The ACSI score comprises of three items: overall satisfaction, expectancy disconfirmation (performance that falls short or exceeds expectations) and performance versus the customer’s ideal product or service in that category (the
italicised items in Appendix 2 – Table AII). Fornell et al. (1996, p. 10) state that the use of reflective indicators of overall customer satisfaction is “consistent with the cumulative nature of ACSI, because each measure represents a qualitatively different benchmark customers use in making qualitative evaluations.” The ACSI score is an integral component of the ACSI Model which is a multiequation, cause and effect econometric model that utilizes interviews to determine levels of perceived quality, customer expectations, and perceived value and their impact on customer satisfaction (the ACSI score) and the influence of customer satisfaction on customer complaints and customer loyalty. As shown in Appendix 2 (Table AII), the constructs in the ACSI model consist of weighted, multi-item components, with the questions asked of consumers used to assess the determinants of each construct. ACSI data has been utilized in more than 70 empirical research studies
(www.theacsi.org).