Multiple roles of consumption emotions in post-purchase satisfaction with extended service transactions

The focus of this paper is on the emotional experience of consumption and i ts impact on satisfaction in the context of extended service transactions D rawing on a multi-component perspective of emotions, we present a series of research propositions to specify how both retrospective global judgments o f consumption emotions as well as their in-process experience (i.e. their e xperience during the sequence of episodes composing the transaction) determ ine postpurchase satisfaction in multiple ways. At the retrospective level, we propose that while the expected direct relationship between satisfactio n and positive emotions will emerge, the equally expected inverse relations hip between negative emotions and satisfaction will be found only for negat ive emotions attributed to the service provider. Negative emotions attribut ed to causes other than the provider tie. to the situation or to oneself ma y be positively associated with satisfaction. At the in-process level, we p ropose that the experience of distinct emotions at a certain stage of the s ervice may influence the consumer's expectations for and perceptions of the provider performance, and/or the expressions and behaviors of the consumer himself and those of the provider in the subsequent episode. Such in-proce ss effects of emotions will then determine their relationship with post-pur chase satisfaction. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed