The impact of confidence in expectations on consumer satisfaction

Research into the construct relationships that form consumer satisfaction has advanced to a stage in which moderator variables need to be examined. The present research proposes and tests confidence in expectations as a potential moderator of these relationships. A laboratory study tests these hypotheses and finds support for them. Specifically, high-confidence subjects use both disconfirmation and perceived performance to form feelings of satisfaction, whereas low-confidence subjects use only perceived performance. Implications for both research and managerial practice are discussed. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.