CONSUMER SATISFACTION AND PERCEIVED QUALITY - COMPLEMENTARY OR DIVERGENT CONSTRUCTS

Conflicting models exist in the literature of the process through which perceived quality and/or satisfaction affect behavioral intentions. Further, virtually no theoretical framework has been explicitly developed to help combine perceived-quality models with satisfaction models. This article applies a theoretical framework to help build a model that attempts to explain the relationships among disconfirmation of expectations, perceived quality, satisfaction, perceived situational control, and behavioral intentions. The study compares the ability of two models to help explain the relationship among these variables. The results of the study suggest that the focal and contextual dimensions of disconfirmation of expectations affect perceived quality enroute to their influence on behavioral intentions. Additionally, the results indicate that perceived quality affects satisfaction and behavioral intentions is affected by satisfaction.