The expectation dilemma of customer satisfaction model: A unified model of expectancy disconfirmation and diffusion

Many firms try to enhance the customer satisfaction, because they believe that higher customer satisfaction leads to superior returns. According to expectancy disconfirmation model, consumers judge the satisfaction in comparison with their expectations about the product performance. If the performance is above the expectations, increase in satisfaction is expected. If the performance is below the expectations, decrease in satisfaction is expected. This explanation contradicts our beliefs that higher expectation leads to consumer's choices. To address the contradiction, this paper presents a unified model which combines the expectancy disconfirmation model with the well-known diffusion model. The unified model shows that the expectation can increase the choices even if the expectation decreases the satisfaction.