Satisfaction Strength and Customer Loyalty

Evidence reveals that many customers who state that they are satisfied with a service provider nevertheless defect. In this article, the authors focus on identifying which customers are vulnerable to defection despite their stated high levels of satisfaction. Building on the recently developed Judgment Uncertainty and Magnitude Parameters (JUMP) model, the authors decompose customers' stated satisfaction into two related but independent facets—satisfaction level and satisfaction strength—and then examine the role of satisfaction strength in the translation of satisfaction into loyalty. Using data from an ongoing customer satisfaction tracking study being conducted by a large U.S.-based service organization, Study 1 examines the role of satisfaction strength in shaping the satisfaction–loyalty link in a business-to-business setting. Study 2, a conceptual replication in a business-to-consumer context, examines the hypothesized relationships in a service failure/recovery situation. The studies stron...