The Experimental Research About The Effect Of Customer Emotion On Service Quality, Satisfaction And Loyalty

In past research about service quality, satisfaction and loyalty, most on customer cognitive aspect, a few on customer emotive aspect. Recent research in emotive psychology suggests that emotion can affect the cognition and evaluation process. If individual emotion is positive, his judgement will be positive. If individual emotion is negative, his judgement will be negative. According to emotional theory, we designed four experiments (n=512 and n=240) whose conditon were simulating service process and real service process to investigate the effect of customer emotion on service quality, satisfaction and loyalty. The results show:(1) the effect of positive surprise (delight) on total perceived service quality is positive; the effect of negative surprise (anger+surprise ) on total perceived service quality is negative; the effect of surprise on total perceived service quality is null.(2) the effect of positive (negative) surprise on SERVPERF service quality is null.(3 ) the effect of positive surprise ( delight) on total satisfaction is positive; the effect of negative surprise (anger+surprise) on total satisfaction is negative; the effect of surprise on total satisfaction is null.(4) the effect of positive surprise (delight) on word of mouth intention is positive; the effect of negative surprise (anger+surprise) on word of mouth intention is negative; the effect of surprise on word of mouth intention is null.(5) the effect of positive surprise (delight) on repurchase intention is positive; the effect of negative surprise (anger+surprise) on repurchase intention is negative; the effect of surprise on repurchase intention is null.(6) When service quality were improved, the positive surprise priming threshold of subjects > their difference perceived threshold; When service quality were reduced, the negative surprise priming threshold of subjects = their difference perceived threshold; Moreover, the absolute value of positive surprise priming threshold > the absolute value of negative surprise priming threshold.(7) When service quality were improved to the positive surprise priming threshold of subjects, total perceived service quality, total satisfaction,word of mouth intention and repurchase intention of subjects had been increased significantly. Improving service quality continually after beyond the positive surprise priming threshold, total perceived service quality, total satisfaction, word of mouth intention and repurchase intention of subjects had been increased insignificantly. Basis on analysis to the experimental results, we found:(1) In service process, the effect of service quality changing on happiness emotion, total perceived service quality, total satisfaction, word of mouth intention and repurchase intention of customer is asymmetric. The effect of service quality decrease on happiness emotion, total perceived service quality, total satisfaction, word of mouth intention and repurchase intention of customer is more than the effect of equal service quality increase, namely, customer is more sensitive to service quality decrease.(2) In service process, the effect of service quality improving on happiness emotion, total perceived service quality, total satisfaction, word of mouth intention and repurchase intention of customer is magrginal utility descending, especially more quickly after beyond the positive surprise priming threshold.Basis on the asymmetric effect of service quality changing on happiness emotion, total perceived service quality, total satisfaction, word of mouth intention and repurchase intention of customer and magrginal utility descending rule, we have established the asymmetric zone of tolerance of emotion and service quality model, and first put forward that the optimal quality cost is the positive surprise priming threshold when promoting service quality.