An Alternative Approach to Analyze Customer or Employee Satisfaction Data Based on Kano Model

Abstract

In recent years a companies’ need for information about customer requirements, which represent the key to retain actual customers and attract new ones, has steadily increased. Kano et al. [9] proposed an interesting model aiming at the classification of product or service characteristics as dissatisfiers, delighters, performance or indifferent attributes. Unfortunately, the required questionnaire structure is quite complex, consequently the rate of incomplete/inconsistent questionnaires is not negligible at all. In the present manuscript, the authors propose a model which allows allocation of a the customers’ requirements into Kano’s categories in a simple way. The underlying idea is to conduct two distinct analysis on the same attributes. Both analysis aim at investigating the attributes’ relationships with the overall variable (satisfaction, loyalty, etc), but one analysis focuses attention on the bottom part of the scale (low scores), while the other on the top part (high scores).

Key Words:

• Customer requirements
• Herzberg theory
• Kano model
• satisfaction theory

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Roberto Furlan

Roberto Furlan MS and PhD in Statistics, is Senior Methodologist at TNS Healthcare, Epsom, UK, a leading market research agency. He is responsible for the statistical needs of the division, for the statistical training of the researchers, and for the development and implementation of innovative methodologies. In addition, he collaborates with the Department of Statistics and Applied Mathematics ‘Diego De Castro’, University of Torino, Italy, where he supports PhD candidates. His main research interest is multivariate statistics, in particular conjoint analysis, with a strong orientation towards the practical aspects of statistics.

Roberto Corradetti

Roberto Corradetti is an Associate Professor of Statistics at the Department of Statistics and Applied Mathematics ‘Diego De Castro’, University of Torino, Italy. He is responsible for the statistics section of the department and he is also director of the Doctorate School of Business and Management at the University of Torino, Italy. His main research interest is statistics applied to quality control and customer satisfaction.