Attribute Performance and Customer Satisfaction Over Time: Evidence from Two Field Studies

Abstract

Firms measure the importance of an attribute's performance in determining overall satisfaction to allocate resources to optimize profitability. However, most firms assume that an attribute's importance in determining overall satisfaction is temporally invariant. We report results from two studies showing that the importance of an attribute in determining overall satisfaction varies over time. Interestingly, we find that the relationship between overall satisfaction and behavioral intentions also changes over time. These results have important implications for managing customer satisfaction programs among firms.

Keywords: customer satisfaction, time, service quality