Effects of customer experience across service types, customer types and time

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the relevance of customer experience quality (EXQ) across three different aspects. It compares the effect of EXQ on customer attitudes for hedonic vs utilitarian services; regular vs new customers; and new customers if they revisit or become regular customers. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a survey design with structured questionnaires and established scales. Part of the data is collected using a longitudinal survey. Factor analysis and structural equation modeling are used as analytical techniques. Findings: Major findings indicate a stronger effect of EXQ on consumer attitudes for a hedonic service. The effect of EXQ is found to be different on attitude variables for new and existing customers. A temporal change is observed for the new customers when they become regular. Research limitations/implications: The findings emphasize on the differential effect of EXQ depending on the service type and customer type. The findings also support the temporal nature of customer experience. Practical implications: The findings emphasize on the role of customer experience in retaining customers. The findings further imply that a service provider should consider the effect of experience both during and post-consumption for better service delivery and growth. Originality/value: The novelty of the study lies in the comparison of the effects of experience across different service types. In addition, longitudinal exploration of changing effects of customer experience is tested for the first time as per the author’s knowledge.