An empirical test of the drivers of overall customer satisfaction: evidence from multivariate Granger causality

摘要

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether customer-perceived service quality and expectation of service quality have causal impacts on overall customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – Data on all the variables were elicited from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), and these were analyzed using the Granger causality method. Findings – Satisfaction and perceived quality were positively related. Even though perceived quality did not Granger-cause satisfaction in the short term, it did so in the long term. Likewise, even though satisfaction did not Granger-cause perceived quality in the short term, it did so in the long term. But customer expectations Granger-caused both satisfaction and expectation in the short-term and the long term. Research limitations/implications – The findings are based on only one company. Extrapolation to other companies demands caution and the data may not satisfy asymptotic assumptions. Originality/value – The study contributes to the literature by advising managers to extend their customer satisfaction tracking to overall customer satisfaction with its strategic implications.