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Too Much Of A Good Thing: Curvilinear Effects Of Service Evaluation Constructs And The Mediating Role Of Trust, Pavlos A. Vlachos, Katerina Pramatari, Adam Vrechopoulos

Pavlos A Vlachos

PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER. The satisfaction-trust paradigm has been recently criticized regarding its ability to deliver positive consumer behavioral outcomes. This study argues that -amongst others- a reason for this unpleasant situation may be the failure of service managers to account for non-linearities in the satisfaction-trust paradigm. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH. The setting for this study has been the super-market retail channel. A total of 942 respondents were “intercepted” in supermarket stores, employing a face-to-face personal interviewing method. For the detection of curvilinear effects the study employed the two-step single indicant method of Ping (1998). FINDINGS. We posit consumer trust as an important …