The Role of Involvement in an Event Satisfaction Evaluation

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of involvement in a satisfaction evaluation. In this study, the theories of service performance and the circumplex model of affect have been adopted to explain visitors' satisfaction with the Flower Blossom Festival in JeJu Island, Korea. In order to collect the data needed for this study, an on-site questionnaire was developed. English and Korean language versions of the questionnaire was prepared. A systematic random sample of subjects was obtained from visitors who attended the Festival. Data were collected through on-site surveys by face to face interview for three days between April 4th and April 6th, 2003. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multiple group analysis. Two hypotheses dealt with under which conditions affect (or service performance) would play a more important role in the process of making satisfaction judgments. The results suggested that, regardless of the level of involvement condition (high vs. low), affect played a more important role than service performance in the process of making satisfaction judgments. This result suggest that affect, consisting of pleasure and arousal, is a very powerful determinant of post-consumption behavior (i.e., satisfaction) within the Festival.