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n be found at the
end of this issuebusiness relationships is still at its infancy and has mainly been conducted at
a conceptual level(Wilson and Jantrania,1997).
Several issues of fundamental concern remain unresolved in the emerging
value literature.Despite the growing body of research in the area,it is still
not clear how customer perceived value interacts with related marketing
variables,namely customer satisfaction.Researchers have called for an
investigation of the relationship between the two constructs:``Is measuringthe satisfaction customers have with a product or service really differentfrom the value they derive from it?If so,what exactly is the distinction?F F FTheoretical and empirical research addressing this question is needed toreduce the apparent operational ambiguities surrounding the two constructsand understand their interrelationship''(Parasuraman,1997,p.155).
The present paper aims at making a contribution to the emerging value
literature by investigating the interaction between two fundamental
marketing constructs:customer value and customer satisfaction.Three
specific research questions are addressed:
Q1.What are customer value and customer satisfaction as perceived by
purchasing managers in business relationships?
Q2.Do customer value and customer satisfaction represent twotheoretically
and empirically distinct constructs?
Q3.Which of both constructs is the better predictor for behavioral outcomessuch as repurchase,search for alternatives,and word-of-mouth?
In order to answer these questions,the paper is structured as follows.The
constructs of customer perceived value and customer satisfaction are firstassessed.The theoretical differences between both concepts are identifieddrawing on a literature review.Two alternative models that link customerperceived value to behavioral outcomes are developed in the second part.This is followed by a description of the empirical study and a discussion ofits results.Limitations of the present study and suggestions for future
research conclude the paper.
Literature review
Customer satisfaction
Measuring customer satisfaction has become increasingly popular in the last
two decades and today represents an important source of revenue for marketresearch firms(Oliver,1999,p.33;Perkins,1993).The satisfaction constructhas gained an important role in the marketing literature.It is widely acceptedamong researchers as a strong predictor for behavioral variables such asrepurchase intentions,word-of-mouth,or loyalty(Ravald and Groènroos,1996;Liljander and Strandvik,1995).Customer satisfaction research is mainly influenced by the disconfirmationparadigm(Parasuraman et al.,1988).This paradigm states that thecustomer's feeling of satisfaction is a result of a comparison process betweenperceived performance and one or more comparison standard,such asexpectations.The customer is satisfied when he/she feels that the product's
performance is equal to what was expected(confirming).If the product's
performance exceeds expectations,the customer is very satisfied(positivelydisconfirming),if it remains below expectations,the customer will bedissatisfied(negatively disconfirming).
Fundamental concerns
Research questions
The disconfirmation
paradigm
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS&INDUSTRIAL MARKETING,VOL.17 NO.2/3 2002Although most scholars agree on the disconfirmation paradigm,the nature of
satisfaction remains ambiguous.On the o