Abstract
Most businesses use customer satisfaction scores. It is difficult to compare scores obtained on one scale with another. For instance, if an organisation is rated 4 on a 5-point scale and another organisation is rated 3 on a 4-point scale, should they be considered equal or different? If the approximation is applied, e.g. considering a score of 8 on a 10-point scale as 80% on a percentage scale, it can be incorrect. This study suggests a mechanism by which customer satisfaction responses from one scale can be converted to an estimated response on another scale. Ten satisfaction scales of varying length are compared by collecting responses from over 400 participants. Data are analysed using correlation and polynomial regression methods. Methodology and matrix to convert scores are prescribed. Merits and demerits of different scales are presented. It is observed that the 10-point ordinal scale is more suitable for the measurement of satisfaction and for inter-scale conversion. A percentage scale is also a good option for this purpose. Scales of less than 7-point length are not proved good from a score conversion perspective. The study will help individuals, organisations, and business analytics companies analyse customer satisfaction data measured on multiple scales.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and the editorial team of the journal for the timely processing of the manuscript and for their valuable suggestions that significantly helped improve the work.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
8 Baldrige Excellence Framework. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications/baldrige-excellence-framework
9 EFQM Model. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.efqm.org/index.php/efqm-model/
10 Enterprise Singapore – Business Excellence (BE) Framework. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.enterprisesg.gov.sg/-/media/esg/files/quality-and-standards/business-excellence/be_framework.pdf?la=en
11 Department of Economic Development-Dubai Quality Award. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from http://dubaided.ae/English/businessawards/dubaiqualityaward/Pages/default.aspx
12 ACSI Methodology Worldwide. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://www.theacsi.org/global-partnerships/acsi-methodology-worldwide
33 Satisfaction Survey Questionnaire. Retrieved January 12, 2021, from https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdanO4frXVt7HFBZzXI–cqXcdL5rsu9SPtO-1q2lMpQkYZQQ/viewform
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Neeraj Yadav
Dr. Neeraj Yadav is Director and Principal Consultant at Qualicon Consultancy Co., and Researcher at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. He has around 25 years of professional experience and is a Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Certified Lean Management Professional and Certified Lead Auditor for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 management systems.
Ravi Shankar
Prof. Ravi Shankar from, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, has published over 400 papers with citations exceeding 23,000 with an H-index of 63. He taught at Asian Institute of Technology Thailand, French-Vietnamese Centre for Management Education, Vietnam, and has research association with Aston Business School Birmingham UK, School of Business and Economics Loughborough University UK, Business School Sheffield University UK, Newcastle University UK, University of Connecticut USA, Rutgers Business School USA, Fox Business School Philadelphia USA, South East European Research Centre Greece, University of Padua Italy, Aalborg University Denmark, etc.
Surya Prakash Singh
Prof. Surya Prakash Singh is Professor of Operations Management at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi. He has over 150 publications with more than 25,000 readings, over 2000 citations and an H-index of 22. He has also worked as Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (NUS-MIT) Alliance, Singapore.