Abstract:
The challenge of predicting consumer behaviour is widely considered by the literature as a
rather daunting, but worthwhile task. Which manager or academic would not be interested in
using or developing a framework enabling one to predict future behaviour better than existing
measurements? Refering to the old saying, stating that ‘only what gets measured, gets managed’,
indicating what the literature addresses as a need to track the influence of change through
measurements. In order to address my research question and explore the proposition ‘Can a
measurement of service quality based on consumer experience be a better predictor of consumer
behaviour?’ this paper examines the existing literature in two fields of literature. On the one
hand I will be investigating studies in the context of existing measurements of service quality to
assess the first part of my research question to determine the ‘status quo’, application and
characteristics of the literature on measurements of service quality. On the other hand the paper
will select, appraise, and synthesize the relevant literature on consumer behaviour to address the
second part of the research question, if, and if yes, how the phenomenon of consumer experience
could be the foundation for a measurement of service quality capable of predicting consumer
behaviour better than existing measurements of service quality.
By systematically reviewing the existing literature I am aiming on contributing to the literature
addressing the challenges of predicting consumer behaviour.
