An examination of the presence,magnitude and impact of halo on consumer satisfaction measures

This paper replicates and extends a pioneer study on halo effects in consumer satisfaction by Wirtz and Bateson (1995, International Journal of Service Industry Management 6(3), 84–102). An experiment was conducted using a travel agency service. Two attribute performances were manipulated in a 2×2 factorial design, and the performances of five other attributes were held constant, employing a video to standardise performances across all experimental conditions. The results replicated the findings of Wirtz and Bateson’s study. First, it was shown that the two manipulated attributes both caused halo on non-manipulated attributes. Second, it was demonstrated that observed attribute satisfaction could not be interpreted reliably, neither across attributes within a brand nor by attributes across brands. There were two findings extending the replicated study. First, it was found that the manipulation of the more important attribute caused significantly higher halo than the manipulation of the less important attribute. Second, the notion that the magnitude of halo is an additive function of the number of halo causing attributes had to be rejected. Consumers may be susceptible to halo only to a certain level, beyond which they may attempt to contain its effect.