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Post-Purchase Dissonance: The Wisdom of the 'Repeat' Purchases!
Abstract
Satisfaction predicts and drives critical consumer behaviors, among them repeat purchases and word-of-mouth advocacy. The paper mainly examined the assessment of cognitive dissonance (CD) scale (Sweeney, 2000), dissonance segments (Soutar and Sweeney, 2003), consumer disposition toward satisfaction (Grace 2005), obstacles in measuring dissonance (Salzberger, 2005). And the CD mediation link between positive reinforcement (Mao, Oppewal, and Walker, 2006) and satisfaction. This study explored how cognitive lock-in arises when customers acquire incumbent-specific skills (Murray, and Haubl, 2007) giving the incumbent advantage over its competitors. The purpose of the study is to perform a qualitative analysis of the presence, magnitude, and effects of CD over each beta, gamma, and delta stages of the decision-making process, understand satisfaction and retention and suggest managerial marketing recommendations. The final sections provide study limitations, directions for future research mainly on how to strengthen the customer confidence, enhance satisfaction level, and persuade repeat purchase behavior.
*Update:
June 2016
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.1573.0803
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303911708_Feeling_Guilty_for_Buying_Happiness_A_Loyal_Customer%27s_Dilemma
Supplementary resource (1)
... Many researchers studied how Cognitive Dissonance made difference in the consumer perception and led to short term as well as long-term implications for a company. The studies focused on implications of Cognitive Dissonance, which, if not checked timely, led to consumer dissatisfaction (Nadeem, 2007;Nyer, 2000), loss of loyal consumers (Mittelstaedt, 1969 (Nyer, 2000), declining referrals (Olsen, 2008) leading to the erosion of Brand Equity (Nadeem, 2007;Solvang, 2007). There had been enough research in past studying the causes of Cognitive Dissonance, however there had been very few studies discussing the possible effects of the occurrence of Cognitive Dissonance and its impact on organizations" marketing efforts. ...
... Many researchers studied how Cognitive Dissonance made difference in the consumer perception and led to short term as well as long-term implications for a company. The studies focused on implications of Cognitive Dissonance, which, if not checked timely, led to consumer dissatisfaction (Nadeem, 2007;Nyer, 2000), loss of loyal consumers (Mittelstaedt, 1969 (Nyer, 2000), declining referrals (Olsen, 2008) leading to the erosion of Brand Equity (Nadeem, 2007;Solvang, 2007). There had been enough research in past studying the causes of Cognitive Dissonance, however there had been very few studies discussing the possible effects of the occurrence of Cognitive Dissonance and its impact on organizations" marketing efforts. ...
... However, if the dissonance magnitude was smaller than consumer tried to reduce dissonance by selective exposure or justifying the action. Nadeem (2007) examined the applicability of the Cognitive Dissonance scale (Sweeney et al., (2000) to the post purchase behavior of the consumer leading to repeat purchase phenomenon and word of mouth advocacy, making the customer justify the purchase decision. ...
Purpose-The aim of this study was to review the literature in the field of Cognitive Dissonance in the marketing context. This study explored how marketers used the theory of Cognitive Dissonance to explain the consumer behavior. The study tried to identify the underlying factors, which led to Cognitive Dissonance. The study also tried to understand how Cognitive Dissonance impacted individuals and businesses and what measures marketers adopted to reduce Cognitive Dissonance. Design/ Methodology-The study carried out a thorough review of factors which the researchers in past studied to measure Cognitive Dissonance and its effects on individuals and organizations in the marketing context. The literature reviewed during research has been categorized in four different sections-causes of Cognitive Dissonance, effects of Cognitive Dissonance, measures to reduce the Cognitive Dissonance and scale development efforts by researchers. Findings-The study found that there had been enough research done in past exploring about individual and socio-environmental factors leading to Cognitive Dissonance, however, limited studies were found which studied the organizational factors leading to Cognitive Dissonance. The past studies indicated substantial losses to organizations due to negative effects of Cognitive Dissonance in terms of loss of loyal consumers, negative word of mouth, and loss of trust and subsequent erosion of the brand. Limitations-This study tried to focus on the past research in the marketing context, hence other aspects of management and psychology may have been not addressed. The categorization of the past studies done clearly brings out the areas which remains under explored and gives way for future research in the organizational contexts as well as industrial purchases. Organizational Culture and its effect on Cognitive Dissonance among its consumers may also be studied for the benefit of marketers. Enough studies pertaining to Indian context and emerging economies could not be found in the existing literature, which opens up various research avenues. Practical Implications-The arousal of cognitive dissonance after the purchase decision taken can be a major concern for marketers as it can result in order cancellations, loss of trust for the brand and loss of loyal customers. The study can be helpful for marketers to adopt similar successful strategies in past to keep cognitive dissonance in control. Social Implications-Marketers are responsible for Sales Volume as well as Profits for their organizations. However, they are also responsible for creating happy and loyal consumers for a win-win situation in a sales oriented transaction. Originality-This study has done exhaustive review of past studies and has categorized the past studies on the basis of causes of dissonance, effects of dissonance and what measures marketers adopted in past to reduce dissonance among consumers. This study has further categorized the causes of dissonance under three dimensions-Individual Factors, Socio-Environmental Factors and Organizational Factors. This study also further categorized effects of dissonance under two dimensions-Effects on Individuals and Effects on Organizations. This study proposed a model defining the relationships between causes, effects of cognitive dissonance and the measures adopted to reduce cognitive dissonance.
... Younger consumers especially millennial and Gen Z have higher expectation from products they buy, and these customers also experience higher purchase involvement. Customer of the younger age group also expects more from the retailers compared to their elders (Nadeem, 2016).More than anybody else in the retail organisation, sales staff is the first point of contact with the customers who could identify and diffuse dissonance. As they interact with customers, they can identify intensity of anxiety and customise ways to address the same. ...
... As they interact with customers, they can identify intensity of anxiety and customise ways to address the same. On many occasions, salesperson can reduce customer dissonance by just being a good listener, by giving undivided attention to the customer and by being empathetic (Ziethaml & Bitner, 2000), (Nadeem, 2016). ...
Retailers are concerned with reducing customer dissonance experience to ensure loyalty and profitability. Considerable efforts are taken to train employees in product training and imparting the right attitude so that the customer interaction is delightful. This interaction is known to keep dissonance experience in control. This research endeavors to explore the purchase dissonance among the Decathlon customers. Further, it desire to find out the impact of employee expertise and attitude on dissonance experience. The perception of employee attitude and expertise and dissonance experience may be different for different customer groups and this study also intends to diagnose the same. Finally, the study seeks to divide customers in distinct clusters. Result suggests that in Decathlon, customer perception of employee attitude and expertise is very favourable, and the dissonance experience is very low for across all customer segments. Employee attitude is negatively correlated with customer dissonance experience. Two clusters are created; Cluster 1 has respondents with moderate responses towards employee attitude and expertise and they experience moderately high customer dissonance. Cluster 2 has respondents with very high predisposition for employee attitude and expertise and experiences very low dissonance. Finally, regression equation is formed to predict dissonance experience using employee attitude and expertise. The scope of research is limited to Decathlon stores in India. This study was conducted through primary data analysis-purposive sampling. Responses are collected from 301 respondents, all of them being customers of Decathlon.
... There has been an extensive research on the concept of brand satisfaction in the literature (e.g. Nadeem, 2007). According to Nadeem (2007), brand satisfaction refers to the overall pleasure a consumer feels towards a brand when it meets his expectations, needs and wishes. ...
... Nadeem, 2007). According to Nadeem (2007), brand satisfaction refers to the overall pleasure a consumer feels towards a brand when it meets his expectations, needs and wishes. Brand satisfaction results in many things like brand preference, brand trust and consequently brand loyalty (Bennett et al, 2005). ...
The increasing consumer uncertainty in today's marketplace has led to an increasing global interest in brand authenticity and a growing demand for authentic brands. The main objective of this research is to explore the effect of consumer-based brand authenticity on brand loyalty. It also aims to explore whether brand satisfaction mediates the relation between brand authenticity and brand loyalty or not. The study focused on only three dimensions of brand authenticity, quality commitment, sincerity and heritage. It was hypothesized that consumer-based brand authenticity positively affects brand satisfaction and brand loyalty. It was also hypothesized that brand satisfaction has a positive impact on brand loyalty and that brand satisfaction mediates the relation between consumer-based brand authenticity and brand loyalty. An online questionnaire was conducted to collect data from a sample of 487 respondents of car owners in the Egyptian market place from a wide variety of brands. The SEM was used to analyze data and test the hypotheses. Results showed that all the 3 consumer-based brand authenticity dimensions used significantly and positively influence brand satisfaction. Sincerity is considered the only dimension of consumer-based brand authenticity that significantly and positively effects brand loyalty. Moreover, brand satisfaction was also found to significantly and positively affect brand loyalty. It has been proved that brand satisfaction plays a significant positive role on the consumer-based brand authenticity and brand loyalty relationship.
... However, dissonance reduction is defined as lowering the level of stress felt after a product purchase or a consumption experience (Hennig-Thurauet al., 2004). Cognitive dissonance happens because of the several choices that the consumer must choose from other number of alternatives, whereby, cognitive dissonance is a result of consumers' feeling of guilt for not choosing other substitutes (Nadeem, 2007). To achieve dissonance reduction, consumers tend to seek the support from other consumers who are likely to use eWOM in a truthful way compared to what marketers-generated online WOM (Hennig-Thurauet al., 2003). ...
... Dissonance reduction was described as one way to release and decrease the uneasiness felt after making a purchase, which can be either sharing negative eWOM about other products or bought products to seek feedbacks from others for consumers to ensure they have made the right choice buying a certain product (Wangenheim, 2005). In addition, dissonance reduction occurs when a feeling of guilt about buying a product and not considering other choices in the consideration set for purchase (Nadeem, 2007). Moreover, it has been demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between dissonance reduction and negative eWOM. ...
The judgment of consumers conveyed over the internet plays a vital role in the consumer decision-making process. Hence, the appearance of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has become one of the most effective marketing techniques in the 21 st century. This research was aiming to determine the predictors of negative eWOM while investigating whether negative eWOM has any specific effect on consumers' purchase intention. A quantitative research approach was employed while questionnaire data has been collected from more than 250 Malaysian consumers and tested empirically a model that incorporates motives of negative eWOM. Structural equation modelling technique has been used to test the research hypotheses. The findings have shown the different predictors of negative eWOM, which were labelled advice seeking, dissonance reduction and altruism while venting negative feelings proved to be an ineffective motive. The result was able to confirm that negative eWOM has a significant mediating effect on purchase intention. This has contributed insights into the lacking area of consumers' negative eWOM and argues for identification from marketer's view, which is an essential step towards consumer's purchase intention. While in the article, a series of relationships has developed which future researchers may find useful in advancing research in this area.
... Hence, cognitive clarity is a major source of competitive advantage in any market (Walsh, Hennig-Thurau & Mitchell, 2007). Similarly, researchers deduced that a more persuasive approach is one that is balanced and reasonable instead of one that is overly forceful and one-sided (Nadeem, 2007;Stanchi, 2013). Similarly, Koller and Salzberger (2012) and Soutar and Sweeney (2003) found that if the salespersons appear too forceful or pushy, consumers may feel forced into a decision that they were not ready to make or that was made against their will. ...
... Other researchers have also assessed susceptibility to persuasion based on the nature of the message and have concluded that two-sided message are superior in terms of its cognitive effect on the recipient (consumer) (Crowley & Hoyer, 1994;Koller & Salzberger, 2012;Nadeem, 2007;Soutar & Sweeney, 2003;Stanchi, 2013) although Sanaktekin and Sunar (2008) believed that its effectiveness depended on how informed the recipients (consumers) were before the message and Walsh et al. (2007) emphasized the importance of cognitive clarity. Greenwald (1969) maintains that self-confidence should not increase spreading apart in high-conflict decisions because an uncertain consumer who lacks justification for a decision seeks additional justification whereas a confident person need not justify a decision. ...
This study develops and validates a scale to assess the impact of consumer confidence and persuasibility on dissonance and applies the instrument to high-end consumers. It also assesses the relationship between consumer confidence and persuasibility as these constructs merge to influence dissonance. A sample of 200 new motor vehicle buyers who purchased from a leading and reputable motor vehicle company in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was drawn using stratified random sampling based on range of motor vehicle (bottom, middle, top). Initially, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to extract the factors. The reliability of the modified questionnaire was then assessed using Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha. Thereafter, confirmation factor analysis (CFA) was undertaken to develop and test the model structure in SEM, which generated a good model fit. Pearson r was computed to assess the relationship amongst the dimensions. Using structural equation modelling, the results support a significant relationship between consumer persuasibility and dissonance and a significant but inverse relationship between consumer confidence and dissonance, and confidence and persuasibility respectively.
... First, higher payment may encourage buyers to expect a return for the costly price paid in the form of a higher quality (Rao and Monroe 1996;Zeithaml 1988). The effect of toll payment on subjective time may also be explained by the justification bias, i.e., people's tendency to justify their choices by exaggerating the attractiveness of a chosen option (Aronson 1969;Festinger 1962; also referred to as the post-purchase bias : Clark 1982;Grisolia and Ortuzar 2010;Nadeem 2007;Polydoropoulou et al. 1996; see also post-purchase dissonance: Keng and Liao 2013;Sweeney et al. 2000). When people experience cognitive dissonance, i.e., discomfort following inconsistency between one's behavior (i.e., choice) and beliefs, they are likely to retroactively ascribe positive attributes to an already chosen alternative (Festinger 1957). ...
Travel time is considered a main factor in travel demand modeling, taken almost exclusively in its objective form. Given that people base their decisions on perceptions rather than on objective attributes, this study aims to examine whether forecasting could benefit from the inclusion of subjective time. A second objective is to test and disentangle drivers’ tendency to estimate toll trips as shorter than non-toll trips. In a field experiment, shoppers departing a mall described their intended route and an alternative route, one of which via a nearby toll road. Participants provided time estimates for the two routes. Objective times were collected via smartphone tracking apps and Waze. All 386 participants were paid 10 NIS. To test the effects of toll self-payment, some participants were told that this sum was to cover the toll payment, and others that it was a participation fee. Consequently, some participants who had not intended to drive via the toll road were paid to do so. Results showed that drivers who intended to drive via the toll road exaggerated their time savings compared to drivers who did not intend to drive it but eventually did, suggesting drivers’ time estimates reflected an attempt to justify their route choice. Self-payment decreased estimated toll time savings. Drivers’ toll-route choice was estimated using binomial logit models, revealing better fit for models based on estimated, rather than objective, time. We concluded that estimated time data entails unique valuable information regarding drivers’ preferences, rendering its integration in toll-route modeling constructive and beneficial.
... In a tight competition like today, customer satisfaction is very valuable because it is the key to corporate success. Customer satisfaction predicts and drives customer key behaviors, such as repeat purchases and word-ofmouth communication (Ellyawati et al., 2013;Nadeem, 2007). Satisfaction is also an antecedent of customer loyalty and trust (De Matos et al., 2007;Kau & Loh, 2006). ...
The purpose of this study is to identify customers’ response to service failure. It is about why some customers are likely to complain and others are not. This study adopts the concept of customer complaint behavior (CCB) with three-dimensional model: private response, voice response, and third party response. It also identifies the relationships between CCB and customers’ demographic backgrounds such as age, gender, and education backgrounds; and their complaining behaviors. Data were collected from 200 customers who have experienced service failure (response rate 86.5%). Using chi square method, it identifies the type of complaint which is often performed in service encounter. The research findings suggest that due to service failure, most customers are likely to engage in private and voice response. Further findings suggest that most complainers who experienced service failure are likely to express a set of multiple responses.
Returning the product is an important part of the consumer decision-making process where the future relationship with the retailer can be negatively compromised. Although returning products influences consumer satisfaction, most studies have studied product returns from economic and logistical perspectives and a smaller number of studies addressing the psychological impact of returning products can be found. This study fills the void in the literature on apparel product returns and offers retailers insight into how negative feelings related to product returns are connected to their future purchase intentions from the retailer. In addition, the influence of the recreational shopper characteristic is studied within the context of product returns. Hypotheses were tested that examine the relationship among variable product return effort, recreational shopper identity, product dissonance, and purchase intentions. Data from 227 female participants recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) were analyzed. Findings support the hypothesized influence of product return effort and recreational shopper identity on product dissonance. However, the relationship between product dissonance and purchase intentions was not confirmed and a more complex relationship among the variables studied with purchase intentions is discussed.
The purpose of this article is to examine the influence of the pandemic, perceived risk, and cognitive dissonance on the need for cognitive closure. A consumer today wants an aversion towards the ambiguity that is created due to this pandemic. The data is collected using Amazon's Mechanical Turk panel. All of the filled questionnaires are analyzed using stepwise regression. The findings suggest that perceived risk, pandemic, and cognitive dissonance influence the need for cognitive closure, and perceived risk is the major predictor of cognitive closure. These results enrich our understandings with regards to the importance of designing the marketing strategies in a way that will lead to the reduction in the consumer perceived risk and cognitive dissonance created due to the pandemic.
During the purchasing process, individuals may experience several kinds of negative experiences. Initially, individuals may experience a pre-purchase confusion regarding whether to buy a product, which product or brand to buy, or how to agree with other family members on what to buy. Further, following the purchase of a product (the post-purchase phase), the customer may experience either cognitive dissonance (if returning the product if allowed) or regret (if return is not allowed). In this review, we will discuss subtypes, causes, and consequences of pre-purchase confusion, post-purchase cognitive dissonance, and post-purchase regret, as well as their relationships. We will show that confusion, dissonance, and regret all lead to brand switching and negative word of mouth. In addition, pre-customer purchase leads to a delay in purchasing (or not buying at all), while cognitive dissonance leads to return of purchased products. Importantly, we will discuss a multitude of future experimental studies on understanding and reducing negative purchase experiences.
If service quality relates to retention of customers at the aggregate level, as other research has indicated, then evidence of its impact on customers' behavioral responses should be detectable. The authors offer a conceptual model of the impact of service quality on particular behaviors that signal whether customers remain with or defect from a company. Results from a multicompany empirical study examining relationships from the model concerning customers' behavioral intentions show strong evidence of their being influenced by service quality. The findings also reveal differences in the nature of the quality-intentions link across different dimensions of behavioral intentions. The authors' discussion centers on ways the results and research approach of their study can be helpful to researchers and managers.
A conceptual model articulating the nature and determinants of customer expectations of service is proposed and discussed.
The model specifies three different types of service expectations: desired service, adequate service, and predicted service.
Seventeen propositions about service expectations and their antecedents are provided. Discussion centers on the research implications
of the model and its propositions.
Although the ''disconfirmation of expectations'' model continues to dominate research and managerial practice, several limitations indicate that it is not a complete picture of satisfaction formation. The authors propose a new model of the satisfaction formation process that builds on the disconfirmation paradigm by specifying a more comprehensive model that includes two standards in a single model and specifically incorporates the impact of marketing communication. An empirical test of the model provides support for the hypothesized relationships and a better understanding of the mechanisms that produce satisfaction.
Most empirical research investigating the motivational properties of cognitive dissonance has focused on the arousal component of dissonance rather than on the psychological component explicitly delineated by L. Festinger (1957). In 2 induced-compliance experiments involving a total of 112 undergraduates, a self-report measure of affect was used to demonstrate that dissonance was experienced as psychological discomfort and that this psychological discomfort was alleviated on implementation of a dissonance-reduction strategy, attitude change. Exp 1 yielded supporting evidence for both of these propositions. Exp 2 replicated the 1st experiment and ruled out a self-perception-based alternative explanation for the dissonance-reduction findings in Exp 1. Results support Festinger's conceptualization of cognitive dissonance as a fundamentally motivational state. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Despite the claim that satisfaction ratings are linked to repurchase behavior, few attempts can be found that relate satisfaction ratings to actual repurchase behavior. This article fills this void by presenting a conceptual model for relating satisfaction ratings and repurchase behavior. The model is based on the premise that ratings observed in a typical customer satisfaction survey are error-prone measures of the customer's true satisfaction, and they may vary systematically on the basis of consumer characteristics. The authors apply the model to a large-scale study of 100,040 automotive customers. Results show that consumers with different characteristics have different thresholds such that, at the same level of rated satisfaction, repurchase rates are systematically different among different customer groups. The authors also find that the nature and extent of response bias in satisfaction ratings varies by customer characteristics. In one group, the response bias is so high that rated satisfaction is completely uncorrelated to repurchase behavior (r = 0). Furthermore, the authors find that, though nonlinear, the functional form relating rated satisfaction to repurchase intent is different from the one relating it to repurchase behavior. Although the functional form exhibits decreasing returns in the case of repurchase intent, it exhibits monotonically increasing returns in the case of repurchase behavior.
The present study examines the relationships among customer satisfaction, service quality and perceived value. These variables are increasingly recognised as being sources of competitive advantage. However, little empirical research has been conducted to examine these variables simultaneously and their relationships with post-purchase behaviour. The present study was therefore designed to develop an understanding of the relationships among these variables and their influence on postpurchase behaviour. An integrative model was developed and tested using data collected from customers in the restaurant industry. The results reveal that customer satisfaction and perceived value significantly influence post-purchase behaviour. Implications of the findings and areas for future research are discussed.
Many different scales have been used to measure customer satisfaction. These scales can be divided into three main groups, being those measuring performance, disconfirmation and satisfaction. Reports on the design and execution of a study of hotel guests in which they were asked to rate the key service attributes of their stay using all three of these measurement scales. Repurchase intention and word-of-mouth effects were also measured. Compares the scales on the basis of reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, predictive validity, skewness, face validity and managerial value for directing a quality improvement programme. Shows the disconfirmation scale to be superior to both the performance and satisfaction scales on all these criteria except for predictive validity. In addition, the performance scale was generally better than the satisfaction scale on a number of these criteria.
Investigated the effects of cognitive dissonance, expectations, and product performance on product evaluations while improving on the methodological problems of the past experimental studies. The relationship between product involvement and cognitive dissonance was tested by analyzing the response of 2 groups with 22 and 26 Ss, respectively. The results of a 2–3 factorial design suggest that product involvement acts as a moderator in the postdecisional product evaluation process. Findings raise possible communication guidelines for advertisers. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Reviews the consumer behavior literature relating to cognitive dissonance and suggests some directions for future research. Findings of studies critiqued are organized into 2 categories: (a) effects of dissonance arousal on attitude change and tendency to repurchase, and (b) effects of dissonance arousal on selective information-seeking by customers. The difficulty in making a definite statement about the applicability of dissonance theory to consumer behavior is noted, but it is suggested that the evidence in favor of the applicability of dissonance theory is more voluminous and somewhat more substantial than the evidence against it. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Surveyed 184 new car buyers to examine consumer postpurchase communications about the retailer, the retail salesperson, and the product. Three types of customer communications were included: positive/negative word-of-mouth (WOM), recommendations/warnings to other people, and complaints or compliments communicated to the retail organization and/or salesperson. Satisfaction and equity were related to more positive postcommunications as hypothesized. Although retailers cannot directly control WOM, steps to insure customer satisfaction and equitable treatment may produce favorable WOM effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)