A perceived-control based model to understanding the effects of co-production on satisfaction

Abstract

This article represents an initial effort to analyze the complex linkages among co-production, perceived control and satisfaction. Co-production refers to the consumer participation in production activities and is here considered a proxy for behavioral control as it allows consumers to have some control over the process of the desired product or service. Considering the increase of co-production in consumption activities, understanding the linkage between the control from the co-production process and the satisfaction toward the related consumption may be quite useful to firms interested in adopting such a managerial tool. Two experimental studies – one in a service setting and the other in a product setting – show that co-production positively affects customer’s satisfaction through the mediating effect of perceived control. Information gain and refund choice, representing cognitive and decisional controls respectively, also enhance customers’ perceived control.