Abstract

Understanding consumer expectations is a key to deliver superior services. The role of expectations has received attention in both satisfaction and perceived quality literature domains but no agreement has been reached concerning the nature and formation of expectations. The present study reviewed the antecedents of consumer expectations discussed in the literature and incorporated some of them into a model. Then it looked at the impact of individualism/collectivism on the formation of expectations. Regressions were conducted to see which antecedents influenced expectations. Two different types of expectations were found and results revealed that many antecedents related to external and internal sources of information, values, number of perceived alternatives and other personal characteristics influence one or the two types of expectations. Interesting theoretical and managerial implications were found concerning the proposed model. The study also revealed that differences exist between individualists and collectivists with regard to the formation of expectations; however, the differences were not as expected.