Understanding Cognitive Dissonance of Indian Customers for Financial Products: A Multi-Dimensional Scale Development Approach

Abstract

The aim of the study was to understand the dynamics of cognitive dissonance in the context of financial product purchase. A mixed methodology research approach was undertaken to explore the attitudinal and behavioural dimensions (qualitative) and subsequent empirical validation (quantitative) with a sample of customers of financial products. Qualitative research was conducted through focus group discussions to arrive at a pool of 99 items which were then pruned and validated with the help of academic and industry experts. The items were empirically tested and validated with the help of appropriate statistical tools to arrive at a “5 factor and 25 items” measurement scale for cognitive dissonance. The study found two factors “Emotional Gain” & “Financial Concern” as distinguishing factors emerging out as key findings. The arousal of cognitive dissonance after the purchase decision taken by consumer can be a major concern for marketers as it might result in order cancellations, loss of trust for the brand as well as loss of loyal customers. Measuring dissonance in financial product context post purchase can help marketers devise appropriate strategies to reduce dissonance, thereby retaining and attracting customers.

Do women customers love to talk about financial brands? An empirical evidence on the mediated service responsiveness and brand sincerity in creating a positive word of mouth

“…Customer satisfaction itself is reported to have an impact on positive WOM (Anderson, 1998). However, ensuring customer satisfaction and ensuring customers' positive WOM and is a complex path, there are multiple routes and variable tested to be involved in various forms where multidimensional research is available on identifying the elements contributing towards customer satisfaction and positive WOM for financial services (Anderson, 1998;Ashtiani & Iranmanesh, 2012;Bolia et al, 2016Bolia et al, , 2020Salehnia et al, 2014, April). Brand personality and service quality are two of the key concepts which are reported to be critical while deciding customer satisfaction, retention, and WOM (Chaniotakis & Lymperopoulos, 2009;Narteh, 2018;Shanka, 2012).…”

An exploratory study on factors associated with consumers’ post-purchase dissonance of electric vehicles

“…Consumers' post-purchase dissonance negative consequences range from brand trust decline, loyal customer switching, and in some cases, order cancellations (Bolia et al, 2020). Yang et al (2019) proposed additional negative consequences for post-purchase dissonance, including spreading negative word of mouth, scanty repurchase intention, and customer dissatisfaction.…”

“…To avoid such negative results, it is prudent that one understands what may cause this perception of dissonance to reduce it before, during, and after decision making. It is necessary to narrow down the widening gap between customers and the producer's perception of the product (Bolia et al, 2020). Chadha et al (2018) emphasized that companies must botheir its marketing efforts to minimize buyers' perception of post-purchase dissonance as low as possible.…”