 2004. The effects of customer personality traits on the display of positive emotions. Academy of Management Journal, [e-journal] 47(2), pp.287-296. DOI: 10.2307/20159579.
Taylor, M., 2011. Measuring financial capability and its determinants using survey data. Social Indicators Research, [e-journal] 102(2), pp.297-314. DOI: 10.1007/s11205-010-9681-9.
Westbrook, R.A., 1980. Intrapersonal affective influences on consumer satisfaction with products. Journal of consumer research, [e-journal] 7(1), pp.49-54. DOI: 10.1086/208792.
Xiao, J.J., Chen, C. and Chen, F., 2014. Consumer financial capability and financial satisfaction. Social Indicators Research, [e-journal] 118(1), pp.415-432. DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0414-8.
Authors
Činčalová, S., Suchánek, P., & Prokop, M. (2021). Modelling Customer Satisfaction with Food. Quality Innovation Prosperity, 25(3), 65–84. https://doi.org/10.12776/qip.v25i3.1618
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