A replication of “an experimental test of the expectancy-disconfirmation theory of citizen satisfaction”

Abstract

To better understand citizen satisfaction with public services, public administration research has adopted the expectancy-disconfirmation model in recent years. This model proposes that satisfaction is a function of perceived performance and expectations. Recent quantitative and experimental studies of the expectancy-disconfirmation model have supported the framework. However, few replications have been conducted and none outside western contexts. We conducted two narrow, robust experimental replications of Van Ryzin (2013, Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 32(3), pp. 597–614) in the Chinese cities of Hong Kong (in 2017) and Shenzhen (in 2021). We found support for the findings reported in Van Ryzin (2013) and concluded that the expectancy-disconfirmation model holds promise in a variety of settings as a framework for measuring citizen satisfaction with public services.