Locus of control and the service encounter: The impact of individual differences on perceptions of service quality, customer satisfaction and consumer complaint behaviour.

Abstract

Recently in the literature there has been a resurgence of interest in identifying the needs and wants of consumers and then designing business strategies which ensure that these needs and wants are satisfactorily met. Customer satisfaction and repeat patronage are essential elements for business success in the competitive, global market place of the 90's. This is true for product and service oriented firms alike. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate individual differences and their impact on customer satisfaction ratings, perceived service quality and behavioral responses to dissatisfying experiences in a services setting. More specifically, this study proposed and tested a number of relationships between individual Locus of Control and perceived service quality, satisfaction ratings and the probability and type of complaint behaviors in the event of a negative service outcome.

Results of this study were mixed, however, a relationship was observed to exist between personal locus of control and evaluations of service quality. Internally oriented individuals were found to evaluate negative service encounters more favorable than their external counterparts. Support for the proposed relationship between personal locus of control and consumer complaint behaviour was much less convincing. Externally oriented individuals, both those believing in fate, luck or chance and those who believed in the existence of powerful others, were found to be more likely to hire legal professionals to address service providers who had failed to meet their needs. The results of this study did, however, indicate an antecedent relationship between satisfaction with a service experience and satisfaction with the service provider in general, an issue under current debate in the literature.