"WOW. FOR VOLVO" : cognition and affect combining forces to measure the immeasurable

Abstract: How can an experience have such an impact that it can be described with the words “wow effect”? Though not a scientific term, it is often used vividly in the business world as an aspirational goal. The purpose of this thesis was to explore the structure behind positive experiences that lead to a so-called “wow effect” by combining cognitive theories and consumption-based emotion theories to create a method for assessing satisfaction in postpurchase experience. In collaboration with the Volvo Car Corporation, this thesis aimed to identify the relevant antecedents for such a possible experience and create a method for measuring it. The automobiles product category has shown high levels of variation in affect (Oliver, 1993) and as such, it has become increasingly important for automobile companies to be able to identify relevant antecedents of positive affect.