An empirical test of the drivers of overall customer satisfaction: evidence from multivariate Granger causality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether customer‐perceived service quality and expectation of service quality have causal impacts on overall customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – Data on all the variables were elicited from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), and these were analyzed using the Granger causality method. Findings – Satisfaction and perceived quality were positively related. Even though perceived quality did not Granger‐cause satisfaction in the short term, it did so in the long term. Likewise, even though satisfaction did not Granger‐cause perceived quality in the short term, it did so in the long term. But customer expectations Granger‐caused both satisfaction and expectation in the short‐term and the long term. Research limitations/implications – The findings are based on only one company. Extrapolation to other companies demands caution and the data may not satisfy asymptotic assumptions. Originality/value – The study contributes to the literature by advising managers to extend their customer satisfaction tracking to overall customer satisfaction with its strategic implications.