Interaction of normative and predictive expectations in customer satisfaction and emotions

There is a dearth of systematic analysis of role of normative and predictive expectations in generating customer outcomes. The goal of the present empirical study is to establish how interaction of two types of expectations affects customer satisfaction and emotions in terms of their valence and arousal. Different combinations of normative and predictive expectations constitute different scenarios; hence, methodology of scenarios was used in measuring expectations for both services and products. The study demonstrated that normative and predictive expectations in conjunction, rather than separately, generated commensurate levels of customer satisfaction and emotions. Another finding of the current study is the moderating effect of emotional valence on the relationship between emotional arousal and satisfaction. The valence sign changes the direction of the relationship between emotional arousal and satisfaction. Positive emotional valence strengthens the relationship between them; in contrast, when emotional valence is negative, arousal negatively impacts satisfaction. The implication is that intense positive emotions are associated with higher customer satisfaction while intense negative emotions are associated with lower satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications and venues for future research are discussed.