A comparison of satisfaction outcomes associated with adapted and non-adapted products - Domestic versus imported washing machines in Turkey

Abstract

This paper compares customer satisfaction outcomes associated with the consumption of products adapted to the local market and non-adapted imports of washing machines in Turkey. It utilises literature on customer satisfaction to investigate customer outcomes associated with imports and adapted domestic products in developing countries and derives a number of hypotheses relating to overall and attribute satisfaction from this framework. The hypotheses are tested on data based on a customer satisfaction questionnaire administered to a randomly selected sample of households in Turkey. The findings indicate superior customer satisfaction outcomes for imported washing machines. It is clear that quality is the most important dimension of satisfaction for both groups of consumers. The findings also indicate, however, that locally-focused strategies of domestic manufacturers do pose a potential challenge to multinational exporters. Product serviceability and the associated support services give domestic manufacturers an unambiguous advantage over importers.