09-05-2014, 12:37 PM
Customer satisfaction: review of literature and application to the product-service systems
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INTRODUCTION
This feasibility study commissioned by the National Institute for Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan (AIST) and supported by the Sustainable Consumption Unit (UNEP) provided an overview of approaches used in different disciplines for evaluating consumer behaviour.
The study analysed the applicability of existing research concepts, theories, and tools for evaluating consumer satisfaction with product-service systems (PSS). It included a discussion over their strengths/weaknesses. This paper presents a short overview of the study.
BACKGROUND
It has been recognised that eco-efficiency improvements at production and product design level can be significantly reduced or totally negated by rebound effect from increased consumption levels. In line with this problem factor 10 to 20 material and energy efficiency improvements have been suggested (Factor 10 Club 1994; Schmidt- Bleek 1996; Bolund, Johansson et al. 1998; Ryan 1998). The improvements, however, if not carefully done, may still lead to rebound effects through changes in resource prices.
As a potential solution to the factor 10/20 vision system level improvements have to be made, contrary redesigning individual products or processes (Weterings and Opschoor 1992; Vergragt and Jansen 1993; von Weizsäcker, Lovins et al. 1997; Ryan
1998; Manzini 1999; Brezet, Bijma et al. 2001; Ehrenfeld and Brezet 2001).
The product service system (PSS) concept has been suggested as a way to contribute to this system level improvement (Goedkoop, van Halen et al. 1999; Mont 2000). Here the environmental impacts of products and associated services should be addressed already at the product and service design stage. Special focus should be given on the use phase by providing alternative system solutions to owning products.
A number of examples in B2B area exist that confirm the potential of PSS for reducing life cycle environmental impact. It is, however, increasingly evident that business examples are difficult to directly apply to the private consumer market. Private consumers, contrary to businesses, prefer product ownership to service substitutes (Schrader 1996; Littig 1998). Even if accepted, the environmental impacts of “servicised products” offers depend to a large extent on consumer behaviour.
CONSUMER RESEARCH IN DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES
A considerable body of literature in a range of different disciplines exists on consumption, consumer behaviour, and consumer decision-making process. Research in economics, business, marketing, psychology and sociology domains studies consumer behaviour from different theoretical premises: “for economists, consumption is used to produce utility; for sociologists, it is a means of stratification; for anthropologists – a matter of ritual and symbol; for psychologists – the means to satisfy or express physiological and emotional needs; and for business, it is a way of making money”(Fine 1997).
For more than a decade now, a range of studies that address environmentally sound consumer behaviour, e.g. car use, waste sorting, minimisation and recycling practices, have been conducted. However, few studies evaluated consumer acceptance of the PSS concept – a consumption based on non-ownership of physical products, see, for example, studies on car sharing schemes (Schrader 1999; Meijkamp 2000), ski rental and washing services (Hirschl, Konrad et al. 2001).
One reason explaining the lack of studies in the area could be that, there are still not many PSS schemes in place to serve as test grounds. Another reason could be uniformity of research focus. Most of consumer research focused on adopter categories, habits, attitudes and intentions, rather than on actually measuring the satisfaction level with the service. The reason is probably that PSS ideas have been promoted by researchers from the environmental management, marketing, design and engineering fields, and to a lesser extent by sociologists, who hold the banner of research in customer satisfaction.
CONSUMER SATISFACTION PROCESS
The paramount goal of marketing is to understand the consumer and to influence buying behaviour. One of the main perspectives of the consumer behaviour research analyses buying behaviour from the so-called “information processing perspective" (Holbrook and Hirschman 1982). According to the model, customer decision-making process comprises a need-satisfying behaviour and a wide range of motivating and influencing factors. The process can be depicted in the following steps (Engel, Blackwell et al. 1995):
• Need recognition – realisation of the difference between desired situation and the current situation that serves as a trigger for the entire consumption process.
• Search for information - search for data relevant for the purchasing decision, both from internal sources (one's memory) and/or external sources.
• Pre-purchase alternative evaluation - assessment of available choices that can fulfil the realised need by evaluating benefits they may deliver and reduction of the number of options to the one (or several) preferred.