Understanding customer satisfaction in curated subscription services: Moderating roles of subscription time and information disclosure

Abstract

A new form of online retailing, curated subscription services, is attracting an increasing number of consumers with their surprise elements. Extant literature has explored individual adoption motivation but has provided limited attention to customer-perceived consumption behavior. This study investigates the determinants of customer satisfaction with curated subscription services across different subscription box categories based on expectation disconfirmation theory. Sentiment analysis technology is conducted to extract customers’ attribute-level experiences from 22,551 customer reviews associated with 676 subscription boxes. Results show that sentiment toward utilitarian and hedonic attributes of products and services is positively associated with customer satisfaction, with the sentiment toward hedonic attributes exerting a stronger influence on satisfaction compared to utilitarian attributes. Findings also indicate that subscription time and information disclosure moderate the relationship between sentiment toward hedonic and utilitarian attributes and customer satisfaction. This study enriches theoretical research on customer satisfaction, offers insights into consumer behavioral research in subscription retailing, and provides implications for managers to attract more subscribers to the curated service.