Huifeng Pan

Adopting expectancy–disconfirmation theory and the cycle of satisfaction, this study examined the dynamic nature of the satisfaction cycle and identified the moderating roles of satisfaction and adjusted expectations in the context of sustaining educational donations. Using a three-time-lag survey, we showed that the sequential shifts from prior expectations (T1) to satisfaction (T2) to adjusted expectations (T3) were consistent with the expectance–disconfirmation mechanism. We found that the carryover effect between prior and adjusted expectations is significantly powerful. In addition, we found that the two mediators—satisfaction and adjusted expectations—absorb the effect of prior expectations and then transfer that effect to behavioral intentions over time. Therefore, this study provides a theoretical account of the link between prior expectations–satisfaction–behavioral intentions and prior expectations–adjusted expectations–behavioral intentions during donation activities.

Although brand love–loyalty relationships can deepen, the literature does not include systematic and empirical investigations demonstrating when perceived value and relationship duration are valuable in enhancing the brand love–loyalty relationship. This study investigates the effects of relationship duration, perceived value, and restaurant type on the relationships between brand love and brand loyalty during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In particular, hedonic value rather than utilitarian value is hypothesized to negatively enhance the relationship between brand love and brand loyalty when consumers continue to have long-lasting relationships with a restaurant brand. Using data collected from an online research firm in Korea, the findings revealed that brand love negatively influences brand loyalty. However, the impact of brand love on brand loyalty increases when customers seek hedonic value. Our findings also demonstrate that consumers who sought hedonic value strengthened the brand love–loyalty link compared to consumers who sought utilitarian value, particularly one with a short-lasting relationship. Consumers who sought utilitarian value through a long-lasting relationship strengthened the same relationship, although the increased correlation was not statistically significant. Furthermore, brand loyalty gradually decreases at fine-dining restaurants, whereas it sharply increases at takeaway restaurants.

Extant hospitality literature has tended to view the dimensions of service quality as primarily complementary or differential in nature. However, studies of the similarities and differences between the two types of service quality have been limited. This study investigates how restaurant image and customer orientation affect the relative importance of both process and outcome service quality in customer satisfaction, focusing on restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a moderated moderation process and macro-based approach (M = 3), our findings show that process service quality impacts restaurant satisfaction; however, they also reveal that outcome service quality has a stronger main effect on restaurant satisfaction than process service quality. In particular, the findings show that the negative impact of the relationship between process (or outcome) service quality and restaurant image on restaurant satisfaction is insignificant when customer orientation is low. On the other hand, the same relationship has an even stronger positive effect on restaurant satisfaction when customer orientation is high. These findings have implications for restaurants’ efforts to develop and improve service quality, and bolster customer orientation, helping them identify more effective strategic approaches during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research on some key boundary conditions and outcomes of consumers’ relationship termination in the online environment is scare. We examine how four categories (e.g., upkeep, time, benefits, and personal loss) of avoiding relationships affect customers’ relationship termination. We also consider both the motivation (hedonic vs. utilitarian) and switching costs when customers evaluate whether to exit from or stay in a relationship. Results show that time plays a significant role in customers’ relationship termination, but there appears to be an increase or decrease in customers’ relationship termination associated with the role of two moderators. More specifically, upkeep plays a significant role in affecting relationship termination for consumers motivated by hedonic interests (as opposed to those motivated by utilitarian interests). Meanwhile, personal loss plays a role in affecting relationship termination for utilitarian consumers (and not hedonic). Furthermore, we found that high switching costs facilitate a relationship termination if time and personal loss are involved. The findings indicate that the effect of high switching costs on customer loyalty is limited. We also found that when consumers consider time category, they are likely to have a greater intent to terminate a relationship regardless of the level of switching costs.