Service attributes: Expectations and judgments

What is it about?

Consumers’ expectations regarding a service they would select for a particular usage situation can determine a reference point that impacts how they judge services available for use in that situation. Importance of product attributes may also impact choice in different usage situations. Specifically, perceptual judgment of an attribute that is more (less) important in a particular usage situation is less (more) heavily influenced by the consumer’s reference point, as shown by experimental results for restaurant choice in various usage situations. Furthermore, a model can be estimated to obtain parameter values that can be used to predict how the service will be judged for a different reference point in a holdout usage situation.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Consumer expectations can actually influence their perceptions of products. Furthermore, expectations that are different in different usage situations can lead to products being judged differently depending on the usage situation the consumer has in mind when making a choice.