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Primary and secondary effects of emotions on behavioural intention of

theatre clients
Adrian Palmerab; Nicole Koenig-Lewisa
a
Swansea University, UK b ESC Rennes, France

Online publication date: 06 December 2010

To cite this Article Palmer, Adrian and Koenig-Lewis, Nicole(2010) 'Primary and secondary effects of emotions on
behavioural intention of theatre clients', Journal of Marketing Management, 26: 13, 1201 — 1217
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 Journal of Marketing Management
Vol. 26, Nos. 13–14, December 2010, 1201–1217

Primary and secondary effects of emotions on

behavioural intention of theatre clients
Adrian Palmer, Swansea University, UK and ESC Rennes, France
Nicole Koenig-Lewis, Swansea University, UK

Abstract Emotions have emerged as an increasingly important component of

customer satisfaction and an antecedent of repurchase and referral behaviour.
There has been relatively little reported research into the differential effects of
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positive and negative emotions, and furthermore, whether emotions act

differently on core and secondary components of a service offer. This paper
reports on a study of 513 theatre guests. The research framework distinguished
between a core service offer, operationalised here as a musical performed on-
stage, and the secondary service offer, which in this context referred to
supporting facilities available at the venue. The analysis showed evidence that
emotions have a differential effect on satisfaction with the core service (the
musical performance) and the secondary service (the venue). While positive
emotions had a direct and significant effect on both core satisfaction and
secondary satisfaction, negative emotions had no effect on core satisfaction.
Positive and negative emotions only had an effect on respondents’ likelihood of
recommending the core service to a friend. This paper contributes to our
understanding of the effects of emotions on satisfaction and behavioural
intention, and identifies that emotions primarily work on the elements of the
service offer associated with its primary purpose.

Keywords emotions; satisfaction; behavioural intention; theatre

Introduction

The subject of emotions has attracted considerable recent interest in the field of
customer satisfaction research. A number of studies suggest that customer
satisfaction, loyalty, and future behavioural intentions are influenced by a customer’s
emotions during the service encounter (Barsky & Nash, 2002; Cronin, Brady, & Hult,
2000; Oliver, 1997). While it is now widely accepted that emotions have an important
role to play in defining customer satisfaction (Bagozzi, Gopinath, & Nyer, 1999;
Liljander & Strandvik, 1997; Tax, Brown, & Chandrashekaran, 1998), there has
been relatively little research undertaken to explore the effects of emotions on
different aspects of a service offer, and the need for further research has been noted
(e.g. Hume & Sullivan Mort, 2010; White, 2010). In particular, it is not clear whether

ISSN 0267-257X print/ISSN 1472-1376 online

# 2010 Westburn Publishers Ltd.
DOI: 10.1080/0267257X.2010.523008
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 1202 Journal of Marketing Management, Volume 26

emotions have differential effects on those elements of a service offer, which can be
described as the core service offer, in contrast to secondary aspects of the service offer.
Amidst the complexity of defining and measuring emotions, it is not clear whether
positive and negative emotions have structurally different effects on satisfaction and
subsequent repurchase/referral behaviour. It is possible, for example, that negative
emotions may affect one component of satisfaction and behavioural intention, while
positive emotions affect other components.
This paper investigates the linkages between emotions, satisfaction, and future
behavioural intention in the context of the performing arts. It distinguishes between
the primary service offer associated with visiting the theatre, which typically focuses
on the drama on stage, and the secondary service offer, which typically comprises
supporting services such as the comfort of the theatre, ease of access, and refreshment
facilities. The paper seeks to add to our general knowledge about these links, and
specifically to contribute to the limited research on customer satisfaction and
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emotions in co-consumed hedonic services (Ng, Russell-Bennett, & Dagger, 2007;

Smith & Bolton, 2002).

Satisfaction and emotions

A long stream of literature on customer satisfaction has overwhelmingly used cognitive

measures to operationalise the construct (E.W. Anderson, Fornell, & Lehmann, 1994;
Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1985). However, there is evidence that a
respondent’s reported level of satisfaction is a poor predictor of their future repeat
purchase or referral behaviour (Brady & Cronin, 2001). While part of this poor
correlation may be attributable to situational factors (e.g. a satisfied customer no
longer having the need for a service, or a dissatisfied customer having no alternative
available), some loss of predictive power may be attributed to the neglect of affective
components within measures of satisfaction. While some models of satisfaction have
evolved to incorporate affective components, emotions have remained relatively
unexplored as a link between measures of satisfaction and future behaviour/referral.
This view is expressed by Barsky and Nash (2002, p. 39) who, in the context of the
hospitality sector, note that ‘Despite the obvious importance of eliciting positive
emotional responses from guests, we can find no record that hotels have ever
measured or used consumer emotions as a management tool’. The apparent absence
of theoretical research and practical application of emotions to the domain of
customer satisfaction may seem surprising, as there has been widespread research
into emotions in other domains of marketing. As an example, an abundance of
studies on the structure of emotions and consumer-experienced emotions in the
context of advertising has been noted (Liljander & Bergenwall, 2002).
A further weakness of the satisfaction literature is the static, cross-sectional nature
of most research in the field, which has not recognised that an attitude to a service
encounter may change over time. It may be expected that cognitive and affective
measures of performance transform at different rates with the passage of time
(Mazursky & Geva, 1989; Verhoef, Franses, & Hoekstra, 2000).
Although emotions as a topic has attracted increasing interest, a review of the
literature indicates a lack of consensus on an accepted definition of emotions and
how they are formed (Bourne & Russo, 1998; Liljander & Bergenwall, 2002; Oliver,
1997). Although the terms ‘affect’ and ‘emotions’ are often used interchangeably, it is
useful to distinguish between them, and also from the related construct of feelings. Of
 Palmer and Koenig-Lewis Primary and secondary effects of emotions 1203

the three constructs, affect is the most abstract, comprising a non-conscious

experience of intensity, a moment of unformed and unstructured potential. A feeling
is a sensation that has been checked against previous experiences and is essentially
personal and biographic. An emotion is the projection and display of a feeling and may
be constrained by social norms (Shouse, 2005).
The difficulty in defining emotions was noted by Fehr and Russell (1984, p. 464)
who state that ‘everyone knows what an emotion is, until asked to give a definition’.
Oliver (1997), for example, defines emotion as arousal, various forms of affect and
cognitive interpretations of affect that may be given a single description. Westbrook
and Oliver (1991, p. 85) suggest that consumption emotions refer to a ‘set of
emotional responses elicited specifically during product usage or consumption
experiences, as described either by the distinctive categories of emotional experience
and expression (joy, anger and fear) or by the structural dimensions underlying
emotional categories, such as pleasantness/unpleasantness, relaxation/action, or
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calmness/excitement’. Furthermore, they posit that consumption emotion should be

differentiated from the related affective phenomenon of mood as emotions have
relatively greater psychological urgency, motivational potency, and situational
specificity (Westbrook & Oliver, 1991). Oliver (1997) sums up this issue by pointing
to the difficulty of identifying where emotion stops and cognition begins.
There are two major approaches to the study of emotions: the ‘dimensional’ and the
‘basic emotion’ approach. By the dimensional approach, all emotions can be described
along three independent, bipolar dimensions: Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance
(PAD) (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974). By this approach, an individual’s emotional
state at any one time can be expressed as a combination of these three dimensions.
The ‘basic emotion’ approach conceptualises emotions as a mixture of a limited set of
basic emotions, which include happiness, surprise, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust,
adapted to context (Ekman, 1992). Several researchers have developed lists of scales
comprising specific basic emotions.
Russell (1980) describes the interrelationships between these different types of
emotions using a spatial model in which eight affective components are organised in
a circular arrangement of pleasure–displeasure (misery), arousal–sleepiness,
excitement–depression, and contentment–distress. This model has been tested and
found to be appropriate for the measurement of emotion in a variety of consumption
settings (Liljander & Bergenwall, 2002; Liljander & Strandvik, 1997; Mano & Oliver,
1993; Oliver, 1997; Russell, 1980). Most studies of emotions in the field of marketing
have used self-reported measures to record respondents’ subjective feeling, defined as
the consciously felt experience of emotions as expressed by the individual (Stout &
Leckenby, 1986).
Two separate, but interlinked, strands of research have been pursued in this study.
The first strand of the study explores the impact of positive and negative emotions.
There has been relatively little research to identify the differential effects of positive
and negative emotions. The suggestion has been made that negative emotions have a
greater role than cognitive measures of satisfaction in explaining and predicting
behavioural responses to poor service. Varela-Neira, Vazquez-Casielles, and Iglesias-
Arguelles (2008), for example, explore the relationship between customers’ negative
emotions following a service failure and their cognitive evaluations of the recovery
process. Their results indicate that emotions have an indirect effect on overall
satisfaction. Similarly, Smith and Bolton (2002) examine the role of customers’
emotions in the context of service failure and recovery encounters, and found that
customers’ negative emotional responses influence their recovery effort evaluations
 1204 Journal of Marketing Management, Volume 26

and satisfaction judgements in certain circumstances, and that these vary across a
variety of industry settings. The differential effects of negative and positive emotions
have also been noted in the context of response to advertising messages (Homer,
2006). In the context of the performing arts, which is the focus of this study, only
limited information on the role of emotions is available. Hume and Sullivan Mort
(2010, p. 173) note that ‘in an experiential, emotionally charged, cultural or
performing arts settings emotional research is certainly pertinent and deserved of
attention’.
The second strand of this paper relates to the deconstruction of a service into
components of the total service offer, based on a proposition that different
components can evoke different emotional responses. A number of theoretical
frameworks have been proposed to distinguish between the core of the service offer
and its secondary elements. The core service is best understood in terms of the essential
benefit that a service provides. Grönroos (1984) uses the term ‘service concept’ to
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denote the core of a service offering. Sasser, Olsen, and Wyckoff (1978) call this the
‘substantive’ service, which is best understood as the essential function of a service.
Within the domain of satisfaction research, some researchers have deconstructed
satisfaction into components according to their importance. Czepiel, Solomon,
Suprenant, and Gutman (1985) deconstruct satisfaction into two elements: a
functional element (e.g. the reliability of an aeroplane journey in reaching its
destination), and the performance delivery element (e.g. the friendliness of staff in
delivering the service). Lewis (1987) classifies service-encounter attributes into two
groups: essential and subsidiary. The essential attributes correspond to Czepiel et al.’s
(1985) functional and subsidiary to their performance delivery elements. In the
context of the hospitality sector, Davis and Stone (1985) divide the service
encounter into two elements: direct and indirect services. Direct services may
include core services such as check-in processes in hotels, while the indirect services
include the provision of ancillary services such as car-parking facilities, concierge, and
public telephones, and so on. Hume, Sullivan Mort, Liesch, and Winzar (2006) suggest
a division of the service offering into satisfiers (e.g. the experience of a theatrical
performance, complimentary extras, exceptional personal treatment), dissatisfiers
(e.g. waiting time, pricing, parking, positioning and comfort of seating), and critical
factors (e.g. timeliness, responsiveness, safety).
An implication of these studies is that satisfaction based on individual components
of the service offer may have differential effects on future behaviour and implicitly
recognise the need for independent scales for satisfaction and dissatisfaction. In the
language of Herzberg’s early research into motivation, there may be two independent
measurement constructs. One continuum – a ‘motivation’ continuum may run from
satisfaction to no satisfaction, while another, a ‘hygiene’ continuum, runs from
dissatisfaction to no dissatisfaction. Using Herzberg’s approach, the variables that
cause, through their presence or absence, satisfaction or no satisfaction, may not be the
same as those that cause dissatisfaction or no dissatisfaction (Herzberg, Mausner, &
Snyderman, 1959). This is consistent with the findings of Swan and Coombs (1976,
p. 26) who note that ‘consumers judge products on a limited set of attributes, some of
which are relatively important in determining satisfaction, while others are not critical
to consumer satisfaction but are related to dissatisfaction when performance on them
is unsatisfactory’.
It is not clear from the literature whether emotions are differentially related to core
and secondary elements of a service. Given that many definitions of emotions allude to
motivations of the individual, it may be reasonable to propose that different
 Palmer and Koenig-Lewis Primary and secondary effects of emotions 1205

components of a service imply different levels of involvement, and that high-

involvement elements are more likely to arouse emotions than low-involvement
ones. This is consistent with definitions of involvement, which incorporate
references to affect; for example, Andrews, Durvasula, and Akhter (1990, p. 28)
conceptualise involvement as ‘an individual, internal state of arousal with intensity,
direction, and persistence properties’, while for Barki and Hartwick (1994, p. 62),
involvement is ‘a subjective state, reflecting the importance and personal relevance of a
new system’.
The influence of core and secondary services on behavioural intention also remains
relatively unexplored, especially in the context of the performing arts services
(Ferguson, Paulin, Pigeassou, & Gauduchon, 1999).

Research hypotheses
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The model proposed in this paper includes emotions in a key explanatory role.
Emotions are considered as antecedents of customer satisfaction and intention,
meaning that customers who experience positive emotions are more likely to report
high levels of satisfaction (Mano & Oliver, 1993; Westbrook, 1987; Westbrook &
Oliver, 1991). We distinguish between positive and negative emotions and state a null
hypothesis that there is no difference between the effects of positive and negative
emotions on satisfaction.

H1: There is no difference between negative and positive emotions in their effect on
satisfaction.

We then test whether there is a difference in the effects of emotions on satisfaction with
the core service offer and on the secondary service offer.

H2: There is no difference between the effect of emotions on the core service satisfaction
and on the secondary service satisfaction.

We proceed from the effect of emotions on satisfaction to their effects on behavioural

intention. We distinguish between intention to recommend the core service, and
intention to recommend the particularity of the secondary service offer.

H3: There is no difference in the effect of satisfaction and emotions on respondents’

propensity to recommend the core service and the secondary service offer.

The conceptual framework is shown in Figure 1.

The research context

The hypotheses were tested in the context of a musical performance at a major UK

theatrical venue, which collaborated with this research. The focal performance – The
Sound of Music – was selected as it had the potential to evoke a range of emotions
based on recollection of memories, identification with the story or the actors, and
shared enjoyment with friends involved in co-consumption. Theatrical attendance can
be classified as a collective hedonic mass service, as the service is offered and consumed
 1206 Journal of Marketing Management, Volume 26

Figure 1 Conceptual framework.

Positive Intention to
Emotions Recommend
Core Core Service
Service
Satisfaction
Intention to
Recommend
Negative Secondary Secondary
Emotions Service Service
Satisfaction
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simultaneously by a large number of consumers at a specific point in time for the

purpose of creating excitement, pleasure, and enjoyment (Ng et al., 2007).
Simultaneous with consumption of the theatrical performance, the secondary service
offer had capacity to evoke positive and negative emotions. In this context, the
secondary service offer relates to the physical environment and processes associated
with seeing the show, including ease of access to the building, navigation around the
building, the comfort and ambience of the auditorium, and the efficiency and
effectiveness of ancillary services such as bars, car parking, and toilet facilities. The
venue used for this research was selected because it provided a comprehensive range of
facilities, which could evoke cognitive evaluations of satisfaction.
This research made an assumption that the theatrical performance was the primary
service offer and the supporting services associated with the venue were secondary.
This is in line with other studies, where the show experience has been classified as the
core service, as customers primarily focus on the performance of the actors on stage,
whilst contact with other theatre staff, the venue quality, amenities, accessibility, etc
are seen as peripheral to the theatre experience (Garbarino & Johnson, 1999; Hume
et al., 2006). However, it is possible that some people may have visited the venue –
which is an iconic building in its own right – seeking primary benefits from the venue
rather than the performance. Following interviews with managers of the venue, it was
felt that visitors to the show would be overwhelmingly seeking primary benefits from
the performance, while those seeking primarily to experience the venue would be
more likely to explore the building when no theatrical performance was taking place,
or during one of its ‘open days’.

Methodology

The approach adopted for this study was predominantly quantitative. Numerous scales
have been developed to measure emotions in other contexts, and it was felt that, with
suitable adaptation to the context of a theatrical performance, they would form a sound
basis for the study. A quantitative approach would allow trends to be inferred from large
numbers of individuals, although it is recognised that an alternative phenomenological
 Palmer and Koenig-Lewis Primary and secondary effects of emotions 1207

approach could provide deeper insights linking emotions, satisfaction, and behaviour.
However, the smaller number of participants that could be achieved with such an
approach would have further limited the generalisability of a predominantly qualitative
approach.

Measures
Survey items were generated from scales that had been developed, tested, and
validated in previous studies to measure the constructs that are central for this
research – emotions, satisfaction, and intention of recommending the service – and
tailored to our context of the performing arts.
This study adopted the unipolar approach to emotions based on Izard’s (1977)
Differential Emotions Scale (DES). This approach has been shown to be applicable in
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diverse contexts owing to its flexibility (Holbrook, 1986; Westbrook, 1987).

Furthermore, due to the nature of the service experience studied here, the unipolar
approach is more appropriate when examining consumption experiences where
positive and negative feelings could be evoked at the same time (Babin & Darden,
1998; Westbrook, 1987). Izard’s shortened version of his original scale (DESII)
consists of 10 emotions: interest, joy, surprise, anger, disgust, contempt, distress,
fear, shame, and guilt (Izard, 1977). This model has been adapted in a number of
service settings (Liljander & Bergenwall, 2002; Liljander & Strandvik, 1997; Mano &
Oliver, 1993; Oliver, 1997; Russell, 1980) and was considered to be the most
appropriate basis for structuring the emotions component of the present study.
However, previous research posits that the range of emotions experienced by
consumers is very broad (Richins, 1997). The content, structure, and types of
emotions may thus be specific to a context and previous studies demonstrate that
some of Izard’s emotions had no relevance in certain service settings, especially some
of the more negative emotions, such as disgust and shame (Liljander & Strandvik,
1997; Magovcevic, 2003; Richins, 1997). Liljander and Strandvik (1997) suggest that,
depending on the type of service, additional emotions not included in the DESII scale
may also be appropriate.
The scales were contextualised on the basis of relevant literature (Havlena,
Holbrook, & Lehmann, 1989; Lee, Lee, Lee, & Babin, 2008; Mehrabian & Russell,
1974) and interviews with previous visitors to musicals and management of the venue.
On the basis of these interviews, it was decided to restrict the analysis to 10 separate
emotions. As a number of studies have classified emotions into positive and negative
emotions (Chaudhuri, 1998; Phillips & Baumgartner, 2002), we included five items
for positive emotions (happy, excited, relaxed, energetic, surprised) and five items for
negative emotions (angry, annoyed, sleepy, bored, disappointed). These scales are
based on previous studies of emotions in similar contexts.
Respondents were asked to indicate the degree/intensity of each emotion felt during
the service consumption on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ¼ ‘no/very weak
feeling’, through to 5 ¼ ‘very strong feeling’. The approach of measuring intensity of
emotions instead of frequency has been widely adopted in the literature (e.g. Bagozzi
et al., 1999; Laros & Steenkamp, 2005; Richins, 1997; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen,
1988; Watson & Tellegen, 1999). The order in which the emotion items appeared in
the questionnaire was randomised for each respondent. An exploratory factor analysis
(principal components analysis with varimax rotation) confirmed the distinction
between positive and negative emotions. However, the item ‘surprise’ was deleted
 1208 Journal of Marketing Management, Volume 26

due to cross-loading on both positive and negative emotions. This is in line with the
literature, where surprise has been defined as a cognitive state and classified as a
neutral emotion (Richins, 1997; Storm & Storm, 1987).
Satisfaction was measured using seven items derived from the literature (Hume &
Sullivan Mort, 2010; Hume et al., 2006; Lee et al., 2008; Lovelock, 1983), and
adapted to our context on the basis of the interviews with managers and previous
visitors. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the emergence of two distinct
components as suggested in the literature. The first component was satisfaction with
the core service, which in the context of the theatre was defined in terms of the acting,
the musical performance, and the scenery, costumes, and stage props. The secondary
component was satisfaction with peripheral services, comprising comfort and facilities
at the theatre, access to the theatre (signposting, car parking, etc.), overall value for
money, and the theatre staff with whom the respondent dealt. Each item was measured
on a scale from 1 ¼ ‘very dissatisfied’ to 5 ¼ ‘very satisfied’. The order in which the
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items were presented in the survey was randomised for each respondent.
Intention to recommend was divided into two elements. First, respondents were
asked if they would recommend the musical (the core service) to a friend. Second, they
were asked if they would recommend the venue – defined here as the secondary service
offer – to a friend. This was measured using two indicators (‘I would recommend a
friend to come to a future performance at this theatre’; ‘I would recommend this
theatre as a good venue’). There is considerable support for the use of personal
recommendation as an important metric of loyalty resulting from satisfaction
(Reichheld, 2006). Each recommendation item was measured on a scale from 1 ¼
‘very unlikely’ to 5 ¼ ‘very likely’. The final measurement items included in the
structural model are presented in Appendix 1.

Data collection
An invitation to take part in an online survey was sent to 1944 purchasers of tickets for
the show, which ran for a period of five weeks during July and August 2009. Of these,
520 took part, representing a response rate of 27%. Participants were invited to take
part in subsequent research to report on how their emotions and assessment of
satisfaction had changed over time. This paper reports only on the first stage of the
survey. The final sample comprised 513 respondents who fully completed the
questionnaire.
The demographic characteristics of the respondents are displayed in Table 1. More
females (72.1%) than males (27.9%) responded to the survey, and this was felt to
reflect the gender composition of the audience for this particular show. There was a
good distribution of ages with 29.9% of respondents aged between 45 and 54 years,
26.2% between 35 and 44 years, and 20.5% between 55 and 64 years. Around one
fifth of the respondents (21.6%) were first-time visitors to the theatre, 36.5% visited
the theatre one or two times per year, 31.2% came three or four times a year, and
10.7% indicated that they come to see a performance at the theatre five times or more
per year.

Results

We followed the two-step procedure of structural equation modelling (SEM) as

suggested by J.C. Anderson and Gerbing (1988) by first examining scale validity
 Palmer and Koenig-Lewis Primary and secondary effects of emotions 1209

Table 1 Sample characteristics.

Measure Items Frequency Percentage

Gender Male 143 27.9
Female 370 72.1
Age Up to 34 years 72 14.5
35–44 years 134 26.2
45–54 years 153 29.9
55–64 years 105 20.5
65 years or over 46 9.0
Frequency of visiting a performance This is my 1st time 111 21.6
at the centre in a typical year 1–2 times 187 36.5
3–4 times 160 31.2
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5 times or more 55 10.7

from the measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and second
focusing on testing the proposed hypotheses using the structural model. The data were
analysed using AMOS Version 16.
Measurement reliability and validity of the model containing the multi-item
constructs were assessed using CFA. An analysis of the goodness-of-fit statistics
indicated an acceptable model fit. The overall model w2 is 213.398 with 64 degrees
of freedom (p < .000). The other fit indicators are CFI ¼ .951, GFI ¼ .939, IFI ¼ .951,
and RMSEA ¼ .071. We assessed convergent validity of the measures, and the
estimated factor loadings for all indicators were significant at p < .01
(J.C. Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). However, the following items were deleted due
to low factor loading estimates: ‘relaxed’, ‘sleepy’, and ‘bored’ (from the emotions
scales) and ‘access to venue’ (from the satisfaction scales). These deletions were
accepted and conceptually unsurprising for our research study context. For the
remaining indicators, the standardised loadings are all at least .5 with the majority
being above .7, and thus they effectively measure their corresponding construct and
support convergent validity.
The internal reliability of the constructs was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and
composite reliability (CR) estimates. Cronbach’s alpha estimates range from .72 to .92
and CR values range from .74 to .92, thus exceeding acceptable thresholds, demonstrating
adequate reliability (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2007; Nunnally, 1978).
Furthermore, the average variance extracted (AVE) exceeded the suggested minimum
value of .5 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981) for three constructs, whilst in the remaining two
cases, AVE was only marginally below the accepted standard. Discriminant validity was
examined by comparing AVE with the inter-construct squared correlations associated with
that factor (Lim & Teo, 1997). All AVEs were greater than the corresponding inter-
construct squared correlation estimates, thus confirming discriminant validity for all
construct pairs (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Appendix 1 shows the reliability coefficients,
average variance extracted, as well as the correlations and inter-construct squared
correlations for all constructs.
In the next step, we estimated the structural model as shown in Figure 2. The fit
statistics indicate that the research model provides an acceptable fit with the data (w2 ¼
268.401, df ¼ 73; p ¼ .000, w2/df ¼ 3.677, CFI ¼ .949, GFI ¼ .934, IFI ¼ .950,
 1210 Journal of Marketing Management, Volume 26

Figure 2 Parameter estimates.

0.550
Positive Recommend
Emotions 0.318 Core 0.401 Core Service
Service –0.523
Satisfaction
0.457 –0.428
0.635

–0.332
Secondary
–0.260 Service 0.551
Negative Satisfaction Recommend
Emotions Secondary
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Service

p < 0.001

RMSEA ¼ .072). Furthermore, our model explains 69.6% of the variance in intention
to recommend the core service and 44.6% of the variance in intention to recommend
the secondary service. The model was thus considered as a good basis for testing the
hypothesised relationships.
The structural models indicates that positive emotions have a significant effect
on both core service satisfaction (b ¼ .318) and secondary service satisfaction (b ¼
.457). In contrast, negative emotions only have a negative significant effect on
satisfaction with secondary service offerings (b ¼ .260) but had no effect on
satisfaction with the show. The results also indicated that positive and negative
emotions had significant effects on intention of recommending the show (b ¼ .550
and b ¼ .523 respectively) but not on recommending the venue. Furthermore,
there is a significant positive effect of recommending the core service on
recommending the secondary service (b ¼ .635).

Discussion
Measurement of customer satisfaction using predominantly cognitive measures has been
increasingly challenged in the academic and practitioner literature. Within some domains
of marketing, notably advertising, the role of emotions in models of consumer response
has been recognised for some time. But the review of service quality and customer
satisfaction literature suggests that the incorporation of emotions is a more recent
phenomenon. This paper has added to our understanding of the role of emotions in the
evaluations of satisfaction and their effects on referral intention.
The evidence is mounting that emotions may be a better predictor of future
behavioural intention than measures based on cognition alone. This study has found
that respondents’ likelihood of recommending the core service to a friend was
influenced more strongly by emotions than by satisfaction with the core service.
However, the linkages between emotions, satisfaction, and behavioural intention
become more complex when the differential effects of positive and negative emotions
 Palmer and Koenig-Lewis Primary and secondary effects of emotions 1211

are analysed and the service offer is deconstructed into core and secondary components.
This study has been unusual among similar studies by analysing two distinct outcomes –
a respondent’s likelihood of recommending the core service, and their likelihood of
recommending the secondary service. In the context of this study, a respondent might
have had a high likelihood of recommending the show that they saw, but not the venue at
which they saw it (or vice versa).
All three hypotheses are rejected.

H1: There is no difference between negative and positive emotions in their effect on
satisfaction.

Positive emotions had an effect on both the core and secondary satisfaction, but
negative emotions only had an effect on satisfaction with the secondary service.
One implication of the absence of an effect of negative emotions on core service
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satisfaction is that the secondary service offer may be associated with service
elements capable of arousing negative emotions if they are absent, but evoking
no emotion if they are present. As an example, the comforts of the auditorium may
be taken for granted and a ‘hygiene’ factor not capable of arousing emotions.
However, if the auditorium was noticeably uncomfortable, this may evoke negative
emotions. This view is consistent with the previous research, which has noted the
capacity of some elements of a service offer to be satisfiers while others are
dissatisfiers (Hume et al., 2006).

H2: There is no difference between the effect of emotions on the core service
satisfaction and on the secondary service satisfaction.

As noted above, emotions had an effect on both the core and secondary service offer;
however, there were different structural effects, with no effects of negative emotions
on satisfaction with the core service. It was also found that positive emotions had a
stronger effect on secondary service satisfaction than on core service satisfaction
(b ¼ .457 and b ¼ .318 respectively). The finding that positive emotions affected
both elements of satisfaction, whereas negative emotions only had an effect on the
secondary service offer suggests that positive emotions are a key driver of satisfaction
in this context.

H3: There is no difference in the effect of satisfaction and emotions on respondents’

propensity to recommend the core service and the secondary service offer.

Positive and negative emotions had a direct and significant effect on respondents’
likelihood of recommending the core service, but no direct effect on
recommending the secondary service offer. This may be consistent with the view
that emotions only have valence in the context of involvement, and in this case,
the core service offer could be presumed to be associated with higher levels of
involvement than the secondary service offer. Emotions in the study were
associated with core characteristics of the theatrical performance, rather than
ancillary supporting activities associated with the venue. In the model tested,
respondents’ likelihood of recommending the primary service had a significant
effect on their likelihood of recommending the secondary service offer. An
implication is that if satisfaction and positive emotions deriving from the
theatrical performance had the effect of customers recommending the show, they
would also be more likely to recommend the venue.
 1212 Journal of Marketing Management, Volume 26

Managerial implications

A number of practical implications for managers arise from this research. First, there is
confirmation that emotions form a better predictor of behavioural intention than
cognitive measures of satisfaction. The common practice among service businesses is
to measure satisfaction with particular aspects of service delivery, rather than
measuring emotions evoked by the service. While detailed satisfaction studies may
allow management to focus improvements on those operations that are seen as being
unsatisfactory, the absence of data on emotions may prevent management gaining an
accurate picture of customers’ likelihood of remaining a customer and making
recommendations to others. The preoccupation with satisfaction rather than
emotions may explain continuing disjuncture between high levels of expressed
satisfaction and higher levels of customer turnover.
Given the importance of emotions in explaining behavioural intention, the second
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managerial implication is the need to focus on those aspects of the service offer that are
most likely to evoke positive emotions and least likely to evoke negative emotions.
This implies a reorientation in management thinking from operations-based
satisfaction to customer-focused emotions. In this study, it was noted that
satisfaction and positive emotions deriving from the show had the effect of
customers recommending not only the show, but this also led to them being more
likely to recommend the venue. Positive emotions deriving from the core service drove
a chain of causative recommendation, and the management challenge is to identify the
specific sources of emotional arousal. In this study, the producers of the show appear
to have understood this process well; for example, the stage version of The Sound of
Music included many upbeat songs that might have rekindled happy memories of the
audience. The storyline incorporated a range of emotions with a happy ending. The
producers had also exploited the emotional link that existed between the audience and
the lead singer, who had become very popular during a television talent show contest
for the role.
A generalisable management implication lies in the need to distinguish carefully in
survey research the bases for customer satisfaction and what customers are actually
loyal to and would recommend to others. It has been noted in previous studies that
customers may recommend a service provider on the basis of a very small number of
criteria, for example, convenience of location, whereas satisfaction with the primary
service offer may be relatively low. The failure to distinguish between the two may
have implications for an expanding service business that seeks to reproduce its
primary service offer elsewhere. This study has suggested that satisfaction and
emotions associated with the core service drive referral behaviour for the
secondary service. A logical implication of this is that management could profit by
investing in the core service at the expense of the secondary service. In the context of
this study, this might imply investing more in bigger shows and less in supporting
facilities such as car parking and toilets. However, it must be recognised that service
businesses such as a theatre typically offer their core service in multiple formats, and
while a show such as The Sound of Music may be a strong basis for referral behaviour
in its own right, weaker shows offered at quieter periods may not be strong enough
to overcome possible dissatisfaction with poor elements of the secondary service
offer.
Finally, the importance attached to emotions in customers’ referral behaviour
reinforces the importance of using emotions-based messages in advertising. Beyond
the context of a theatrical performance, it is likely that customers will be influenced by
 Palmer and Koenig-Lewis Primary and secondary effects of emotions 1213

messages referring to the emotional outcome of a service rather than its technical or
cognitive outcomes.

Limitations and future research directions

The limitations of this study should be noted. First, the context may not be
generalisable to other situations. The study focused on a high-involvement service
encounter capable of evoking a range of emotions. The methodology and findings may
not be applicable to low-involvement service encounters where positive or negative
emotions are less likely to be evoked. Second, this study has sought to distinguish
between cognition and affect as the basis for the two constructs of emotions and
satisfaction respectively. Previous studies have encountered difficulties in strictly
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differentiating between the two states, and in practice, there is interaction between
cognition and affect. Third, it could be argued that emotions constitute a learned and
socialised response, distinguishing them from feelings, and therefore the effects of
emotions may be best represented over a period of time rather than immediately after a
service encounter. Finally, this study may have been presumptuous in defining the core
and secondary service offer. In this context, the core service offer was defined as the
theatrical performance and the secondary service offer as the ancillary support
facilities available at the venue. However, there may be some customers for whom
the venue is the core service offer and the performance on stage is secondary. This may
occur, for example, in the case of iconic venues, or merely venues that become
associated with values of familiarity and identity.
Future directions for research could involve replicating the approach in other
service settings associated with lower levels of emotions. It will also be useful to
deconstruct the core and secondary service offers to identify which components of
them in particular are most strongly associated with emotions. This study has used one
specific framework for measuring emotions, and future research might seek to validate
the results using an alternative framework, for example, the PAD framework. A
longitudinal study would indicate the durability of cognitive and affective measures
on future behavioural intention. It would also be useful to explore whether differences
exist for first-time consumers of the service compared with experienced users.

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Appendix 1. Reliability coefficients, average variance extracted, inter-

construct correlations, and inter-construct squared correlation
estimates

Pos Neg Core Sec Rec

Mean Std.Dev. a CR Em Em Sat Sat Sec
Positive Emotions (PosEm) 3.82 1.00 .74 .74 .47 .31 .34 .58 .46
(Happy, Energetic, Excited)
Negative Emotions (NegEm) 1.13 .54 .73 .81 .09 .52 .10 .39 .45
(Angry, Annoyed, Disappointed)
Satisfaction core services 4.85 .49 .88 .87 .12 .01 .69 .65 .22
(CoreSat)
(The acting, The musical
performance, The scenery,
costumes, and stage props)
Satisfaction secondary 4.37 .78 .72 .75 .33 .15 .42 .46 .47
services (SecSat) (Comfort and
facilities at the Centre, Value for
money, Centre staff I dealt with)
Recommend secondary 4.75 .61 .92 .92 .21 .20 .05 .22 .85
service (RecSec) ( . . .
recommend a friend to come to
a future performance at the
theatre?, . . . recommend as a
good venue?)
The inter-construct squared correlation estimates are presented in the lower triangle of the matrix. The
average variance extracted is shown in the diagonal (shaded). The inter-construct correlation
estimates between the measured constructs are shown in the upper triangle of the matrix.
Recommend core service was measured using a single-item scale.

About the authors

Adrian Palmer is professor of marketing at Swansea University, UK, and affiliate professor at
ESC Rennes School of Business, France. His first career in marketing management in the travel
and tourism industry has informed his subsequent research interests. Research into the
effectiveness of customer loyalty development strategies has been undertaken for several
public- and private-sector clients, and the results of previous studies have been published in,
 Palmer and Koenig-Lewis Primary and secondary effects of emotions 1217

among other journals, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Management,

Journal of Services Marketing, and Journal of Strategic Marketing.
Corresponding author: Adrian Palmer, School of Business and Economics, Singleton Park,
Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK.
T þ44 1792 295 294
E mail@apalmer.com

Nicole Koenig-Lewis is lecturer in marketing at the School of Business and Economics, Swansea
University, UK. Her current research interests focus on services marketing, particularly in
relation to customer experiences and emotions, as well as marketing research methods. She
has published her work in a variety of academic journals, such as Journal of Marketing
Management, Journal of Relationship Marketing, International Journal of Bank Marketing, and
Annals of Tourism Research.
T þ44 1792 602397
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E n.koenig-lewis@swansea.ac.uk