Consumer Dissatisfaction

Within the context of consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction (CS/D), dissatisfaction is the attitude that a consumer develops after he or she has evaluated his or her consumption experience of a product or service. Dissatisfaction can arise from the failure of a product or service to meet a consumer's expectations, from negative perceptions of the performance of a product or service during consumption, from negative feelings experienced during the consumption of a product or service, or from a combination thereof. Much of the psychology-based research into consumer dissatisfaction falls under the umbrella of CS/D.

Consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction draws on a number of different psychological theories to explain the attitudes that individual consumers develop in reaction to their experiences with specific goods and services. These theories include expectancy disconfirmation, attribution theory, and equity theory. There is increasing evidence, however, according to Wayne D. Hoyer and Deborah J. MacInnis that dissatisfaction can also be generated by postpurchase feelings that are independent of disconfirmation judgments, and according to John C. Mowen and Michael Minor, that involve experientially based affective feelings (i.e., the positive or negative feelings that flow from our experiences with products and services). Also, Susan Fournier and David G. Mick have challenged the applicability of the dominant comparison standards paradigm for explaining all cases of CS/D.

The early work on CS/D built on Rolph E. Anderson's 1973 study on disconfirmed expectancy and Richard L. Oliver's 1980 expectancy disconfirmation model. Drawing on four psychological theories (cognitive dissonance-assimilation; contrast; generalized negativity; assimilation-contrast), Anderson illustrated how customer dissatisfaction occurs at the point when the increasing disparity between expectations and actual product performance can no longer be accepted by consumers. Building on this work, Oliver argued that consumer expectations can be seen as not only providing the foundation for attitude formation, but also serving as an adaptation level for subsequent satisfaction decisions. There are three possible outcomes using this comparison standards approach. First, if product or service performance exceeds expectations, then positive disconfirmation occurs. Second, if product or service performance equals expectations, then simple confirmation occurs. Third, if product or service performance is worse than expected, then negative disconfirmation occurs. Dissatisfaction flows from the failure of a product or service's performance to match a consumer's expectations.

Sarah Fisher Gardial and colleagues have noted a variety of standards for evaluating product performance. However, according to Hoyer and MacInnis, postdecision feelings can also occur independently of disconfirmation judgments, whenever consumers' feelings about a product or service arise directly from their experience of using it. Negative feelings generated by using a product or a service encounter (e.g., anger, distress, frustration) can also lead to feelings of dissatisfaction, according to Robert Westbrook and Oliver.

Dissatisfaction can also be explained by attribution theory (i.e., how individuals try and account for events), as shown by Valerie S. Folkes. Three factors influence individuals' explanations of events: stability, focus, and controllability. Stability is about whether or not the cause of the event is temporary or permanent. Focus is about whether the problem relates to the marketer or the consumer. Controllability is about the extent to which the event is under the [Page 260]marketer's or the consumer's control. Hoyer and MacInnis found that dissatisfaction is more likely to arise in cases where the cause of the problem is perceived to be permanent, beyond the customer's control, and related to marketers' actions.

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