Stakeholder expectation and satisfaction in road maintenance

Understanding the process of stakeholder satisfaction is a prerequisite for successful stakeholder management. The expectancy disconfirmation model describes the process of stakeholder satisfaction by relating customers’ satisfaction with a product or service to discrepancy between the perceived performance of and the prior expectations about the product or service. Although a few authors have applied the model to investigate citizens’ overall satisfaction with local government services, little research has been undertaken using the model to examine satisfaction with public-sector projects. This paper addresses the relationship between stakeholder expectation and satisfaction in road maintenance. The expectancy disconfirmation model was used to investigate the expectations stakeholders had about the influence of road maintenance on the performance of the road during and after maintenance. Data were gathered on stakeholders’ expectations of a maintenance project before the project started, and on stakeholders’ perception of and the overall satisfaction with the project after the project was finished. The paper pays particular attention to the influence of the disconfirmation of expectations on the satisfaction with the maintenance project. Based on that, conclusions are drawn for managing stakeholders’ expectations in road maintenance.