The role of experience on the effect of customer value on the customer satisfaction: The case of Sabiha Gokcen International airport

Co-creation of customer value, satisfaction, and airport experience issues are of great importance in terms of managing airports effectively and efficiently, as well as administrators' understanding of customer behavior. Since the customers are more conscious and powerful these days, the transition from businesses that focused on a customer-oriented approach to an approach that both businesses and customers win together has begun. The most important point during this transition is that customers become value creators, rather than businesses offering value to its customers. As with all other service businesses, airport businesses have also been influenced by this trend, and have adopted a collaborative approach by evaluating the experience they have gained in all units within the flow of passengers as a whole to increase overall customer satisfaction. In this context, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of experience in co-creation of customer value approach on customer satisfaction. In line with this main purpose, the behavior of creating customer value in the context of airport mandatory services, check-in and security, and optional services in the context of duty-free and restaurants were examined; the general satisfaction levels of passengers were examined and the role of experience in this relationship was tested for different cultures (Turkish and British). In this empirical study, the developed research model was tested at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport between 8-21 July 2019 by using a survey technique. The results highlight different factors for the behavior of creating value together for different service points and reveal significant differences in the perceptions of airport satisfaction among the passengers of citizens of different countries. In the context of these differences, the mediating role of experience is noteworthy especially in the satisfaction of the behavior of creating value together in the check-in service.