An application of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) in the Jordanian mobile phone sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate customers’ satisfaction associated with mobile phone services in Jordan. The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) model is used as the framework to examine the causal relationships among customer expectations, perceived quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, customer complaint and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach – The responses were collected using a structured questionnaire from 447 mobile subscribers in three major universities in Jordan (Jordan, Yarmouk and Mutah Universities). Findings – It is found that the ACSI model adequately describes the perceptions and behavior of mobile phone users in Jordan. Furthermore, customer expectations, perceived quality and perceived value are important predictors to customer satisfaction, which ultimately results in customer loyalty. In addition, customer satisfaction does not influence customer complaints. The influence of customer complaints on customer loyalty was positive. Research limitations/implications – Ideally, national customer satisfaction indexing should be conducted in different sectors simultaneously, and the model should be tested periodically. Only then can the results be compared with other countries’ satisfaction indices. Practical implications – The absence of the relationship between customer satisfaction and complaints means that dissatisfied customers do not complain and therefore, mobile service providers should encourage customers who are dissatisfied to complain, in order to satisfy their needs and thus turn them into loyal customers. Originality/value – The paper is an attempt to implement a satisfaction model for the mobile phone sector in Jordan, as one of the most developing countries in this sector within the Arab region.