Normative and Predictive Expectations in Generation of Customer Satisfaction and Emotions

The study of normative and predictive expectations is still in the initial stage, and many aspects of their roles remain unclear. This theoretical research endeavors to systematically analyze these two types of expectations in regards to their differences and interactions in generating customer satisfaction and emotions. Normative expectations serve as a primary point of reference for customer judgments while predictive expectations serve as a secondary point of reference. Unlike predictive and adequate expectations, desired expectations are not prone to rise with price. Adequate expectations incorporate external factors that are outside of provider’s control whilst predictive expectations do not involve attribution process. A developed model of satisfaction based on two classes of expectations and objective performance is more parsimonious than those used in the literature. Theoretical propositions on the relationship between two classes of expectations and satisfaction and emotions are developed.