Modelling Bottled Water Repurchase Intention in Nigeria: Extending the Expectation Disconfirmation Theory with Trust

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to assess the effects of consumers bottled water quality expectation, perception, and brand trust, on repurchase intention. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of two hundred bottled water consumers in Idah, a suburban setting in North-Central Nigeria was conducted. The paper conducted the factor analysis and test of hypotheses using the partial least squares – structural equation modelling technique. Further, the paper conducted the importance - performance analysis to estimate the performance and importance of the study predictors on repurchase intention. Findings – The result shows significantly large positive, medium negative, and small positive effects of brand trust, expectation, and perception, on repurchase intention, respectively. Expectation has large positive effect on perception, and disconfirmation, and small positive effect on trust. Interestingly, brand trust is the principal predictor of consumers bottled water repurchase intention. Other relationships were nonsignificant. Practical implications – Managers should keep advertisements realistic, improve the quality of the product and regularly disseminate results of analysis of water samples to improve consumer trust. Policy makers should ensure that advertising messages comply with code of practice to circumvent consumers’ resorting to unsafe sources of drinking water due to dissatisfaction with performance of bottled water brands. Originality/value – This study extends the expectation disconfirmation theory (EDT) through integration of brand trust and provides compelling evidence that trust is the most crucial driver of bottled water consumers repurchase intention in Nigeria.

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