Packaging and Customer Satisfaction: An Attribute Level
Even in 1963, Boyd and Levy concluded that: “Many companies are sophisticated enough to
realize that purchases are made not for the sake of the product but of the product’s functions –
that is, what the product will do in satisfying needs and wants” (Boyd and Levy, 1963, p. 130).
This view corresponds with the suggestion made previously in this chapter that the most
important thing for companies is to provide appropriate prerequisites for services. This means
providing tools that the customers can use to create their own experiences. Even if companies
can not produce or package value (since it is created in a customer process), they still have to
signal the possible experiences, and ultimately value, that the customers can achieve by
purchasing and using their products.
Researchers provide thoughtful insights into the importance of knowing about and recognizing
the clues (Berry et al., 2002a) and cues (Zeithaml, 1988) a company sends to its customers.
Berry et al., (2002a) elaborates on “orchestrating the total customer experience” by recognizing
the clues a company is sending to its customers. “Anything that can be perceived or sensed – or
recognized by its absence – is an experience clue” (Berry et al., 2002a, p. 86). These clues can
be divided into two categories: one that concerns the actual functioning of a good or service
(e.g., a package’s resealability) and a second that concerns emotions and includes the sounds,
sights, tastes, and textures of the good or service (e.g., how a package is aesthetically
appealing), as well as the environment in which it is offered (Ibid.). The latter category of clues
includes ‘mechanics’ (clues emitted by things) and ‘humanics’ (clues emitted by people) (Ibid.).
Zeithaml (1988) divides the attributes that signal quality into intrinsic and extrinsic cues based
on the work of Olson (1977). Intrinsic cues involve the physical composition of the product
(Zeithaml, 1988).
Flavor, color, texture, and degree of sweetness in a beverage are examples of intrinsic cues.
These attributes are consumed as the product is consumed (Ibid.). Extrinsic cues are product-
related but not a part of the physical product itself. Price and brand name are examples of
extrinsic cues to quality. Clues (Berry et al., 2002a) and cues (Zeithaml, 1988) are used in the
explorative discussion on customer satisfaction in the first and second moments of truth in this
thesis (see Paper I in the appended papers). Another approach to gaining deeper knowledge of
how customers evaluate different offerings on an attribute 33 level is to classify quality
attributes in different quality dimensions. This approach is used in Papers II-IV in the present
thesis. The basis for the classification of quality attributes in these papers is Kano’s theory of
attractive quality (Kano et al., 1984).
Quality and Quality Dimensions Kano’s theory of attractive quality includes five quality
dimensions that have different impacts on customer satisfaction and customer dissatisfaction,
depending on the degree of achievement. The theory is described in detail following a short
discussion of the concept of quality. This means a basic outlook on quality whether it refers to
goods, services, or the two in combination. There are numerous definitions of the quality
concept. Walter A. Shewhart was one of the pioneers in the industrial society concerning the
introduction and development of quality management. He viewed quality from two related
perspectives: the objective and subjective side of quality (Shewhart, 1931). The first perspective
views quality as an objective reality independent of the existence of man. In contrast, the
subjective side of quality considers what we think, feel, and sense as a result of the objective
reality. Bergman and Klefsjö (2003) suggest that: “The quality of a product is its ability to satisfy,
or preferably exceed, the needs and expectations of the customers” (Bergman and Klefsjö,
2003, p. 24). This definition implies that it is not always enough to fulfil customer expectations;
they sometimes need to be exceeded to create customer satisfaction and delight customers.
One of the best known concepts of quality is Juran’s concept of fitness for use (see, e.g., Juran,
1988).
The concept of fitness for use emphasizes that quality is the extent to which a product
successfully serves the purpose of the user (Juran and Gryna, 1988). Other researchers have a
similar approach to the concept of quality and argue that quality lies in the eye of the beholder
(Garvin, 1988; Edvardsson, 1996). “Fitness for use” and “lies in the eye of the beholder” do not
antithesis each other and they both have a strong customer focus or are user-based as Garvin
(1988) would have stated. This view of the concept of quality constitutes the basic outlook on
quality in this thesis. 34 Often, quality is defined as a multidimensional concept, where a
product may be of high quality in one dimension and of lower quality in another, (see, e.g.
Feigenbaum, 1961; Garvin, 1987; Feigenbaum, 1991). Garvin (1987) identifies eight dimensions
for describing the basic attributes of product quality: (1) Performance, (2) Features, (3)
Reliability, (4) Conformance, (5) Durability, (6) Serviceability, (7) Aesthetics, and (8) Perceived
Quality. Feigenbaum (1991) also recognizes that the quality concept can be described using a
spectrum of different quality attributes, such as reliability, serviceability, maintainability, and
attractability. What is considered to be of high quality is the composite of quality attributes
which provides the intended functions with the greatest overall economy (Feigenbaum, 1991).
Service quality is also often viewed as a multi-dimensional concept, e.g., SERVQUAL that
describes service quality through five quality dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness,
assurance, and empathy) (Parasuraman et al., 1985; Parasuraman et al., 1988).
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