Words, Words, Mere Words? An Analysis of Services Customers' Perception of Evaluative Concepts

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate the meaning that service customers attach to the concept of quality and to four other concepts related to service evaluation: satisfaction, performance, attitude, and value. The service and the consumer behavior literature have devoted a lot of attention to the definition and positioning of these concepts. Nevertheless, it cannot be taken for granted that these theoretical distinctions are clearly perceived by customers, and that if some differences are perceived, they are similar to those formulated by researchers. The authors believe this issue is important, since conceptual clarity affects both the accumulation of knowledge as well as the validity of measures.

By comparing different sources, the literature, and the results of a qualitative study of service customers, the authors present a synthesis of the meaning that researchers and customers attribute to the aforementioned concepts. Results show that customers possess a fine-grained perception of the different concepts and that there is a good convergence between the literature and the customers' view. However, respondents also focus on some dimensions that are still overlooked by researchers, therefore providing additional contribution to the understanding of the meaning of quality and of the other evaluative concepts.

• attitude
• performance
• quality
• satisfaction
• service evaluation
• value

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Notes on contributors

Florence Dano

Florence Dano is assistant professor of marketing at the Institut d'Administration des Enterprises at the University of Aix-Marseille III, in Aix-en-Provence, France. Dano's research interests include qualitative studies on consumer psychology, semiotic analysis of consumption experiences, and of brand identity. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].

Sylvie Llosa

Sylvie Llosa is full professor of marketing at the University of Saint Etienne in France. She received her doctorate at the Institut d'Administration des Enterprises at the University of Aix-Marseille III, in Aix-en-Provence. Her research focuses on satisfaction formation processes, namely on how the contribution of satisfaction elements to overall customer satisfaction varies according to their perceived performance.

Chiara Orshinger

Chiara Orsingher is assistant professor of marketing at the University of Bologna, Faculty of Economics. Orsingher received her doctorate in management at the University of Aix-Marseille III, in Aix-en-Provence, France. Her research interests focus on customer services script and on the meaning and representation of satisfaction in customers' minds.