Disconfirmation is a key element in evaluating consumer satisfaction with a product or service. It acts as a mediator between the opinion on the product’s performance and pre-purchase expectations, on the one hand, and the satisfaction felt, on the other. When performance meets or exceeds expectations, it is referred to as positive disconfirmation, while when performance falls short of expectations, it is referred to as negative disconfirmation.

Different theoretical approaches analyze the impact of disconfirmation on satisfaction. On the one hand, the affective approach emphasizes the emotional reactions triggered by the gap between expectations and performance. On the other hand, the cognitive approach interprets disconfirmation as the result of the congruence or incongruence between the consumption experience and the consumer’s initial schema.

According to some researchers, a consumer’s satisfaction stems from their subjective comparison between their expectations and their perception of the product or service’s performance. However, this view has been criticized, and research has highlighted the existence of two distinct concepts: satisfaction and dissatisfaction. These two concepts can be influenced differently by the various attributes of an offering, with some having a greater impact on dissatisfaction than on satisfaction, and vice versa.

Some specialists emphasize the importance of meaning and emotion in satisfaction, criticizing an approach too focused on pre-consumption norms and the comparison between expectations and performance as being cold and meaningless. Thus, for these researchers, what matters most in satisfaction are the emotions experienced and the meaning attributed to consumption experiences, rather than the simple comparison between expectations and performance.