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The Effect of Consumption

Emotions on Satisfaction
and Word-of-Mouth
Communications
Riadh Ladhari
University of Moncton

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the impact of consumption emotions on

consumers’ satisfaction and how it affects what they tell other con-
sumers. The conceptual model is based on the premise that pleasure
and arousal influence satisfaction, word-of-mouth (WOM) communi-
cations, and the likelihood of generating WOM. A study of 470 movie-
goers in a French Canadian city supports most of these relationships.
The results indicate that even when the effects of satisfaction are
accounted for, pleasure and arousal have significant effects on WOM.
© 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Research over the last two decades has placed increasing emphasis on
the role of emotions. Extensive efforts have been made to investigate the
role of emotions in marketing and consumer behavior (Erevelles, 1998;
Bagozzi, Gopinath, & Nyer, 1999). Emotions have received greater atten-
tion in advertising (Edell & Burke, 1987; Stayman & Aaker, 1988), con-
sumer decision making (Stayman & Batra, 1991), retailing (Donovan &
Rossiter, 1982; Baker, Levy, & Grewal, 1992; Donovan et al., 1994; Babin
et al., 2005; Yüksel, 2007), satisfaction (Westbrook, 1987; Westbrook & Oliver,
1991; Oliver, 1993; Nyer, 1997; Wirtz & Bateson, 1999; Bigné, Andreu, &
Gnoth, 2005), and behavioral intentions research (Derbaix & Vanhamme,

Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 24(12): 1085–1108 (December 2007)

Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com)
© 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. DOI: 10.1002/mar.20195
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2003; Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2004; Hicks et al., 2005). Recently, Bagozzi,
Gopinath, and Nyer (1999, p. 202) underscored this need:
Emotions are ubiquitous throughout marketing. They influence infor-
mation processing, mediate responses to persuasive appeals, measure
the effects of marketing stimuli, initiate goal setting, enact goal-directed
behaviors, and serve as ends and measures of consumer welfare. Yet, we
are only beginning to understand the role of emotions in marketing.
In the satisfaction literature, it has been shown that consumption emo-
tions play a vital role (Westbrook, 1987; Dubé-Rioux, 1990; Westbrook &
Oliver, 1991; Oliver, 1997; Oliver, Rust, & Varki, 1997; Wirtz & Bateson,
1999; Phillips & Baumgartner, 2002; Bigné, Andreu, & Gnoth, 2005;
Arora & Singer, 2006). There is evidence that an affective path contributes
over and above the disconfirmation expectancy model of satisfaction
judgment. There are also indications that consumption emotions have an
impact on behavioral intentions, including word-of-mouth (WOM)
communications and loyalty (Westbrook, 1987; Nyer, 1997; Yu & Dean,
2001; Derbaix & Vanhamme, 2003; Hicks et al., 2005; White & Yu, 2005).
Although researchers agree on the importance of emotions as determi-
nants of postpurchase behavior, there are no conclusive findings regard-
ing their relationship (Bigné, Andreu, & Gnoth, 2005).
This study contributes to the research stream on affective determi-
nants of satisfaction and WOM communications, and suggests that they
are as important as the study of cognitive determinants. This study has
its roots in Russell’s pleasure-arousal (PA) model (Mehrabian & Russell,
1974; Russell, 1980; Russell, Weiss, & Mendelsohn, 1989) from the field
of environmental psychology (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). According to
the PA model, emotions consist of two dimensions, pleasure and arousal.
The aim of this study is therefore to evaluate the effects of pleasure and
arousal on satisfaction and WOM communications.
This paper is organized as follows: first, the pleasure-arousal model is
presented; then, the theoretical background and the hypothesized rela-
tionships are discussed; third, the methodology is described; next, the
results of the empirical study are presented; and, finally, the study’s find-
ings are discussed.

CONCEPTUALIZATION OF CONSUMPTION EMOTIONS:

THE PLEASURE-AROUSAL MODEL

Consumption emotions can be broadly defined as “the set of emotional

responses elicited specifically during product usage or consumption
experiences, as described either by the distinctive categories of emo-
tional experience and expression (e.g., joy, anger, and fear) or by the struc-
tural dimensions underlying emotional categories, such as pleasantness/
unpleasantness, relaxation/action, or calmness/excitement” (Westbrook &

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Oliver, 1991, p. 85). The psychology literature offers two principal

approaches to measuring emotions.
The first approach views all emotions as originating from a relatively
small number of basic emotions. Izard (1977) proposes the coexistence
of 10 fundamental discrete emotions: interest, joy, anger, contempt,
disgust, shame, guilt, sadness, fear, and surprise. Plutchick (1980) offers
a theory of emotions based on adaptive functions, which correspond to
eight primary emotions: disgust, fear, sadness, anger, surprise, expectancy,
acceptance, and joy. Other emotions result from various combinations of
these eight categories of emotions.
The second approach, retained for this investigation, takes into con-
sideration that emotional states exist in bipolar categories (Mehrabian &
Russell, 1974; Russell, 1980; Russell, Weiss, & Mendelsohn, 1989). This
model of affect is known by the acronym PAD, which stands for the three
constitutive dimensions of emotions: pleasure-displeasure, arousal-
nonarousal, and dominance-submissiveness. The bipolarity of these three
dimensions indicates, for example, that the presence of arousal excludes
the possibility of nonarousal.
Russell (1980) and Russell, Weiss, and Mendelsohn (1989) have sug-
gested that the dominance-submissiveness dimension can be dispensed
with. In the marketing literature, there is some consensus regarding the
bidimensional character of emotions. In recent marketing studies, emo-
tions are represented by only two dimensions, that is, pleasure
and arousal (PA model) (Wirtz & Bateson, 1999; Mattila & Wirtz, 2000;
Chebat & Michon, 2003; Bigné, Andreu, & Gnoth, 2005; Yüksel, 2007).
Pleasure is the degree to which a person feels good, happy, contented, or
joyful in a situation (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). Arousal is the degree
to which a person feels excited, alert, stimulated, awake, or active in a
situation (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974).
The role of the PA model in consumer behavior is noteworthy. Studies
have shown that pleasure and arousal affect attitudes and a variety
of responses such as utilitarian value and hedonic value (Babin et al., 2005;
Yüksel, 2007), shopping satisfaction (Machleit & Mantel, 2001), spending
level (Donovan & Rossiter, 1982; Sherman, Mathur, & Smith, 1997; Chebat
& Michon, 2003), desire to affiliate (Donovan & Rossiter, 1982; Hui &
Bateson, 1991; Dubé, Chebat, & Morin, 1995; Sweeney & Wyber, 2002;
Yüksel, 2007), time spent in the store (Donovan & Rossiter, 1982; Hui &
Bateson, 1991; Sherman, Mathur, & Smith, 1997), liking the store
(Sherman, Mathur, & Smith, 1997), liking the online store (Fiore, Jin, &
Kim, 2005), number of items purchased in the store (Sherman, Mathur,
& Smith, 1997), willingness to patronize the online store (Fiore, Jin, &
Kim, 2005), and willingness to buy (Baker, Levy, & Grewal, 1992; Fiore,
Jin, & Kim, 2005).
Despite its great potential for explaining consumer behavior, the PA
model has not been widely adopted by satisfaction researchers. The
PA model was only recently introduced in satisfaction studies by Wirtz

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and Bateson (1999), and Bigné, Andreu, and Gnoth (2005). In a labora-
tory simulation of PC-based home banking services, Wirtz and Bateson
(1999) reported that the degree of pleasure and arousal experienced in
a service encounter is an increasing function of the perceived magnitude
of disconfirmation of expectations. They also found that pleasure and
disconfirmation of expectations are antecedents of satisfaction. In a study
on theme park experience, Bigné, Andreu, and Gnoth (2005) found that
disconfirmation evoked arousal, which, in turn, influenced pleasure. They
also reported that pleasure is strongly linked to consumer satisfaction and
loyalty.

CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND HYPOTHESES

In keeping with previous satisfaction and behavioral intentions investi-

gations, this study proposes and tests a model in which pleasure and
arousal have a direct impact on satisfaction. In turn, it proposes that
these three variables affect WOM communications. The conceptual model
as well as the hypothesized relationships between the constructs are
presented in Figure 1 and discussed in the following sections.

The Impact of Pleasure and Arousal on Satisfaction

Satisfaction can be broadly defined as “the consumer’s fulfillment
response. It is a judgment that a product or service feature, or the prod-
uct or service itself, provided (or is providing) a pleasurable level of
consumption-related fulfillment, including levels of under- or overful-
fillment” (Oliver, 1997, p. 13). Traditionally, satisfaction was considered
to be a cognitive state, influenced by cognitive antecedents (Oliver, 1980;

Arousal H7 Likelihood of WOM

H2 H9
H5

H3 Satisfaction

H1 H6
H8

Pleasure H4 Positive WOM

Note: Hypothesis 10 is not presented in this figure.

Figure 1. Conceptual model and hypothesized relationships.

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Bigné, Andreu, & Gnoth, 2005). The antecedents of satisfaction reported

in the literature include constructs such as expectations, performance, dis-
confirmation of expectations, attribution, and equity (Oliver, 1980, 1997).
However, a number of researchers, inspired by the work of Zajonc (1980)
and Hirschman and Holbrook (1982), have investigated the role of emotions
in explaining satisfaction. For example, Westbrook (1987) proposed and
empirically validated a model in which disconfirmation of expectations
and affect contribute independently to satisfaction. Westbrook and Oliver
(1991) found affect to be a mediator between disconfirmation and satis-
faction.
The impact of emotions on satisfaction is well documented in the sat-
isfaction literature (Westbrook, 1987; Dubé-Rioux, 1990; Muller, Tse, &
Venkatasubramaniam, 1991; Oliver, 1993; Oliver, 1994; Liljander &
Strandvik, 1997; Wirtz & Bateson, 1999; Phillips & Baumgartner, 2002;
Bigné, Andreu, & Gnoth, 2005; Arora & Singer, 2006). This link was estab-
lished for a variety of products and services, including: cable televi-
sion service (Westbrook, 1987), automobile (Westbrook, 1987), restaurant
service (Dubé-Rioux, 1990), labor force bureau service (Liljander &
Strandvik, 1997), a simulated computer system (Nyer, 1997), orange juice
(Phillips & Baumgartner, 2002), theme park experience (Bigné, Andreu, &
Gnoth, 2005), and dining experience (Arora & Singer, 2006). However,
most of these studies (except Wirtz and Bateson’s, 1999; Bigné, Andreu, &
Gnoth, 2005) have been limited to the valence of emotions (i.e., positive
emotions and negative emotions, see Table 1) when evaluating the link
between consumption emotions and satisfaction. Other studies exam-
ined the impact of specific emotions, such as joy (Söderlund & Rosengren,
2004; Arora & Singer, 2006), regret (Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2004) and disap-
pointment (Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2004), on satisfaction/dissatisfaction.
This research extends these findings by examining the impact of not
only the valence (pleasure-displeasure) but also the intensity (arousal-
nonarousal) of emotions on satisfaction. It evaluates this link between
emotions and satisfaction using the previously described PA (pleasure and
arousal) model of affect.
Consistent with the literature on satisfaction, which supports a
significant positive effect of consumption emotions on satisfaction, the
effect of pleasure and arousal on satisfaction is expected. This study also
suggests there is a positive path from arousal to pleasure. A number of
studies empirically support this link (Mano & Oliver, 1993; Oliver, 1994;
Oliver, Rust, & Varki, 1997; Chebat & Michon, 2003; Bigné, Andreu, &
Gnoth, 2005).

H1: Pleasure positively influences satisfaction judgment.

H2: Arousal positively influences satisfaction judgment.

H3: Arousal positively influences pleasure.

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Table 1. Typologies of Emotions in Satisfaction Literature.
Authors Measures
Westbrook (1987) 6 of 10 DES II (Izard, 1977)
subscale: anger, disgust,
contempt, interest, joy,
and surprise.
Dubé-Rioux (1990) 5 positive and 5 negative
adjectives selected from those
most frequently mentioned in
a pre-test.
Westbrook and 10 DES-II subscales: anger,
Oliver (1991) disgust, contempt, interest,
joy, sadness, fear, shame,
guilt, and surprise.
Mano and 43 adjectives: combined
Oliver (1993) version of items in the
Mano’s (1991) circumplex
scale and Watson et al.’s
(1988) PANAS scale.
Oliver and A shortened version of
Westbrook (1993) Izard’s (1972) original
DES (29 items).
Oliver (1994) 16 items were selected from
studies of Watson et al. (1988),
Larsen and Diener (1992).
Analyses
Confirmatory factor analysis;
Reliability analysis
Reliability analysis
Discriminant analysis
Principal component analysis
with varimax rotation;
Reliability analysis
Discriminant analysis
Factor analysis
Products/services Results
Automobile, cable 2 dimensions of affect: positive
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television service emotions and negative
emotions.
Restaurant 2 dimensions of affect: positive
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emotions (warm feeling,
enthusiastic, being valued,
surprised, interested) and
negative emotions (irritated,
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annoyed, unpleased, bored and
indifferent).
Automobile 3 dimensions: pleasant
surprise (positive affect and
Page 1090
surprise), hostility
(constellation of negative
affect), and interest.
Variety of products 3 dimensions: aroused positive
affect, negative affect, and low
arousal.
or
2 dimensions: aroused positive
affect and negative affect.
Automobile 5 distinct patterns of affect:
hostility, guilt-shame, happy/sad
(bipolar dimension), surprise,
and fear.
Health care service 3 dimensions of consumption
emotions: positive affect,
negative affect, and arousal.
Evrard and Combined items issued from
Aurier (1994) Pluthchik’s eight dimensions
and from PAD model.
Dubé et al. (1996) 15-item scale, including both
positive and negative
emotions, was developed by
the authors.
Liljander and 7 emotions retained from
Strandvik (1997) literature.
Nyer (1997) 15 emotions were retained
from the works of Shaver et al.
(1987) and Holbrook and
Batra (1987) to represent
anger, sadness, and joy.
Dubé and 27-item scale was developed
Menon (1998) by the authors based on the
review of emotions associated
with health service context.
Jun, Hyun, Gentry, List of emotions selected from
and Song (2001) past studies were pre-tested;
(14 emotions were retained).
Exploratory factor analysis;
Reliability analysis;
Confirmatory factor analysis
Factor analysis with
orthogonal rotation;
Reliability analysis.
Principal component analysis
with varimax rotation;
Reliability analysis
Factor analysis with oblique
rotation; Reliability analysis
Factor analysis with varimax
rotation; Reliability analysis
Factor analysis with varimax
rotation; Reliability analysis
Motion picture 4 dimensions of affect: positive
affect, negative affect, absence
of arousal, and surprise.
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Health care service 3 dimensions of affect:
situation-attributed negative
emotions; other attributed
negative emotions; positive
emotions.
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Public service (labor 2 dimensions of affect: positive
force bureau) emotions (happy, hopeful, and
positively surprised) and
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negative emotions (angry,
depressed, guilty, and
humiliated).
Simulated computer 3 dimensions: anger, sadness
system and joy/satisfaction (joy and
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satisfaction were merged to
form a joy/satisfaction scale).
Satisfaction is considered as
an emotional response to
consumption experience.
Health service 5 dimensions: situation-
attributed negative emotions,
positive emotions, other
attributed negative emotions,
self-attributed negative
emotions, arousal emotions.
Course 3 dimensions of consumption
emotions: positive affect,
agitation-related negative
affect; dejection-related
negative affect.
(Continued)

Table 1. (continued)
Authors Measures
Wirtz and Beteson Scale 1: 12 items derived
(1999) from Mehrabian (1980).
Scale 2: 20 items form Russell
and Pratt (1980).
Phillips and 23 items derived from Edell
Baumgartner and Burke (1987) and Burke
(2002, study 1) and Edell (1989).
Phillips and 23 items derived from Edell
Baumgartner and Burke (1987) and Burke
(2002, study 2) and Edell (1989).
Bigné, Andreu, 12 items derived from Russell
and Gnoth (2005) (1980).
Babin et al. (2005) 8 items derived from
Mehrabian and Russell (1974).
Analyses
Reliability analysis
Factor analysis; Reliability
analysis
Factor analysis; Reliability
analysis
Reliability analysis;
Confirmatory factor analysis
Reliability analysis;
Confirmatory factor analysis
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Products/services Results
PC-based home banking 2 dimensions of consumption
service emotions (pleasure and
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arousal) for each of the two
scales.
Orange juice 2 dimensions of consumption
emotions: positive emotions and
negative emotions.
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Orange juice 2 dimensions of consumption
emotions: positive emotions and
negative emotions.
Theme park experience 2 dimensions of consumption
emotions: pleasure and
arousal.
Dining experience 2 dimensions of consumption
emotions: positive emotions
and negative emotions.
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The Impact of Pleasure and Arousal on WOM

WOM consists of informal person-to-person communication between a
perceived noncommercial communicator and a consumer about owner-
ship, or characteristics of a brand, a product, a service, an organization,
or a seller (Westbrook, 1987; Buttle, 1998; Harrison-Walker, 2001). The
valence of WOM may be negative or positive. Examples of negative WOM
are private complaining and the relating of unpleasant experiences
(Anderson, 1998). Positive WOM includes complimenting and relating
pleasant and vivid experiences (Anderson, 1998; Otto et al., 2005).
Arndt (1967) reported that exposure to negative WOM decreases the
probability of the product being purchased, and conversely, exposure to
positive WOM increases that probability. WOM was shown to have a
strong impact on product or service choice, selection, and even evaluation
(Burzynski & Bayer, 1977; Webster, 1991; Bone, 1995). There are, however,
few studies about the precursors of WOM (Anderson, 1998; Harrison-
Walker, 2001; Otto et al., 2005).
In the literature on postpurchase behavior, the effect of consumption
emotions on WOM has not been systematically investigated. A few excep-
tions do exist (Westbrook, 1987; Nyer, 1997; Derbaix & Vanhamme, 2003;
Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2004; White & Yu, 2005). Nyer (1997) found that
emotional responses (joy, anger, and sadness) contribute to positive and
negative WOM intentions over and above the predictive ability of satis-
faction. Joy was positively and negatively related to positive and nega-
tive WOM, respectively. Anger and sadness were positively and negatively
related to negative and positive WOM, respectively. Westbrook (1987)
found that positive and negative emotions influence the amount of WOM.
Derbaix and Vanhamme (2003) reported that surprise, negative emotions,
and positive emotions are all highly correlated with the likelihood of
talking to others. Zeelenberg and Pieters (2004) found a positive impact
of regret and disappointment on the extent of negative WOM. This
impact was detected in the extent of WOM, even when the effect of
dissatisfaction was accounted for. Finally, White and Yu (2005) reported
a strong positive relationship between positive emotions and positive
WOM and a negative relationship between regret and positive WOM.
They also found negative relationships between disappointment and pos-
itive WOM, and between regret and positive WOM.
In keeping with the research stream on the relationship between
emotions and WOM and on the relationship between PA and approach-
avoidance (see the first section of this paper), this study proposes that
pleasure and arousal influence positive WOM and the consumer’s like-
lihood to generate WOM.

H4: Pleasure positively influences positive WOM.

H5: Pleasure positively influences the likelihood of generating WOM.

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H6: Arousal positively influences positive WOM.

H7: Arousal positively influences the likelihood of generating WOM.

The Impact of Satisfaction on WOM

Several researchers have examined the link between satisfaction level
and behavioral intentions, such as complaint behavior, WOM, loyalty, and
switching behavior (Yu & Dean, 2001; Host & Knie-Andersen, 2004). A
dissatisfied customer will likely complain, switch to another product, or
engage in negative WOM (Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2004). By contrast, a
satisfied customer will likely repurchase the product or recommend the
product to others (Athanassopoulos, Gounaris, & Stathakopoulos, 2001;
Yu & Dean, 2001).
The link between satisfaction and positive WOM has received theo-
retical and empirical support (Bitner, 1990; Athanassopoulos, Gounaris, &
Stathakopoulos, 2001; Ranaweera & Prabhu, 2003; Babin et al., 2005).
Athanassopoulos, Gounaris, and Stathakopoulos (2001) found that cus-
tomer satisfaction with banking services was positively associated with
positive WOM. The same result was reported in Ranaweera and Prabhu’s
(2003) investigation among users of fixed line residential telephone serv-
ices and Babin et al.’s (2005) study among consumers at family-style
restaurants.
However, the literature shows conflicting evidence regarding the impact
of satisfaction levels on the extent of WOM activities. Although the exis-
tence of a positive relationship between satisfaction and WOM has been
empirically supported (i.e., satisfied consumers participated more
in WOM activities than dissatisfied consumers did) (Richins, 1983;
Westbrook, 1987; Halstead, 2002), there is also theoretical and empirical
support for an inverse relationship (i.e., dissatisfied consumers partici-
pated more in WOM activities than satisfied consumers did) (Holmes &
Lett, 1977; Swan & Oliver, 1989; Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2004).
There are at least three possible reasons for these dissimilar findings.
First, numerous aspects have been considered by researchers to evalu-
ate the frequency of WOM (see Table 2). These aspects include the num-
ber of contacts made (Anderson, 1998; Halstead, 2002), the number of
people told or the number of recipients (Holmes & Lett, 1977), the fre-
quency of discussions with others (Westbrook, 1987), the number of peo-
ple involved in discussion (Westbrook, 1987), the number of topics
discussed (Westbrook, 1987), and the likelihood of talking to others
(Derbaix & Vanhamme, 2003). Second, numerous factors may encourage
or discourage an individual from engaging in more or fewer WOM activ-
ities. These factors include the desire to warn a friend, a neighbor, or an
associate; the desire to allay cognitive dissonance; feelings of power and
prestige; the reluctance to transmit bad news; the need to erase doubts

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Table 2. Type of WOM and Measure.

Authors Types of WOM and measures Products or services

Richins (1983) • Engagement in negative or unfavorable WOM (1 item) Clothing item and small
Telling at least one friend or acquaintance about the dissatisfaction was or large appliance
considered as an engagement in WOM.
Westbrook (1987) • Amount of WOM (3 items) Cable television
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Index formed by averaging reported frequency of discussions with others, service

number of persons involved, and number of topics discussed.
Swan and Oliver (1989) • Favorableness of WOM (1 item) Automobile
“Did you tell mostly positive or mostly negative things about the car?”
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Anderson (1998) • Frequency of WOM (1 items) Most recent experience

Number of individuals spoken to about recent experiences with quality.
Athannassopoulos • Positive WOM communication (3 items) Commercial retail
et al. (2001) Recommended the bank to friends and acquaintances; encouraged friends and bank
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acquaintances to do business with the bank; informed other customers of the

bank about complaints (from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”).
Halstead (2002) • Favorability of WOM (1 item) Carpet
Favorability of generated WOM rated from “very negative” to “very positive”.
• Extent of WOM (1 item)
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Number of people told about the carpet.

Wirtz and Chew (2002) • Likelihood of generating WOM (1 item) Telemobile
Likelihood of talking to others anchored at “definitely not” and “definitely yes”.
• Favorability of WOM (1 item)
Favorability of generated WOM anchored at “definitely no” and “definitely yes”.
• Likelihood of making a purchase recommendation
Recommendation to subscribe to Telemobile anchored at “definitely not
subscribe” to “definitely subscribe”.
Derbaix and Vanhamme • Frequency of WOM (1 item) Most recent
(2003) Number of individuals told about surprising experience. consumption/purchase
surprising experience
Zeelenberg and • Extent of negative WOM (3 items) Personal regretful
Pieters (2004) Telling friends and acquaintances about the experience; telling partner and/or experience with a
relatives about the experience; discouraging others from using the service provider dissatisfying service
(from “not at all” to “a very large extent”). delivery
Babin et al. (2005) • WOM intentions (3 items) Dining experience
Intentions to say positive things about the restaurant to other people; intention
to recommend the restaurant to another consumer who seeks advice; intention to
encourage friends and relatives to visit the restaurant (from “strongly disagree”
to “strongly agree”).
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about own purchase, and the desire to increase involvement with a desir-
able group (Holmes & Lett, 1977; Harrison-Walker, 2001). Third, finan-
cial, physical, social, or psychological risks associated with the purchase
or the consumption of a product may increase involvement and thus
increase the engagement in WOM activity.
Consistent with previous findings, this study proposes that positive
relationships exist between satisfaction and positive WOM, and between
satisfaction and the likelihood of generating WOM.

H8: Satisfaction positively influences positive WOM.

H9: Satisfaction positively influences the likelihood to generate WOM.

This study also proposes that satisfaction partially determines some

of the effects of pleasure and arousal on the likelihood of WOM and pos-
itive WOM.

H10: Satisfaction mediates a part of the effects of pleasure and arousal

on the likelihood of WOM and positive WOM.

RESEARCH METHOD

Data Collection
Movie consumption was selected as the context in which to empirically
test the conceptual model and the hypothesized relationships. There
are two reasons for this choice. First, the film industry is growing rap-
idly. The market size for movie consumption exceeded U.S. $23 billion
in 2005, reflecting a 46% growth over 2000 (MPAA, 2005). At the same
time, the production and marketing costs of movies are escalating. Sec-
ond, movies are categorized as experiential products (Cooper-Martin,
1991; Addis & Holbrook, 2001). They are sought for the emotions they
bring to moviegoers. Globally, the main benefit from experiential prod-
ucts is the pleasure in consumption (Cooper-Martin, 1991; Addis &
Holbrook, 2001; Eliashberg & Sawhney, 1994). This is emphasized by
Addis and Holbrook (2001). They stated, “Examples of more hedonic
product-related experiences would include entertainment or the arts
in general and responses to plays, movies, books, or television shows in
particular. . . . When going to see, say, a movie, its value hinges on the
ability of the movie to engage one’s subjectivity to arouse feelings or to
provoke emotional reactions” (2001, p. 59). Only a few previous studies
on satisfaction and WOM have dealt with hedonic or experiential prod-
ucts (see Table 2). Thus, in order to generalize on the relationship
between emotions, satisfaction, and WOM, it may be interesting to con-
sider hedonic products such as movies.

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Data were collected from 491 moviegoers in two movie theatres in a

French Canadian city. 470 usable questionnaires were retained. Fifty-four
percent of the respondents were female and 46% were male. The average
age was 31.9 years.

Measures
Multiple-item scales were used to measure the constructs in the model.
WOM was the only construct measured using a one-item scale. The like-
lihood of generating WOM was measured on one 7-point item: “I will talk
to other people about this film,” anchored at “not likely” and “very likely.”
Positive WOM was measured on one 7-point item: “I will recommend this
film to other people,” anchored at “not likely” and “very likely.” Willing-
ness to recommend is widely used in academic and practitioner studies
to measure positive WOM.
Satisfaction was measured using five items, three of which were
adapted from Oliver (1980). These items were: “How satisfied are you
with the movie?” ranging from “not satisfied” to “very satisfied”; “I am very
satisfied with my decision to see this movie,” ranging from “completely
disagree” to “completely agree”; “I feel bad that I decided to see this movie
instead of another,” ranging from “completely disagree” to “completely
agree”; “I think I did the right thing when I decided to come see this
movie,” ranging from “completely disagree” to “completely agree”; and
“The movie that I have seen was____,” ranging from “much worse than
I expected” to “much better than I expected.” An exploratory factor analy-
sis showed that satisfaction is a one-dimensional construct. The satis-
faction scale has a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.93.
Pleasure was measured using a five-item 7-point semantic differential
scale (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). These bipolar adjectives were pleased/
annoyed, contented/melancholic, hopeful/despairing, relaxed/bored, and
happy/unhappy. An exploratory factor analysis confirmed that pleasure
is a one-dimensional construct. The pleasure scale has a Cronbach alpha
value of 0.91.
Finally, arousal was measured with a six-item 7-point semantic dif-
ferential scale (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). The items were excited/calm,
stimulated/relaxed, frenzied/sluggish, jittery/dull, wide awake/sleepy,
and aroused/unaroused. The last item was dropped from further analy-
sis because of poor factor loading. The arousal scale has a Cronbach’s
alpha coefficient of 0.85.

RESULTS

Structural equations modeling using EQS 6.1 for Windows was per-
formed to empirically test the relationships between the constructs in this
study. All variables described in the last section were included in the

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Table 3. Summary Statistics of Model Fit.

Indicators Values
2
Satorra-Bentler statistic (S-Bx ) 452.823 (df 5 106, p , 0.001)
Normed Fit Index (NFI)a 0.90
Non-Normed Fit Index (NNFI)a 0.90
Comparative Fit Index (CFI)a 0.92
Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA)b 0.084
90% confidence interval of RMSEA [0.076, 0.091]
a
NFI, NNFI, and CFI close to 1 indicate a good fit. Values of 0.90 and above suggest adequate fit.
b
Values below 0.1 suggest adequate fit.

model. A maximum likelihood estimation procedure was used. The robust

method was selected as the most appropriate because of the lack of
normality in the population (Mardia coefficient 5 64.5657), which could
have led to an overestimation of the chi-square statistic and an under-
estimation of the fit indices (Byrne, 1994).
The overall evaluation of the model fit was based on multiple indica-
tors (Byrne, 1994). These indicators included the Satorra-Bentler statis-
tic S-Bx2 (Satorra & Bentler, 1988), the normed fit index (NFI), the
nonnormed fit index (NNFI), the comparative fit index (CFI), and
the root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA). In EQS 6.1,
when the robust option is chosen, S-Bx2 and all the corrected fit indices
are computed (see Table 3). The S-Bx2, representing a robust chi-square
statistic that incorporates a scaling correction for the x2 when distribu-
tional assumptions are violated, and the four other corrected fit indices
have been used in numerous marketing studies (e.g., Chebat & Michon,
2003).
Although this test revealed a significant S-Bx2 of 452.823 (degree of
freedom1 5 106, p , 0.01), it is known that this corrected x2 statistic,
like its uncorrected counterpart (x2), is sensitive to large sample sizes
(Bentler & Bonett, 1980; Bagozzi, Yi, & Phillips, 1991; Byrne, 1994). The
other fit indices were all within an acceptable range. The NFI was 0.90,
the NNFI was 0.90 and the CFI was 0.92. The RMSEA was 0.084 (90%
confidence interval of RMSEA: [0.076, 0.091]). These results suggest an
acceptable fit of the model to the data. A construct measurement sum-
mary is presented in Table 4, and path-standardized parameters and
correspondent robust-t values are found in Table 5.
Before the structural model estimates are examined, an evaluation of
the items measuring the latent variables is made. As recommended by
Anderson and Gerbing (1988), the construct reliability (rc) is calculated
for each construct. Values above 0.60 are adequate (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988).
The values of rc are 0.93, 0.92, and 0.86 for the satisfaction, pleasure,
1
Three error covariances are respecified as freely estimated parameters as suggested by the
results of the Lagrange Multiplier (LM) Test. The LM Test permits the identification of malfit-
ting parameter (Byrne, 1994) and is largely used in marketing research (e.g., Laroche, Bergeron, &
Goutaland, 2001).

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Table 4. Construct Measurement Summary.

Constructs and items Standardized loadings Robust-t values

Satisfaction
SAT 1 0.935 32.016
SAT 2 0.908 32.800
SAT 3 0.798 20.310
SAT 4 0.867 27.226
SAT 5 0.716 15.167
Pleasure
PL1 0.903 32.322
PL2 0.909 31.540
PL3 0.628 11.526
PL4 0.817 21.439
PL5 0.865 25.209
Arousal
AR1 0.770 2.373
AR2 0.772 2.364
AR3 0.689 2.344
AR4 0.784 2.373
AR5 0.689 2.403

Table 5. Structural Model Estimates: Standardized Parameters and Robust-t

Values.
Satisfaction 5 Pleasure Arousal
0.606** (t 5 14.235) 0.310* (t 5 2.267)
Pleasure 5 Arousal
0.323* (t 5 2.288)
Likelihood WOM 5 Satisfaction Pleasure Arousal
0.655** (t 5 6.885) 20.224** (t 5 23.356) 0.096* (t 5 2.474)
Positive WOM 5 Satisfaction Pleasure Arousal
0.785** (t 5 10.087) 0.124* (t 5 1.992) 20.015 (t 5 20.347)
** p , 0.001, * p , 0.05.

and arousal scales, respectively. These values are all above 0.60, sup-
porting the reliability of the three scales. As shown in Table 4, all factor
loadings are above 0.5 and significant for p , 0.05. In addition, the aver-
age variance extracted for each construct is above 0.50. These results
show evidence of convergent validity for all scales used in this study.
The structural model estimates are used to verify the hypothesized
relationships. All but one of the hypothesized relationships are statisti-
cally significant (t-value . |1.96|). Seven of the eight statistically
significant paths are in the hypothesized direction.
Pleasure has a positive significant effect on satisfaction (b 5 0.606,
t 5 14.235, p , 0.001) supporting hypothesis 1. Arousal has positive
significant effects on pleasure (b 5 0.323, t 5 2.288, p , 0.05) and
satisfaction (b 5 0.310, t 5 2.267, p , 0.05), thus confirming hypotheses
3 and 2, respectively. As expected in hypothesis 4, pleasure has a positive

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direct effect on positive WOM (b 5 0.124, t 5 1.992, p , 0.05). However,

pleasure has a negative direct effect on the likelihood of WOM
(b 5 20.224, t 5 23.356, p , 0.001), failing to confirm hypothesis 5.
Hypothesis 6, predicting that arousal has a positive effect on the likeli-
hood of WOM, is supported by a significant path of 0.096 (t 5 2.474,
p , 0.05). However, the hypothesized effect of arousal on positive WOM
(H7) is not supported (b 5 20.015, t 5 20.347). Satisfaction has positive
effects on the likelihood of WOM (b 5 0.655, t 5 6.885, p , 0.001) and
on positive WOM (b 5 0.785, t 5 10.087, p , 0.001) as anticipated in
hypotheses 8 and 9.
Hypothesis 10 postulates that satisfaction contributes to the effect of
pleasure and arousal on the likelihood of WOM and positive WOM. A
model that does not include satisfaction (model 2) was compared with the
initially conceptualized model (model 1) to test hypothesis 10. The result-
ing indicators of fit are presented in Table 6. Model 2 shows a poor fit,
suggesting that satisfaction partially mediates the effects of pleasure
and arousal on WOM as expected in hypothesis 10. The overall effects of
pleasure and arousal on the likelihood of WOM and on positive WOM
are estimated. The overall effect represents the sum of direct and indi-
rect effects. The analysis of the overall effect (see Table 7) shows that
arousal and pleasure have positive effects on the likelihood of generat-
ing WOM and positive WOM communications. Arousal has a greater
overall effect than pleasure on the likelihood of WOM (0.299 compared
to 0.173). However, pleasure has a greater overall effect than arousal on
positive WOM (0.613 compared to 0.228).
The dimensions of pleasure and arousal account for 58.5% of the vari-
ance of satisfaction. The model explains about 75.7% and 33.1% of the
variance in positive WOM and the likelihood of WOM respectively.
The noncentralized normed fit index (NCNFI) is calculated, following
the formula proposed by Bagozzi, Yi, and Phillips (1991, p. 437), to

Table 6. Indicator of Fit for Models 1 and 2.

Model 1 Model 2 (model not
Indicator of fit (conceptualized model) including satisfaction)

Satorra-Bentler 452.823 (df 5 106, 371.576 (df 5 47,

statistic (S-Bx2) p , 0.001)a p , 0.001)b
Normed Fit Index (NFI) 0.90 0.87
Non-Normed Fit Index 0.90 0.83
(NNFI)
Comparative Fit Index (CFI) 0.92 0.88
Root-Mean Square Residual 0.084 0.121
(RMSEA)
90% confidence interval of [0.076, 0.091] [0.110, 0.133]
RMSEA
a
Three error covariances were respecified as freely estimated parameters.
b
Two error covariances were respecified as freely estimated parameters.

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Table 7. Total Effect of Arousal and Pleasure on Positive WOM and the Like-
lihood of WOM (Standardized Parameter Estimates).
• Overall effect of pleasure on the likelihood of WOM (50.173)
5 Direct effect 1 Indirect effect through satisfaction
5 20.224 1 0.606 * 0.655
• Overall effect of pleasure on positive WOM (50.613)
5 Direct effect 1 Indirect effect through satisfaction
5 0.137 1 0.606 * 0.785
• Overall effect of arousal on the likelihood of WOM (50.299)
5 Direct effect 1 Indirect effect through satisfaction
5 0.096 1 0.310 * 0.655
• Overall effect of arousal on positive WOM (50.228)
5 Direct effect 1 Indirect effect through satisfaction
5 20.015 1 0.310 * 0.785

evaluate the practical significance of the variance explained by the model,

with particular emphasis on the issue of potential overfitting. The result-
ing NCFNI was 0.913 (.0.90), which suggests that the model is practi-
cally meaningful.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

This study empirically tests a model that outlines the impact of emotions
on post-purchase behavior. The model specifies the impact of pleasure
and arousal on satisfaction, positive WOM, and the likelihood of gener-
ating WOM. The model has its roots in Russell’s framework for basic emo-
tions (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974; Russell, 1980; Russell, Weiss, &
Mendelsohn, 1989).
The role of emotions in customers’ postpurchase behavior is confirmed.
The effects of both pleasure and arousal on satisfaction are found to be
significant and positive. These results support previous research that
established the relationship between emotional responses and satisfac-
tion (e.g., Westbrook, 1987; Dubé-Rioux, 1990; Westbrook & Oliver, 1991;
Bigné, Andreu, & Gnoth, 2005). Similar to the findings of Bigné, Andreu,
and Gnoth (2005), the effect of pleasure on satisfaction is stronger than
the effect of arousal on satisfaction. Overall, these results show that for
experiential products or services, such as movies (this investigation)
and theme park experiences (Bigné, Andreu, & Gnoth, 2005), pleasure and
arousal are important antecedents of satisfaction.
As hypothesized, pleasure has a significant direct positive impact on
positive WOM but negative direct impact on the likelihood of generating
WOM. An unpleasant experience seems to move moviegoers to spread neg-
ative information about the movie. In contrast, a pleasant experience
encourages moviegoers to say positive things, but only to few other movie-
goers. Moviegoers appear more likely to voice their consumption expe-
rience to others to the extent that these experiences are negative. Arousal

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has a significant positive impact on the likelihood of generating WOM.

Moviegoers appear to be more likely to express their consumption expe-
rience to others to the extent that this experience induces intense affect.
Thus, arousal appears to be playing the role of amplifier of the WOM
dissemination. This result is consistent with the findings of Derbaix and
Vanhamme (2003) who reported a significant correlation between surprise
and the frequency of WOM. However, the impact of arousal on the like-
lihood of WOM is only weak and partially mediated by satisfaction. In
addition, the effect of arousal on positive WOM is mediated by satisfac-
tion. These results support the findings of Bigné, Andreu, and Gnoth
(2005), who reported an indirect impact of arousal through satisfaction
on loyalty. Future research should further examine the relationship
between arousal and behavioral intentions and compare different ways
of modeling these links.
Satisfaction has significant effects on the likelihood of WOM and pos-
itive WOM communications. Satisfied moviegoers participate more in
WOM activities than dissatisfied moviegoers. This result is consistent with
the findings in Holmes and Lett (1977) and in Swan and Oliver (1989).
Holmes and Lett (1977) reported that consumers expressing favorable
attitudes toward a sample of coffee brand reached more prospects than
individuals with negative attitudes did. Swan and Oliver (1989) found that
consumers satisfied with an automobile engaged frequently in WOM
communications. The financial success of a movie is largely influenced
by WOM; thus, movie producers and distributors should focus on keep-
ing moviegoers satisfied. They should not create unattainable expecta-
tions, which can be disconfirmed later. Creating unrealistic expectations
may negatively affect satisfaction and spread negative WOM, which
could undermine the movie’s profitability.
There has been increasing interest in motion picture related research
in the last decade. Several topics have been delved into, including the com-
mercial success of movies (Sawhney & Eliashberg, 1996; Eliashberg &
Shugan, 1997), the timing of new film introduction (Krider & Weinberg,
1998), the influencers of a movie’s market performance (Desai & Basuroy,
2005), factors explaining the extent of moviegoers’ consultation of film
reviews (d’Astous & Touil, 1999; d’Astous et al., 2005), and factors affect-
ing frequency of film attendance (Verdaasdonk, 2005). This study con-
tributes to the research stream on movie management and moviegoers’
behavior by examining the antecedents of WOM. WOM activity is of vital
importance in the motion picture industry. In fact, WOM is one of the
most influential information sources for movie selection (Faber & O’Guinn,
1984) and even impacts on movie evaluation (Burzynski & Bayer, 1977).
Given that each movie is unique and assimilated to new products by
movie marketers, WOM provides vital information that helps movie-
goers decide whether or not to see a film. Furthermore, the potential
impact of WOM is increasing because of the growth of online conversa-
tion and online communities (Godes & Mayzlin, 2004).

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This research suggests further avenues of exploration. Future research

efforts should replicate this study with different experiential and utili-
tarian services or products. Another issue worth pursuing is the devel-
opment and testing of a broader model of the influence of pleasure and
arousal on postpurchase behavior. What leads to pleasant-unpleasant
and arousing experiences for a consumer? How these experiences affect
loyalty, WOM, switching, and complaining behavior are questions to be
addressed in future studies. Another useful direction for future research
would be to model potential moderators of the impact of pleasure and
arousal on satisfaction and WOM. Gender, age, involvement, and usage
should be investigated. Although this study reports that the PA model
helps explain to a large extent the variance in satisfaction and WOM, it
does not focus on the idiosyncratic elements of specific emotions. In fact,
various specific positive/negative emotions may differentially impact sat-
isfaction and WOM (Zeelenberg and Pieters, 2004). Future research
should examine the contribution of the PA model to the postpurchase
process compared to a more specific emotions approach.

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Correspondence regarding this article should be sent to: Riadh Ladhari, Depart-
ment of Business Administration, University of Moncton, Montcon, N.B. Canada
E1A 3E9 (riadh.ladhari@umoncton.ca).

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