Enhancing Positive Disconfirmation and Personal Identity Through Customer Engagement in Cultural Consumption

Abstract

Based on the expectancy-disconfirmation theory, the linkage between disconfirmation and satisfaction has been discussed for decades. Customer engagement has emerged as significant research area due to its role in enhancing competitive corporate advantage. Nevertheless, little is known about the role of customer engagement in explaining disconfirmation and personal identity. Using museums as a research context, this research extends the literature by investigating the role of customer engagement in disconfirmation model. Using a sample of 465 museum visitors, the research findings indicate that both knowledge and entertainment expectations of customers determine their perceived knowledge and entertainment performance of cultural organizations interchangeably. Further, customer engagement is found to be affected by customer’s perceived expectations and performance, and it subsequently leads to disconfirmation. Results also show that customer’s personal identity can be achieved by higher levels of positive disconfirmation.