The evolution and future of national customer satisfaction index models

A number of both national and international customer satisfaction barometers or indices have been introduced in the last decade. For the most part, these satisfaction indices are embedded within a system of cause and effect relationships or satisfaction model. Yet there has been little in the way of model development. Of critical importance to the validity and reliability of such indices is that the models and methods used to measure customer satisfaction and related constructs continue to learn, adapt and improve over time. The primary goal of this research is to propose and test a number of modifications and improvements to the national index models, Using survey data from the Norwegian Customer Satisfaction Barometer (NCSB), we find general support for the proposed modifications. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.