1.7 Manejo y control de la reproducción
1.7.1 Progesterona, sus análogos (progestágenos) y eCG
Churchill and Surprenant (1982, p. 493) define customer satisfaction as “ ... an outcome of purchase and use resulting from the buyers’ comparison of the rewards and
costs of the purchase in relation to the anticipated consequences.” Bozorgi (2006, p. 8) defines customer satisfaction as “ ... the feeling or attitude of a customer towards a product or service after it has been used.”
Customer satisfaction is an important construct that has been positioned as a central concern of marketing studies for decades (Brady & Robertson, 2001; Cronin et al., 2000; Tam, 2004; Williams & Uysal, 2003) because the construct is crucial in meeting the needs and wants of customers (Churchill & Surprenant, 1982; Han & Ryu, 2009). Customer satisfaction is conceived as one aspect of customer behaviour and evolves over the duration of the customer experience (Bozorgi, 2006). It is a major outcome of marketing activities linking the process of purchasing and consumption with post-purchase phenomena (Churchill & Surprenant, 1982).
The Expectancy-Disconfirmation theory proposed by Lewin (1938) is the most widely accepted theory to explain customer satisfaction (Churchill & Surprenant, 1982; Oh & Parks, 1997). The theory encompasses four constructs: expectation, performance, disconfirmation and satisfaction. The expectation construct reflects a pre-consumption perception associated with goods and services (Barsky & Labagh, 1992). The performance construct constitutes the basis of the customer's perception of the service. Disconfirmation which occupies a central position as a crucial intervening variable in the expectancy- disconfirmation paradigm arises from the discrepancy between the prior expectation of goods and services and actual performance (Churchill & Surprenant, 1982). For example, in the restaurant setting, once the food is served and consumed, patrons compare their perceptions of the food quality or service with their expectations. The patron’s perceptions that exceed their expectations result in satisfaction, leading to a positive attitude toward the product or service, thus influencing positive future behavioural intentions. Alternatively, if a patron’s perception falls short of their expectations, they will experience negative disconfirmation which, in turn, leads to dissatisfaction (Ha & Jang, 2010b; Yüksel & Yüksel, 2002b).
The customer satisfaction construct is regularly used as an indicator of whether satisfied restaurant patrons will re-patronize a restaurant (Dubé et al., 1994). Customer satisfaction studies show that the degree of satisfaction may affect patrons’ positive future behavioural intentions (Dubé et al., 1994; Stevens et al., 1995). For example, by increasing customer satisfaction, it is more likely that a restaurant patron will re-patronize a restaurant (Dubé et al., 1994; Kivelä et al., 2000). However, while there is no assurance that a
satisfied restaurant patron will pay a repeat visit it is almost certain that a dissatisfied restaurant patron will not return (Dubé et al., 1994). In addition, customer satisfaction is capable of making a difference between a company’s survival and failure because restaurant patrons are the primary source of most foodservice revenue, especially in the commercial foodservice industry (Kandampully, 2007; Tam, 2004; Williams & Uysal, 2003). As noted by Kivelä et al. (1999, p. 205), “the importance of customer satisfaction supersedes aspects such as occupancy rates, return rates and profitability.” Nevertheless, despite the notable progress of studies on the customer satisfaction construct in service industries, this construct has remained under-researched and there is a need for further research in this area (Kim et al., 2009; Kivelä, Inbakaran, et al., 1999).
2.4.1.1The Positive Effect of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction
Research interest on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction has increased tremendously over the years. However, among academics, there has been confusion about that relationship according to Cronin and Taylor (1992) who identified two opposing views on the service quality customer satisfaction relationship. For example, researchers like Bolton and Drew (1991) and Bitner (1990) suggest that a high level of customer satisfaction leads to a high level of perceived service quality, whereas several studies view the relationship differently. The most accepted alternative view is that a high level of customer satisfaction results from a high level of perceived service quality (Brady, Robertson, & Cronin, 2001; Chow et al., 2007; Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Dagger et al., 2007; Hu et al., 2009; Pollack, 2009). In addition, a restaurant patron with positive perceptions about service quality is likely to report high levels of satisfaction (Caruana, 2002; Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Spreng & Chiou, 2002; Spreng & Mackoy, 1996), which leads to positive behavioural intentions, such as repurchasing or return patronage and positive word-of-mouth (Kivelä, Inbakaran, et al., 1999).
Numerous foodservice studies provide empirical evidence of a positive relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction (Abdelhamied, 2011; Brady et al., 2001; Hyun, 2010; Keang & Bougoure, 2006). For example, Keang and Bougoure (2006) propose that perceived service quality has a direct effect on customer satisfaction. After analysing data collected from 300 university students in Malaysia, the authors concluded that service quality has a positive direct effect on customer satisfaction
0.89
in fast food restaurants. A recent investigation of chain restaurants (T.G.I. Fridays and Bennigans)in the United States, Hyun (2010) showed a positive relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. That study analysed data collected from 208 students and faculty members of Virginia Tech demonstrated that service quality had a significant positive effect on customer satisfaction
0.218
in chain restaurants. It should, however, be noted that the sample was collected in a college campus, not in the restaurant, and the respondents were students and faculty members only.Some studies on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction present mixed findings. For example, Cronin et al. (2000) studied six service industries: namely, spectator sports, participative sports, entertainment, health care, long distance carriers and fast food restaurants; they proposed that service quality would positively affect customer satisfaction in all six industries. However, the findings were not consistent; only five industries showed significant results (spectator sports, participative sports, entertainment, health care and fast food restaurants), whereas long distance carriers showed non-significant results.