Perceived Value - A Critical Examination of Definitions, Concepts and Measures For The Service Industry

Perceived value: a critical examination of
definitions, concepts and measures for the

service industry
Philipp E. Boksberger
Institute for Tourism and Leisure Research, University of Applied Sciences HTW Chur, Chur, Switzerland, and
Lisa Melsen
School of Management, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia
Abstract
Purpose The aim of this paper is to provide a literature review of the state-of-the-art and up to date concepts and measures undertaken in the
research on perceived value. The purpose especially is to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of the research on perceived value.
Design/methodology/approach The common perceived value definitions, conceptual and measurement approaches and its close relationship with
important and highly researched service industry components such as service quality and customer satisfaction are discussed.
Findings This paper demonstrates underlying and foundational theories, systematises the research streams and addresses the unsolved concerns of
perceived value. The paper concludes with recommendations for the future research and application of perceived value as being relevant to the service
industry.
Originality/value The contribution of the paper lies in achieving a more profound understanding of the nature of perceived value for, equally,
academics and industry.
Keywords Consumption, Value-in-use pricing, Customers
Paper type General review
become an interdisciplinary area involving psychology,

sociology, economic and business concepts. Perceived value
was labelled the new marketing mania and the way to sell in
the 1990s (Sinha and DeSarbo, 1998, p. 236) and has
proven to be of continuing importance into the twenty-first
century (Sweeney and Soutar, 2001, p. 203). The notion of
value creation reflects upon the increased recognition of
perceived value as one of the most important measures in
gaining a competitive edge (Parasuraman, 1997) and a key
factor in strategic management (LeBlanc and Nguyen, 2001;
Burns and Woodruff, 1992). Although perceived value has
attracted equally extensive attention in academia and industry
in recent years (Heinonen, 2004), several issues of
fundamental concern remain unresolved:
1 Despite the emerged research, there is little consensus in
regards to the definition and the concept of perceived
value. According to Khalifa (2004) perceived value has
become one of the most misused concepts in social
sciences and particularly in the service marketing
literature.
2 The lack of agreement among scholars with respect to the
definition and the concept of perceived value results in
inconsistent and incommensurable empirical measures.
Even though a number of approaches dominate the
literature, all these scales and theories are the subject of
profound criticism.
An executive summary for managers and executive

readers can be found at the end of this article.
1. Introduction
Service marketing literature began to appear in the early
1980s in the form of anecdotal service research that defined,
described, extended and replicated existing marketing
concepts. With the explosive growth of the service sector in
recent times, increasing emphasis has been placed on the
continued development of knowledge related to services
marketing and thousands of articles have been written.
Despite this growing abundance of published research, the
consensus is to follow Kotler (2003) by viewing service
marketing as a managerial process concerned with the
facilitation and consummation of relational exchanges
(Eggert and Ulaga, 2002; Keith et al., 2004). By defining
these relational exchanges as transactions between two parties
in which each party gives up something of value in return
for something of greater value (Holbrook, 1999), the
concept of perceived value has emerged and been
incorporated into this services marketing literature (Vargo
and Lusch, 2004). Since then, perceived value research has
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0887-6045.htm
Journal of Services Marketing

25/3 (2011) 229 240
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0887-6045]
[DOI 10.1108/08876041111129209]
Received February 2009

Revised September 2009
Accepted October 2009
229
Perceived value: a critical examination of definitions
Philipp E. Boksberger and Lisa Melsen
Volume 25 Number 3 2011 229 240
between these concepts, but each with their own original

definitions and foundations.
For almost as long as perceived value has been studied its

interdependence to other widely researched marketing
concepts such as service quality and customer satisfaction
has been discussed controversially.
2.1 The utilitarian perspective of perceived value

The utilitarian perspective of perceived value is derived from a
psychological construct describing the common intuition that
. . . any increase in wealth, no matter how significant, will
always result in an increase in utility which is inversely
proportionate to the quantity of goods already possessed
(Bernoulli, 1967, p. 25). In this context, utility of a service is
measured and defined as an individuals subjective value of
money under risk and uncertainty. Expected utility theory
(von Neumann and Morgenstern, 2004) therefore states that
price is the value of a service and therefore consumers spend
their income so as to maximise the value they get from
services. Consequently, the utilitarian perspective of perceived
value is conceptualised as a trade-off between the utility from
a service use and the disutility of obtaining and using the
service (Sinden and Worrell, 1979; Ostrom and Iacobucci,
1995). However, assessing perceived value on price misses
out the complexity and the multidimensional facets of price.
As Monroe (2003, p. 102) states:
In light of this, the purpose of this paper is to provide a

comprehensive overview to the concept of perceived value and
its implications for the service industry. It is hoped that this
will encourage a better understanding of the significance of
perceived value to service marketing and management while
providing constructive directions for future research and
application in both academic and industry settings.
2. The general nature of perceived value

In the literature perceived value is often delimited
ambiguously, particularly to the terms value (singular) and
values (plural) as well as the research object (see Table I). It is
apparent that the notion of values and value must be
distinguished (Agle and Caldwell, 1999; de Chernatony et al.,
2000; Solomon, 1999; Woo, 1992). While the term value
refers to a preferential judgement of either a single transaction
or an ultimate end-state, values are the determinants of any
social behaviour including attitude, ideology, beliefs and
justifications (see for example Rokeachs (1973) value survey,
Kahles (1983) list of values, Mitchells (1983) values and
lifestyles methodology, or Schwartzs (1992) value survey). In
other words, values respectively standards, rules, criteria,
norms or ideals serve as a basis for any preferential
judgement. The second source of the nebulous
differentiation of perceived value drives from its
simultaneous use in consumer behaviour research and
service management and marketing research. However, a
clear distinction needs to be made between the demand and
supply perspective. Table I shows the general nature of
perceived value by providing a classification scheme together
with illustrative service marketing and management concepts.
The forthcoming discussion addresses the dominant
evolvement of transaction-specific values from an individual
customers point-of-view. However, beginning from societal
values, and end-state values to the service delivery, Table I
shows that many other marketing concepts have a relationship
with perceived value. Ultimately, consumption values, service
quality and customer satisfaction, have strong influences on
perceived value, hence creating a strong interdependence
Research and anecdotal evidence indicate that the role of price is more
complex than that of a simple indicator of purchase cost to buyers.
An indication of the complexity that is inherent in price

studies can be found by Jacoby and Olson (1977) who stated
that any price has both objective external properties and
subjective internal representations that are derived from an
individual consumers perception of price. Monroe (2003)
further argues that perceived value is the result of consumers
comparisons among different price structures including
advertised selling price, advertised reference price and
internal reference price. Chang and Wildt (1994) tested
actual and reference price as predictors of perceived price and
found a positive relationship between objective and perceived
price and a negative relationship between reference and
perceived price. In line with this research, Naylor and Frank
(2001) examine the effects of price bundling on perceived
value and state that providing an all-inclusive price package,
even if actual monetary outlay is higher, will significantly
increase perceptions of value for first time consumers.
Another example of the nebulous nature of the price and
perceived value relationship is given by Thaler (1985) who
Table I The general nature of perceived value

Societal values
Transaction-specific value
End-state value
Service industry
Business ethics
Social corporate responsibility
Rules
Norms
Service excellence
Service recovery
Value creation
Pricing
Service profit chain

Relationship marketing
Customer lifetime value
Service quality
Customer satisfaction
Consumption values
Perceived value
Benefits
Sacrifices
Quality of life
Wellbeing
Individual customer
Attitude
Desired values
Comparison standards
Expectation
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Volume 25 Number 3 2011 229 240
sees it as a combination of acquisition costs and transaction

costs. Similarly, Zeithaml (1988) proposes that monetary
costs can be further divided into transactional costs (perceived
monetary price for purchase) and relational costs (perceived
monetary price for maintenance, repair or replacement).
Finally, price information can be used either as a clarifier to
decide which service is best value for money, or it can be used
as a simplifier, for example when consumers always buy a high
or low priced service (Mitchell and McGoldrick, 1996). An
overview of the literature reveals that the utilitarian
perspective of perceived value has been tested, modified and
expanded over time (Martn Ruiz et al., 2008). Starting from
Monroes (2003) pioneering conceptualisation it has finally
been transformed into a model of perceived value with four
components (Parasuraman and Grewal, 2000):
1 acquisition value is the benefit (relative to monetary costs)
consumers believe they are getting by acquiring a service;
2 transaction value is the pleasure obtained from taking
advantage of a good price deal;
3 in-use value is the utility derived from using or consuming
the service; and
4 redemption value is the residual benefit at the time of
trade-in or termination.
relation to consumers perception of value (Dodds et al.,

1991; Teas and Agarwal, 2000). Therefore, it can be argued
that symbolic responses (the reputation of the service
rendered for status-seeking) influence consumers perception
of value. Furthermore, various researchers have analysed
hedonistic responses (received emotions such as joy, jealousy,
fear, rage and rapture) in terms of their relationship with
perceived value (Grewal et al., 1998, Sweeney et al., 1998). To
conclude, it can be stated that perceived benefits include both
cognitive and affective elements, and that affective responses
are an important part of thoroughly measuring the service
experience (Richins, 1997).
Perceived sacrifices include monetary and non-monetary
costs of a service experience. While the negative relation
between perceived monetary costs and perceived value has
been well established in the literature (see discussion above),
the influence of non-monetary costs is more controversial.
While Zeithaml (1988) and Petrick (2002) identify time,
effort, search costs, brand image, convenience and
psychic costs as non-monetary costs; it is argued that these
sacrifices influence perceived value indirectly (Leclerc and
Schmitt, 1999). Dodds et al. (1991) were among the first to
measure the effects of non-monetary costs such as brand and
store information. Similarly, Cronin et al. (1997) measured
sacrifice including both monetary and non-monetary costs
such as price, time, effort and different risk factors. It is a
combination of perceived monetary as well as non-monetary
costs that equate to consumers perceived sacrifice, which, in
turn, affects their perception of service value.
Defining perceived value solely on perceived price is an

important but insufficient conceptualisation because price is
highly interrelated and frequently used with the concepts of
benefits and sacrifice. Thus, perceived value is commonly
defined as a ratio or trade-off of total benefits received to
total sacrifices (Patterson and Spreng, 1997, p. 416) or as
Zeithaml (1988, p. 14) states:
2.2 The behavioural perspective of perceived value

The behavioural perspective of perceived value treats the
construct more comprehensively and attempts to explain it
more in depth than utilitarian benefits and sacrifices. Based
on the social exchange theory (Emerson, 1976; Thibaut and
Kelley, 1959), the key tenet of the behavioural perspective of
perceived value is in essence reciprocal exchange transactions
or, more specifically, a social interaction. Arguably, social
interaction contains an exchange ratio of (tangible or
intangible) activities and rewards/costs on the grounds that
consumers always explain their conduct by means of its
benefits and sacrifices to them (Homans, 1961). Using
means-end theory Zeithaml (1988) identified four dimensions
of perceived value: value as low price, value as whatever the
consumer wants in a product, value as the quality obtained for
the price paid, and value as what the consumer gets for what
he or she gives. In a similar vein Woodruff and Gardial (1998)
and Woodruff (1997) developed a value hierarchy
introducing a judgement of desired values and received
values rooted in the expectancy disconfirmation paradigm.
While this value judgement is based on the common theme
that pre-performance expectations have an impact on
consumers post-performance service evaluation, it is
relative in relation to the consumers (personal), their stated
preferences (comparative) and the specific context
(situational). Accordingly, Woodruff (1997, p. 142) defines
perceived value as:
Value is the customers overall assessment of the utility of a product based on

perceptions of what is received and what is given.
The underlying equity ratio (i.e. the input-outcome ratio) its

rooted in the equity theory which emphasises consumers
perceptions of justice and fairness of the service delivery
(Adams, 1963; Martins and Monroe, 1994). Expectedly,
Bolton and Drew (1991) identified a positive relationship
between benefits and perceived value, whereas sacrifice is
negatively related to perceived value. They conclude that the
perceived value can be considered as a trade-off between
consumers evaluation of the benefits of using a service and
the sacrifice made to use the service.
With respect to what consumers receive, past research has
identified service quality and affective responses as positively
related to perceived benefits (Dodds et al., 1991; Grewal et al.,
1998; Petrick, 2002; Sweeney et al., 1998; Zeithaml, 1988).
While service quality has been mostly recognised as a
cognitive response, where expectations are compared with
perceived performance, affective responses surrounding the
consumption of services can be differentiated in symbolic and
hedonistic responses. Symbolic responses reflect the
consumption of services to satisfy consumers symbolic
needs (self-enhancement, role position, group membership
or ego identification), whereas hedonistic responses are multisensory, fantasy and emotive aspects of consumers service
experience (Hirschmann and Holbrook, 1982; Leigh and
Gabel, 1992; Sirgy, 1982). The first considerable
investigation of affective responses in consumption was
given by Hirschmann and Holbrook (1982). More recently,
research findings suggest that brand name, store name and
country name have a positive effect on perceived quality in
Customers perceived preference for and evaluation of those product

attributes, attribute performances, and consequences arising from use that
facilitate (or block) achieving the customers goals and purposes in use
situations.
Elaborating on the behavioural-driven conceptualisation

Hartman (1967) distinguished three realms of perceived
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value: extrinsic value, intrinsic value and systematic value. In

adopting this axiology Mattson (1991) defines three generic
perceived value dimensions: emotional value, practical value
and logical value. Subsequent research adopted the idea of
multidimensional conceptualisation and proposed typologies
of perceived value. In these typologies, perceived value
typically refers to the evaluation of some concept (e.g. a
service experience) by some subject (usually a consumer).
Hence, it can be stated that, in line with this definition, these
values are interactive and preferential. Analysing consumer
choice to buy or not to buy, to choose between two products
and to select one brand or another Sheth et al. (1991)
proposed a theory of consumption value:
1 Functional value. The perceived utility through the
possession of salient functional, utilitarian or physical
attributes.
2 Social value. The perceived utility through the association
with positively or negatively stereotyped demographic,
socioeconomic and cultural-ethic groups.
3 Emotional value. The perceived utility through the creation
or perpetuation of feelings or affective states.
4 Epistemic value. The perceived utility through the arousal
of curiosity, the provision of novelty and/or the
satisfaction of a desire for knowledge.
5 Conditional value. The perceived utility through the
presence of antecedent physical or social contingencies
in a specific situation.
interactive relativistic preference experience and therefore

proposed a typology of perceived value that shares some
points with the research approaches mentioned above. Based
on three dichotomies (self-oriented vs other-oriented, active
vs reactive and extrinsic vs. intrinsic) this value typology
consists of eight types of value (Holbrook, 1994, 1999):
1 Efficiency (output/input ratio or convenience). The perceived
value from an active transformation of means in pursuit of
a self-oriented end.
2 Excellence (quality). The perceived value associated with a
distanced apprehension or receptive admiration.
3 Politics (success). The perceived value of ones own
consumption experience as a mean to achieve a
favourable response from someone else.
4 Esteem (reputation). The perceived value from the reactive
contemplation of ones own status as reflected in the
approbative opinion of others.
5 Play (fun). The perceived value of an active self-oriented
experience enjoyed for its own sake.
6 Aesthetics (beauty). The perceived value of an essentially
reactive appreciation and as an end itself.
7 Morality (virtue). The perceived value from an ethical
action favouring others.
8 Spirituality (faith or ecstasy). The perceived value of a
devotional experience.
Whilst some authors consider Holbrooks (1994, 1999)
typology the most comprehensive and detailed explanation
of perceived value (Sanchez-Fernandez and Iniesta-Bonillo,
2007), the literature review reveals the lack of its critical
reflection. There is only Mathwick et al. (2001) as well as
Sanchez-Fernandez et al. (2009) who adopted the framework
to analyse perceived value in the internet shopping
environment and a vegetarian restaurant respectively.
Subsequently various studies applied these consumption

values in a number of different contexts. In particular,
Sweeney and Soutar (2001) developed a multiple item scale
based on the broader framework of Sheth et al.s (1991)
consumption values. Their PERVAL instrument is a
multiple item measure, that can be used to assess
consumers perceptions of the value of tangible products at
brand level (Sweeney and Soutar, 2001). PERVAL was tested
in the pre-purchase and post-purchase situation and found to
be both reliable and valid in each context. In order to
operationalise an adequate measurement for the perceived
value of services as opposed to products, Petrick (2002)
developed a multiple item instrument (SERV-PERVAL)
which was found to be reliable, and has convergent and
discriminant validity in the post-purchase context. Recent
arguments however, stated that the PERVAL and SERVPERVAL
measurement
instruments,
although
methodologically sound, reliable and valid measurement
tools, need to be broadened because they dominantly
capture the post-purchase evaluation of a product and
service and not the perceived overall value of a purchase or
experience (Gallarza and Gil Saura, 2006; Sanchez et al.,
2006; Petrick, 2003). Perceived value is widely documented
as occurring at different stages of the purchase and/or
consumption process, including the pre-purchase stage, at the
moment of purchase, at the time of use and finally after use
(Sanchez et al., 2006). This derives a need to consider all of
these stages and measure perceived value holistically.
Considering this, Sanchez et al. (2006) developed GLOVAL
a multiple item measure which covers the three underlying
categories of perceived value which have remained constant
throughout it research: functional value, emotional value and
social value.
Reflecting on the behavioural nature of perceived value
Holbrook (1994, p. 22) defined perceived value as an
3. The operationalisation of perceived value

Providing a state-of-the-art review on the nature of perceived
value raises the questions of the (in)dependence and
weighting of the benefits, sacrifices and types of value as
well as questions of whether to apply a multiplicative or
additive function in perceived value measurement. In each of
the above conceptualisations of perceived value, benefits have
been identified as the salient gets characteristic, while the
sacrifices made to acquire or consume these gets has been
identified as the relevant gives components. While a
majority of authors consider these components to be
distinct and independent, Zeithaml (1988), Sweeney et al.
(1999), and Teas and Agarwal (2000) argue that price is
directly related to benefits and sacrifices since it serves as an
extrinsic indicator. Opinions also vary upon the weighting of
these components. While utility theory suggests a balanced
weighting of utility and costs, consumer behaviour research
assumes that individuals tend to weigh losses such as price
significantly more heavily than gains such as quality (Varki
and Colgate, 2001; Lai, 1995). However, no theoretical or
empirical evidence can be found in the literature that provides
the weights to be allocated to these various components.
Finally, the operationalisation of perceived value is either a
multiplicative or an additive function of benefits and sacrifices
(Cronin et al., 1997). In the former, perceived value has been
seen as a ratio of benefits (numerator) to sacrifices
(denominator). This multiplicative function is widely
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Volume 25 Number 3 2011 229 240
accepted among scholars (Zeithaml, 1988) and represents the

dominant view in the literature. However, there has been
criticism of the apparent reliance on a multiplicative function
arguing that the multiplicative based specification is
inconsistent with sociological research that suggests
cognitive processes are conceived in a linear additive form.
The additive function recognises the integrative nature of
benefits and sacrifices, and specifies the compensatory tradeoff between give and get components. In addition, the
superiority of an additive function is given by findings of
Cronin et al. (1997), DeSarbo et al. (2001) and Grewal et al.
(1998).
Both qualitative and quantitative as well as uni-dimensional
and multi-dimensional methods have been used to measure
perceived value. Early efforts to measure perceived value by
using a uni-dimensional scale have been criticised for lacking
validity (Woodruff and Gardial, 1998). Generally, measuring
perceived value as a trade-off between price as the sacrifice
and quality as the benefit is too simplistic since consumers
may be able to identify fifty or more different attributes that
shape their perceptions of value prior to, during and after
consumption (Gale, 1994). Therefore perceived value has
been dominantly operationalised using multiple item scales
for better measurement. Table II provides an overview of
selected empirical studies to highlight the numerous measures
and methods applied in various contexts. Although a variety
of approaches have been taken by different authors, and many
of the studies are evolvements of previous studies, it is
evidenced in Table II that as mentioned previously;
functional, emotional and social value appear to be at the
forefront of the most recent research.
While consensus exists that service quality, customer
satisfaction and perceived value predict behavioural
intentions (Petrick, 2004), conflicting arguments have been
made as to their differences, similarities, linkages, temporal
order and overall relationship (Bolton and Drew, 1991;
Caruana et al., 2000; Huber et al., 2007; Kashyap and
Bojanic, 2000; Oliver, 1999; Spreng et al., 1993). Just as there
is much controversy in the definitions and measurement of
perceived value, the discussion about the terminology of
service quality and customer satisfaction is equally debateable
(Bitner and Hubbert, 1994; Cronin and Taylor, 1994; Spreng
and Singh, 1993). Thus, a selection of empirical studies that
have attempted to model the antecedent, mediating and
consequent relationships among service quality, customer
satisfaction, perceived value and behavioural intentions is
presented in Table III. Despite this continuous debate no
consistent evidence is given for the operationalisation of
perceived value and its interdependence to other marketing
concepts as specified in Table III (Gallarza and Gil Saura,
2006).
are intangible, inseparable, heterogeneous and perishable.

The theoretical implications of the perceived value of services
as identified in the measurement of perceived value appear to
be twofold. First, the findings show that a multi-dimensional
scale does indeed explain the perceived value of services
better, both statistically and qualitatively, than does a single
item value for money scale. Second, perceived value is
neither a simple trade-off between quality and price nor
merely an outcome of any other single factor. It can be stated
that the perceived value of services is a combined assessment
of consumers perception of benefits and sacrifices, including
quality and price, for a variety of perceived value dimensions
with original behavioural intentions and customer satisfaction
playing a role in overall evaluation.
The findings from this literature review suggest a number of
useful research directions that are recommended for
exploration. As a starting point, future research should
concentrate on developing a clearer articulation of the
constructs used in the various study designs. This can in
turn result in better measures, after which the
interrelationship between perceived value, service quality,
price, benefits, sacrifices, customer satisfaction and ultimately
behavioural intentions can be better understood. Thus, future
research should be directed toward investigating the
interaction of perceived value with other core marketing
constructs. By not testing for other determinants, the
influence of risk, trust, involvement, etc. on perceived value
may be inflated. Moreover, by capturing other determinants
that contribute to perceived value, a much broader
understanding of the value construct can be ascertained
(Groth, 1995; Jensen, 2001). There may also be determinants
which are context and consumer specific. It seems likely that
pleasure, arousal or dominance play an important role in
determining perceived value in some service settings. The
notion that mediators are relevant in customers perceived
value of services also begs for additional research. Most
importantly, future research into which measures of perceived
value are most valid for the service industry, marketers and
management is warranted. This will ensure consistency and
provide the answer to the key service industry question what
are the dimensions of value that customers care about (Sinha
and DeSarbo, 1998, p. 237).
As illustrated by discussion so far, it is evident that the
theory of perceived value has a number of different concepts
and theories that make up its foundations. The cognitive and
affective components of perceived value theory as well as the
relationship with concepts including value, service quality,
price, benefits, sacrifices and customer satisfaction highlight
the diversity of perceived value in that it covers and is closely
linked with a number of different areas and aspects. As noted,
various authors indicate that perceptions of value may be
formed at the pre-purchase phase, post-purchase phase or,
both (Patterson and Spreng, 1997; Dodds et al., 1991;
Parasuraman and Grewal, 2000) which can also result in the
development of different outlooks on perceived value. This
complexity makes a single perceived value definition
somewhat difficult in that it covers a number of different
areas depending on the situation. However, the distinction
between the different types of perceived value is particularly
important for service organisations, marketers and managers
to understand especially when considering the impact of
perceived value on customers willingness to buy, seek
information, compare alternatives and evaluate (Al-Sabbahy
4. Conclusion and recommendations

This paper has attempted to extend the knowledge of
perceived value by critically examining the definitions,
concepts and measures of perceived value as relevant for the
service industry. The review of literature reveals that the scope
of the traditional conceptualisation of the value construct
focused on intangible products and involved general
extensions of quality scales. Unlike the majority of the
analysed studies, the latest research on perceived value is
entirely based upon the characteristics of services in that they
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Table II Measurement of perceived value

Author(s) and year
Construct(s) and item(s)
Study design
Sanchez-Fernandez et al.
(2009)
Efficiency: 5 items
Quality: 4 items
Social value: 3 items
Play: 4 items
Aesthetics: 4 items
Altruistic value: 4 items
Risk components: 1 item
Logical components: 1 item
Practical components: 1 item
Emotional components: 1 item
GLOVAL
Functional value establishment:
4 items
Functional value person: 4 items
Functional value product:
4 items
Functional value price: 3 items
Emotional value: 5 items
Utilitarian value: 6 items
Hedonic value: 6 items
Technical value: more/same/
fewer
Functional value: more/same/
less
Temporal value: more/same/less
Spatial value: more/same/less
Functional value: 4 items
Perceived sacrifices: 6 items
SERV-PERVAL
Quality: 4 items
Emotional response: 5 items
Monetary price: 6 items
Behavioural price: 5 items
Reputation: 5 items
Perceived quality: 5 items
Perceived sacrifice: 2 items
Performance risk: 2 items
Financial risk: 3 items
Perceived value: 5 items
PERVAL
Functional value (quality):
6 items
Functional value (price): 4 items
Sacrifice: 3 items
Service quality performance:
10 items
Overall service quality: 3 items
Service value: 2 items
Interviews
Huber et al. (2007)
Sanchez et al. (2006)
Rintamaki et al. (2006)
Heinonen (2004)
Wang et al. (2004)
Petrick (2002)
Agarwal and Teas (2001)
Sweeney and Soutar (2001)
Cronin et al. (2000)
No.
Research context
Vegetarian restaurants
306
Surveys (six service episodes)
Customers of car dealers
100
Interviews
Tourism packages
402
Survey
Shopping
364
Interviews
Online banking
37
Mail survey
Security service
320
Mail survey
Cruising
792
Experiment
Hand-held business calculators,

wrist-watches
530
Mail survey
Furniture, car stereo
635
Interview
Health care, fast food,

entertainment
1,944
(continued)
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Table II
Author(s) and year
Sweeney et al. (1999)
Grewal et al. (1998)
Sinha and DeSarbo (1998)

Patterson and Spreng (1997)
Ostrom and Iacobucci (1995)
Chang and Wildt (1994)
Bolton and Drew (1991)
Dodds et al. (1991)
Sheth et al. (1991)
Zeithaml (1988)
Construct(s) and item(s)
Study design
Functional service quality:

5 items
Technical service quality: 2 items
Product quality: 4 items
Relative price: 2 items
Performance/financial risk:
2 items
Perception of value for money:
3 items
Advertised selling price: 2 price
levels
Internal reference price: 2 items
Perceived transaction value:
3 items
Perceived acquisition value:
9 items
Relative quality: 5 items
Relative price: 3 items
Overall service value: 1 item
Service quality: 10 items
Overall service quality: 5 items
Sacrifice: 9 items
Outcomes: 2 items
Method: 3 items service: 4 items
Relationship: 2 items
Global: 1 item
Problem identification: 2 items
Value: 1 item
Price utilities: high or low
Quality utilities: high or low
Friendliness utilities: more or
less
Customisation utilities: more or
less
Perceived price: 2 items
Perceived value: 1 item
Perceived service quality: n.a.
Perceived service value: n.a.
Sacrifice: n.a.
Customer characteristics: n.a.
Perceived sacrifice: 5 price levels
Perceived value: 5 items
Functional value: 6 items
Conditional value: 4 items
Epistemic value: 3 items
Perceived quality: n.a.
Perceived price: n.a.
Perceived value: n.a.
Mail survey
No.
Research context
Electrical appliance
1,068
Experimental survey
Bicycle
328
Experimental survey
Cars
95
Interviews
Health care, fast food,

entertainment
1,944
Mail survey
Consulting service
128
Experiment
Four experience services, four

credence services
98
Laboratory experiment
Apartments, personal computers

823
Mail survey
Telephone service
1,408
Experiment
Calculator, stereo headset player

585
Mail survey
Cigarette smoking (users/nonusers)
145
In-depth Interviews
Beverages
30
235
Volume 25 Number 3 2011 229 240
Table III Studied interdependences among perceived value
Author(s) and year
Chi et al. (2008)
Concept
Dependent
variable
S V S
Y11
X3 Y3 Y12
X1
Chen (2008)
X3 Y 3
Z3
Shamdasani et al. (2008)
Y12
X1 X2 X3 Y3 Y12
Moliner et al. (2007)
X3 Y 3
Y11
X3 Y3 Y12
Gallarza and Gil Saura (2006)
X1
Caruana and Fenech (2005)
X2 X3 Y 3
Spiteri and Dion (2004)
X3 Y 3
Y1
X3 Y 3
Tam (2004)
X1
Z11
Z31
Petrick (2004)
X1
Y11 Y12 Z11 Z12
Eggert and Ulaga (2002)
X3 Y 3
Brady and Cronin (2001)
X1
Y11 Y12 Z11
Y11
McDougall and Levesque (2000)
X1 X2 X3 Y 3
Y1
X1
X3 Y 3
Y12
Y2
Caruana et al. (2000)

X1
Y1
Z1
X1
Y11 Y12 Z11
X1
Y1
X1
Y11
X3 Y3 Y12
Oh (1999)
Sweeney et al. (1999)
Andreasson and Lindestad (1998)
Patterson and Spreng (1997)
X2 X3 Y 3
Fornell et al. (1996)
X1 X2
Y1
X1
Y1
Chang and Wildt (1994)
Z1
Mediator
BI Study design and method(s)
Z1 Computer network survey

Z3 Confirmatory factor analysis
Survey
Z3 Structural equation modelling
Mail survey
Z2
Z3
Interviews
Z1 Mail survey
Z2 Mail survey
Z3 Regression analysis
Panel survey
Z12 Mail survey
Mail survey
Phone survey
Interviews
Interviews
Z2
Z3
Z1 Mail survey
Interviews
Regression analysis
Survey
Mail survey
Z1 Phone survey
Z2 Mail survey
Phone survey
Laboratory experiment
Z1 Regression analysis
Notes: Q Service quality; S Customer satisfaction; V Perceived value; BI Behavioural intentions
236
No.
Independent variable
Research context
Mobile value-added services
207
International airline passengers
245
Internet banking
224
Travel agencies, tile sales
804 establishments
University students travel behaviour
274
Dental patients
122
American veterinary clinics
220
Chinese restaurant
209
Cruising
792
Retail (purchasing managers)
301
Auto lubrication centres, video rental
649 stores, amusement parks
Health care, fast food, entertainment
1,944
Dentist, hair stylist, auto repair,
448 restaurant
Audit services
80
Luxury hotels
545
Electrical appliances
1,068
Package (charter) tour
600
Consulting service
128
Seven major economic sectors of USA
44,994
Apartments, personal computers
823
Volume 25 Number 3 2011 229 240
et al., 2004; Walker et al., 2006). Without such an

understanding service providers may end up providing the
opposite of what constitutes perceived value in the eyes of
their customers.
Chi, H.K., Yeh, H.R. and Jang, B.F. (2008), The effects of
service quality, customer perceived value, customer
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de Chernatony, L., Harris, F. and DallOlmo Riley, F. (2000),
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DeSarbo, W.S., Jedidi, K. and Sinha, I. (2001), Customer
value analysis in a heterogeneous market, Strategic
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Corresponding author
Philipp E. Boksberger can be contacted at: philipp.
boksberger@htwchur.ch
239
Volume 25 Number 3 2011 229 240
Executive summary and implications for

managers and executives
discussion about the terminology of service quality and

customer satisfaction is equally debateable. Several empirical
studies have attempted to model the antecedent, mediating
and consequent relationships among service quality, customer
satisfaction, perceived value and behavioural intentions.
Despite this continuous debate no consistent evidence is
given for the operationalisation of perceived value and its
interdependence to other marketing.
Unlike the majority of the analysed studies, the latest
research on perceived value is entirely based upon the
characteristics of services in that they are intangible,
inseparable, heterogeneous and perishable.
It is recommended that future research should concentrate
on developing a clearer articulation of the constructs used in
the various study designs. This can in turn result in better
measures, after which the interrelationship between perceived
value, service quality, price, benefits, sacrifices, customer
satisfaction and ultimately behavioural intentions can be
better understood. It should be directed toward investigating
the interaction of perceived value with other core marketing
constructs. By not testing for other determinants, the
influence of risk, trust, involvement, etc. on perceived value
may be inflated. Moreover, by capturing other determinants
that contribute to perceived value, a much broader
understanding of the value construct can be ascertained.
There may also be determinants that are context and
consumer specific. It seems likely that pleasure, arousal or
dominance play an important role in determining perceived
value in some service settings. The notion that mediators are
relevant in customers perceived value of services also begs for
additional research. Most importantly, future research into
which measures of perceived value are most valid for the
service industry, marketers and management is warranted.
This will ensure consistency and provide the answer to the key
service industry question: what are the dimensions of value
that customers care about?
It is evident that the theory of perceived value has a number
of different concepts and theories that make up its
foundations. The cognitive and affective components of
perceived value theory as well as the relationship with
concepts including value, service quality, price, benefits,
sacrifices and customer satisfaction highlight the diversity of
perceived value in that it covers and is closely linked with a
number of different areas and aspects.
Various authors indicate that perceptions of value may be
formed at the pre-purchase phase, post-purchase phase, or
both, which can also result in the development of different
outlooks on perceived value. This complexity makes a single
perceived value definition somewhat difficult in that it covers
a number of different areas depending on the situation.
This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives

a rapid appreciation of the content of this article. Those with a
particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in
toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the
research undertaken and its results to get the full benefits of the
material present.
Despite an abundance of articles related to perceived value, a
more profound understanding of the concept it describes is
needed as there is little consensus about its definition.
The distinction between the different types of perceived
value is particularly important for service organizations,
marketers and managers to understand especially when
considering the impact of perceived value on customers
willingness to buy, seek information, compare alternatives and
evaluate. Without such an understanding service providers
may end up providing the opposite of what constitutes
perceived value in the eyes of their customers.
In Perceived value: a critical examination of definitions,
concepts and measures for the service industry Philipp
E. Boksberger and Lisa Melsen offer a comprehensive
overview of the concept and its implications for the service
industry in order to encourage a better understanding of its
significance to service marketing and management.
Their findings show that a multi-dimensional scale better
explains perceived value of services, both statistically and
qualitatively, than does a single item value for money scale.
Second, perceived value is neither a simple trade-off between
quality and price nor merely an outcome of any other single
factor. Perceived value of services is a combined assessment of
consumers perception of benefits and sacrifices, including
quality and price, for a variety of perceived value dimensions
with original behavioural intentions and customer satisfaction
playing a role in overall evaluation.
Generally, measuring perceived value as a trade-off between
price as the sacrifice and quality as the benefit is too simplistic
since consumers may be able to identify 50 or more different
attributes that shape their perceptions of value prior to,
during and after consumption. Therefore perceived value has
been dominantly operationalised using multiple item scales
for better measurement. Numerous measures and methods
have been applied in various contexts. Although a variety of
approaches have been taken by different authors, and many of
the studies are evolvements of previous studies, functional,
emotional and social value appear to be at the forefront of the
most recent research.
While consensus exists that service quality, customer
satisfaction and perceived value predict behavioural
intentions, conflicting arguments have been made as to their
differences, similarities, linkages, temporal order and overall
relationship. Just as there is much controversy in the
definitions and measurement of perceived value, the
(A precis of the article Perceived value: a critical examination of

definitions, concepts and measures for the service industry.
Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)
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Perceived Value - A Critical Examination of Definitions, Concepts and Measures For The Service Industry

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Perceived Value - A Critical Examination of Definitions, Concepts and Measures For The Service Industry

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Perceived value: a critical examination of

definitions, concepts and measures for the

become an interdisciplinary area involving psychology,

An executive summary for managers and executive

Journal of Services Marketing

Received February 2009