Examination of Reliability, Content Validity and Criterion Validity of the Customer Satisfaction Scale Based on Need Satisfaction: a Study in Rehabilitation Services

Purpose) The purpose of the present study was to examine the reliability, content validity and criterion validity of the customer satisfaction scale based on need satisfaction (CSSNS) that we are currently developing for health care services. (Subjects and Method) Referring to a previous study and our preliminary study, we assumed that customer satisfaction is composed of five needs: competence, autonomy, relatedness to participant, relatedness to service provider and physiological need. A psychologist checked the 19 items we developed for the CSSNS. To examine criterion validity, the following four external criteria were prepared: customers' satisfaction, intention to return, intention to change, and recommendation to others. The data of 250 subjects using rehabilitation services were used for factor analysis, calculating of Cronbach's alpha coefficient and correlation analysis. (Results) The results of the factor analysis confirmed the five factors that we assumed in advance. Cronbach's alpha coefficients showed the high internal consistency of CSSNS and its subscales. The correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between total CSSNS score and scores of each criterion. (Conclusion) The reliability, content validity, and criterion validity of CSSNS were confirmed.