The effect of market and merchant comparisons on customer satisfaction: The moderating role of information uncertainty and price negotiation

We examine whether consumers are influenced by comparisons to other consumers and to the merchant. Past studies have estimated the impact that each type of comparison has on customer satisfaction separately, but have not examined the relative impact of each comparison simultaneously. We also examine the moderating effects of information uncertainty and price negotiation on the relationship between comparison information and customer satisfaction. Results show that unfavorable market comparisons impact customer satisfaction significantly more strongly than unfavorable merchant comparisons. However, no such difference is found for favorable comparisons. Information uncertainty and price negotiation decrease the impact of unfavorable market and merchant comparisons.