Effect of Participation in Marketing Research on Consumer Attitudes toward Research and Satisfaction with a Service

In on-site research the sponsor is often obvious. Whether participation in research creates consumer dissatisfaction with being in the study and with the sponsor's service is an important question. Using an experimental design, the authors investigated consumer reaction to and satisfaction with participation in on-site research and the food and service in a restaurant. The effect of a pretest also was studied. Results indicate a positive response to the research and no adverse effects on the sponsor. No effect due to the pretest is found.